Progress Update: 12 kilos down, 28 kilos to go.
On the 31st of December 2012, I wrote the first of 12 blog posts about how 2013 is to be the year I take back control of my body and lose weight, "The Unenthusiastic Dieter - New Year's Resolution".
As I write this piece today, on February 1st 2013, I have lost 12 kilos (that's just over 26 pounds for those who don't do kilos) and I am, as you can imagine, quite chipper about that and very happy with the result.
The first days of my diet, hunger was a recurring theme and I was feeling miserable and, well, unenthusiastic. I Googled a bit on diets and hunger and came across an article about how diets that are low in carbohydrates, suppress the hunger pangs.
Many, like me, who try low calorie diets and low food intake diets, find that it is the hunger that ultimately stands in the way of weight loss success. I was completely determined to succeed, but the thought of being hungry for a year didn't appeal to me in the slightest, so on Day 3 I decided to make a change to my diet; I decided that trying a sensible low carbohydrate diet would be a good idea.
Some people crave carbohydrates, such as bread, pasta, rice and chips. I'm like that. I don't care about chocolates, desserts or sweets as much, bread, pasta and rice are my downfall, so following a diet that suppresses hunger, helps me immensely - I am never hungry and it has given me a good start to the diet. And it might not be the most exciting of diets, but I've found some interesting low carb recipes that really work for me.
My plan was to exercise daily and that hasn't happened at all... the only thing I've done that resembles exercise, is an hour and a half in a swimming pool with my kids... one time! And no actual swimming was involved, just lifting, diving for goggles and pulling the kids around on floats. During this trip to the pool I also found myself in a changing room with a most unforgiving full size mirror while wearing a swimsuit... Oh my God... won't be going back in there anytime soon!
I find it extremely hard to find time for myself where I can exercise... I have to work when the children are in school, and when they're home, I'm with them and often on my own as my husband then works, so I can rarely "sneak in an hour of Me-Time" when they're home.
But that isn't good enough... I will not have another month where I lose 12 kilos, I do know that, so I must find time to exercise somehow!
Now, I wouldn't ever wish to be a "Lady of Leisure" like a lot of the skinny and slick mums I meet by the school gates of my children's school, but I do sometimes look at them with a bit of envy and think "Imagine to have all that time and nothing better to do than make sure you look smokin' hot... what an easy and carefree life that would be!" But then I remind myself how extremely boring that would also be and how these women might be unbelievably well groomed but how they have nothing interesting to say or inspiring to offer the world around them. I'd rather be overweight for longer and take twice or three times as long losing the weight, than live that life.
And that's what I will do! I've given myself a whole year to lose 40 kilos. That's doable.
2013 WILL be the year I say
Goodbye to Fatty
and
Hello to The Healthy Me
. If you like, you can follow my progress on The Healthy Online.