The Start of a Healthier, Happier Me!

This year I've decided to focus on my fitness a bit more and start my own weight loss journey.

Black forest berries and strawberry smoothie!

Since finishing university, I've lost over a stone without really trying, which just goes to show how poorly I'd been eating whilst living away from home. I've decided to step up my game a bit and really work on improving my healthy eating and exercise regime.

I've never felt overweight. I was a normal sized child but went through a serious chubby stage from the age of around 10 to 14/15. I started doing a lot more exercise as a teenager and did Taekwon Do three times a week, and loved it! It incorporated a lot of great things like core training as well as cardio and I felt really strong because of it. Looking back, I realise that I struggled a lot with my self-image at that time, even though I was generally a good weight. When I see pictures of my sixteen year old self, I wonder why I was so worried because I looked so nice! I was especially happy with my weight at age 17/18.

When I went to university, things went a little down hill for me. I struggled to eat healthily and my weight really yo-yo-ed, especially related to my stress. I specifically remember my diet taking quite drastic turns during exam time: in first year I over ate to deal with stress whilst in my second year I more or less starved myself due to nerves. Thankfully, I now have a healthier approach to food and a slightly better understanding of what my body needs.

To get to my ideal weight I think I would like to lose about two stone which I think could be doable by September time, depending on how well I stick to my new plan. Ideally, I will be doing 25-50 minute workouts 4 or 5 times a week at home, alongside the weekly Pilates sessions I have started attending with some friends! I will be keeping track of this on the calendar in my room because the only way I will be able to do this is if I write it down and document my efforts.

In my diet, I don't want to deprive myself of the things I really love like chocolate and ice cream but I do need to cut down on my portions. I will also be making myself a lot of home made smoothies, and replacing my lunch, which is usually consisting of a lot of carbs, with a smoothie. One of my friends is doing that at the moment and says she feels amazing! So far it's been a tasty and fun way to get more fruit into my diet.

I've been looking at a lot of fitness blogs for tips  and I've bookmarked a lot of really great videos on YouTube as well as joined Fitness Blender which posts lots of useful videos (for free). I've also been thinking about how to motivate myself and I've set myself some weight loss deadlines:

• 30th April - five pounds loss. This is the date I set off for Europe for a month! I only have about three weeks to achieve this so I'm not sure how ambitious this is but I will do my best!
• July - I would like to have kept the five pounds off or maybe even lost a little more. This will mean watching what I eat quite closely in Europe.
• July - 1 stone loss.
• August - 1 stone 7 pounds loss.
• September - 2 stone loss.
 

To reward myself for reaching these goals I will think of some fun treats for myself. I've always wanted to go on a spa day, so perhaps that could be an incentive!
I also have a couple of clothing goals. Whilst clearing out my wardrobe this week, I found a few outfits from when I was younger that I am hoping to slim down to fit into a bit better. For example, I've had these red and white floral  shorts from Topshop since I was about 16 (6 years ago!). They still fit me but they're a little bit snug now! So this is an item I think I could feasibly be able to fit into after maybe a month or two, just in time for the summer!

I'm currently off work for two weeks, one of the perks of working in a school, so I'm taking this time to kickstart my new regime. Alongside this, I'm sending off job applications and working on some creative projects whilst trying to plan my Europe adventure in May. I'm a little bit worried that when I go back to work I'll fall into some unhealthy habits but hopefully that won't be the case. More than losing weight and gaining confidence, I would just like to make a lifestyle change. I don't want to be fit for now, I want to be fit for life.