People always ask me how I lost weight and how I am continuing to lose it and keep it off. I am always reluctant to answer, but it is time to talk about it.
Firstly, my reluctance. Who am I to talk about weight loss. Yes, I have lost 30kgs, but I am still fat, I am only half way to my size goals. This fact in itself makes people form opinions about me and what weight they think I should be. Which, I might add, is usually based on their own weight and size and how they see me in relation to them: nothing to do with my body or me as an individual.
Everyone has an opinion of how everything should be ordered around them, and I have for many years obeyed those orders, listened to those opinions and that advice. That didn’t serve me so well.
My body knew best
A few years ago, I realised that I was the only person that knew me, and what my body was saying to me and what I needed to do for me. So, I started ignoring other people (very hard to do for a ‘people pleaser’ like myself), and I started listening to my soul and following my gut.
“Tell me the best way to lose weight”
The problem with answering the question about how I lost weight, is there is not one single thing I have done to cause me to lose 30Kgs. My weight loss cannot be narrowed down to one thing that fits neatly into a superficial conversation with a passing acquaintance, or a close friend for that matter.
With the zillions of weight-loss success stories you can find on the web, you can be guaranteed you’ll find whatever answer it is you’re looking for. But, in my experience, no one tells you the whole “how I lost weight” story, or at least few people are prepared to stick around to hear the complete version.
Including me, I too have a short attention span. I either need to be swept up into a story that keeps me on the edge of my seat or I need to be spoon-fed bite-sized pieces of information. Either way I am only ever going to be able to swallow the bite-sized pieces (information not food, in case you were wondering) and that is how I have lost weight.
In an attempt to keep it simple, this is how I lost weight.
I do something.
I do anything.
I do it consistently.
I do it for a long time.
I do it till it fails or stops working for me.
Then, here is the continual pathway I follow…
I do something,
I do anything,
I do it consistently,
I do it for a long time,
I do it till it fails or stops working for me.
How do I find that something, that anything that does the trick? Well, I have this word that works really well to remind me what, how, when and why. It’s the vital key to opening that weight-loss door, that pathway to my slimmer, fitter, healthier and more balanced life.
I look for Failure, celebrate it and learn from it.
I Listen to my body
I Assess what is happening and why.
I celebrate Success
I seek Knowledge
The weight loss key is in the lifestyle
I would guess that very few of you actually wanted to hear that. You wanted the exercise routine that I do, or magic diet that I’m on, the pill I am taking, the surgery I have had, the book I am reading or the app I am following.
Truth is our bodies, our minds, our souls, are complex and it all works together. If you want good health, lasting weight loss or a balanced life, you have to keep all the parts of you working together for the rest of your days, not just a first few weeks of the year, not just during the boot camp you attended for a month.
I ask, what happens after that boot camp, after that diet? Nothing wrong with any of it, but if it is all you do, what about the rest of you?
No one would only maintain part of their car to keep it running well. You wouldn’t just change one tyre or change the tyres but never give the car an oil change in its life; that would be a bit stupid. But that is how most of us approach our health.
A combined exercise and nutrition plan
There is so much information out there and usually all the ‘products’, ‘apps’ etc., only focus on one aspect. So, I will share the little bits of what I do: it isn’t one thing, it is all encompassing.
If you are interested in hearing about my weight loss story, follow me on Instagram, Facebook or sign up to my newsletter, and I promise to tell you everything: the success stories, the failures, the knowledge I have gained and am gaining along the way.
Life is usually an interesting ride, I would love you to join me for the journey.
I don’t pretend to have all the magic, instant weight loss answers, but I can be with you on your path to long term fitness and the body you want. My weight loss programme takes off the weight, gets you in shape, changes your lifestyle and changes your attitude forever. Call Coach Paula on 021 125 8219 or send me an email. You don’t have to do it alone!
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