I lost 10 kilos this year (at the time of writing this post, it was still 2020) and although I am super happy about it as it was intentional weight loss, I can’t help but feel a little bit uneasy about it. I feel this way for a few reasons all of which are completely my way of processing the information and conversations that I allow to infiltrate my content sphere.
So, I put on a lot of weight in 2019 as well as the first few months into our national lockdown started, early 2020. The weight gain was a good time, I have to be honest. It crept on and happened almost unnoticed by me (when the stretchy clothes stopped fitting, it became more noticeable). It happened due to a combination of great times including many cocktails with friends, movie nights and trashy tv marathons with all the junk foods, dinners at top restaurants with the other half and of course, being in love. The gain came from times of highs, but when the highs started making me feel low, I knew I wanted to make some changes.
But what about the anti-diet movement and the push for body positivity?
This was tricky for me as I love the message. It is so, so important to embrace this and make all the efforts possible to ensure that you are treating your body and mind with kindness. It’s your body and it does so much, so why are you making it feel less than, because of some time spent ‘over indulging’ and actually enjoying your life and the people in it. It was something I struggled with a bit, the conflict was very much there no matter how many amazing body positive influences and leading figures were there to speak their piece.
This is a work in progress…
I guess when you have a full history of disordered eating and body image issues stemming from bad habits instilled from childhood, it’s hard to get ‘cured’ via a few well-worded posts and Insta aesthetic feeds.
I think where I settled was that body positivity, I am not there yet. But the anti-diet movement, I am far more on board with. I mean, there are parts again where the waters are muddied for sure and I find myself slipping into some bad habits, it’s not so cut and dry on my journey just yet. But I am at a stage now where I feel it in my bones, I literally cannot do another diet. I am so, so done with that BS.
My weight loss plan of attack for 2020
How it started
A few months into the lockdowns I thought to myself (definitely getting swept up amongst all the *productivity* bullshit) that if I cannot fix my unhealthy eating habits now, with so many hidden traps and temptations removed, then I will never be able to get this under control. So I set out with a few goals:
- Get to a stage where I would enjoy wearing clothes again
- Move from having the flexibility of a peanut, to something that I could feel proud of
- Learn what my food choices actually meant to me. To get a gauge of what I am eating, when and why
- Find a way of eating that I could be happy replicating, every single day
- Find an exercise routine that I could commit to long term
How its going
- I started doing a major closet cleanout, getting rid of all the clothes that still do not fit me – 10kgs down even! Ain’t got time for that negativity
- When I decided I was going to focus on fat loss this year. I went back to logging calories on My Fitness Pal which has always been and will continue to be the most effective tool that I will ever use to lose weight
- I did not and never will again choose a ‘diet’ plan. I refuse to cut out certain foods or food groups. I eat what I want, I just make sure I keep my daily allowance within what would be a calorie deficit
- I have blocked out time on my calendar three nights a week for a Yoga with Adriene session. I have probably committed to this 50% of the time, which I would love to improve in 2021
- I go for a walk for 30-50 minutes every morning. I personally never considered this as exercise as I do it primarily to listen to my favourite podcast, but also because I love the opportunity to see all the dogs at the park I walk to. This new daily habit I feel has helped me with my weight loss massively and I cannot recommend it more. You don’t need to be doing 3 HIIT sessions a day if you bloody hate it. Just go for a walk a day and keep up the consistency. Results will come.
I don’t think these are too drastic measures and I am still super stoked and surprised that with these steps in place I managed to lose 10 kilos in just under 7 months, in a fucking pandemic might I add. Also, I honestly feel like it was one of the easiest things I have done. If the scales did not reveal the result in numbers, and I didnt have a whole new section of the wardrobe that now fits again, I would not have believed this had even happened.
It’s all about healthy living baby
I feel like there will be a time where all of these concepts and choices can go hand-in-hand for me. I am trying my best to be a person with the ability to be healthy in mind and body, but this is a pretty hard process – for me anyway. If you are thinking about making some steps towards living a bit healthier in the new year because you want to for you, not because you feel you need to get on the resolutions bandwagon, I hope I have been able to provide some helpful tips here. Also, do not rush the process. It is important that these changes happen when you are ready and when the intentions are for sustainable lifelong living, you should not be living on a programme with an expiry date. I am trying and will see how all of this goes, all I know is that so far I am feeling positive with my body.
Thank you for reading,
Mel x