One Month Later...

At the beginning of this blog I told you I am no expert, I am just sharing my own experience. I remind you of it now as I failed catastrophically in my diet the past few weeks. I had dinners with friends, my father's birthday, my birthday...AND my engagement!
So yes all happy occassions and very happy news, but my behind beggs to differ. And the worst part is, I am too happy to care.

So here's advice number one for weight loss; don't get engaged. Or have birthdays. Or have a social life. Basically you need to be alone and miserable to lose weight. Obviously I am not going to make myself alone and miserable to lose weight, so I will just have to get back into a healthy daily rythm.

In all fairness, the damage is not so bad. I broke all the rules; I've drunk alcohol, eaten big meals, eaten late, eaten sugary things between meals, you name it. This lasted for about 2 weeks (possibly 3, I lost count in my sugary haze). I was away for a weekend and was not able to do any sports, but I did get back into in when I came back, even if it was a bit less than before. Despite all this, I gained only 1.8 kg. I find that acceptable.

However, as the weather is getting warming and beach season is approaching, I want to lose those last 2 kg as well as exercise more to have a firmer body, so I will need to pay a bit more attention.

I think this is some of the best advice I can give those of you looking to lose weight; you're human. You're going to be less than perfect, and that's ok. Don't beat yourself up for every piece of chocolate you had, or do 4 hours at the gym because you overate or forgot to do your exercise yesterday. This will only lead you back on the track to gaining weight. I think most of us who are struggling to lose weight are emotional eaters. I certainly am. And I can tell you that this guilt tripping and compensating and pressuring only made me feel worse and want to eat more. Because that's what I do, I eat when I feel bad.

So take it easy on yourself. Instead of beating yourself up over that piece of cake you had or the fact that you lost only a few grams this week, focus on the fact that you are losing, even when you think it is not enough. Not only that, but you are taking care of yourself and creating a healthier lifestyle for yourself. When I first started eating healthier, it was difficult to go with so little sugar (hence the high amount of fruit in my diet). At first I felt energyless and depraved. But after a while you start feeling the opposite - you feel more energized because you are taking better care of your body.

I'll be honest, those 2 extra kilos are bothering me. But in the end it doesn't matter as I am feeling more energetic than ever and more confident in my own skin. On top of that, my weight is now steady between 61-62 kg which is ca. 7-8 kg lower than my starting weight. And it is stable enough to go crazy every once in a while and break all the rules. All in all, a successful journey in my eyes.

Picking Up Where You Left Off a.k.a. Damage Control

I've failed. As much as I preach about keeping the weight off and staying healthy, I regained. I'm human and we all have certain periods in our life where we cannot focus completely on our well-being. I've had a stressful period with plenty of distractions, which caused me to feel like it was ok to slip back into old habits. As I was stressed and not feeling good mentally, I decided to make it visible physically.

The biggest problem is that the decisions you make do not quite go like that. If only this was our thought process then we at least made a conscious choice. A conscious choice can be changed if you are convinced of the reasons for change. However, much of this is very unconscious. I don't want to play the woman card here, but hormones play a role too and make it more difficult to suppress those cravings. Somehow we never crave celery during that time of the month...

I was feeling stressed and felt the need to comfort myself with food as I was no longer able to do it any other way. It doesn't help that I got a cold, which meant I wasn't able to go to the gym (still struggling with that by the way). The gym has become a good replacement to me for that rush you feel after finishing a tub of ice cream. In addition, I usually have more energy after a nice workout than after eating a tub of ice cream. However, I was prevented from my workouts due to my physical condition, making me reach for the ice cream again (my favorite is Caramel/Vanilla with caramel bits in it...yum!). Of course approximately two weeks of this will leave its traces.

I've gained back 2 kilo. After all my hard work and effort, being so happy in my "new skin", I gained 2 kilo back...for what? For a bit of stress? That doesn't seem worth it??

And it's not, yet we always succumb.

You could say that 2 kilo is not much and I'll admit it won't make a huge difference, but once you start paying attention to your health and weight you'll notice even small changes. It was in combination with having to stop going to the gym, which of course also changes your appearance.

This means I'll be having another go at a small diet for this week. The problem is that I have organized dinners with work, so it is more difficult to control what I eat. I have my birthday on the 21st so I will clearly not be dieting that day. Say what you want about a healthier lifestyle, but everyone deserves a slice of cake on their birthday.

The Final Push Round 2 Day 5 of Diet – 4 kg in 2 Weeks

I had a grapefruit for breakfast, but I recommend preparing your fruit in advance...I'm starting to get too much attention while I am cutting my fruit in the kitchen at work. On the other hand you might inspire some colleagues with your good example. Obviously I was hungry again shortly after the grapefruit so I had a Blevita Forest Berry to sustain me until lunch.

For lunch, I had a broccoli soup consisting of broccoli, 1 onion, 1 potato, 1 carrot and a little bouillon and spices. I then had 2 clementines for desert, but had to refill with some more Blevita (this time Gruyere taste) to last me until dinner.

For dinner I had a healthy salad (lettuce, cherry tomatoes, raw cabbage and some light French dressing) along with a bit of lean ham on the side. In the evening I was hungry again and I shared a honey melon with my boyfriend. I must admit I ate a lot more than my boyfriend...

Still, I am keeping my calorie budget every day and I am now at 61.8 kg. I might go a little softer over the weekend, I think I deserved it.

Slimming Sports

I will get straight to the point: sports will not make you lose weight.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a great fan of staying fit, both for mental and physical well-being, but it will not make you lose weight. However, you will have a nicer shape as you become more firm with increased muscle mass.

When I first started to gain weight, I thought I would just start exercising again and it would all go away. Instead, I gained even more weight. With the help of technology (something I will explain in my next post), I understood that I was compensating for my calorie burn with extra calorie intake. Excercise makes you more hungry, so you eat more. To some extent perhaps you also need more, but most importantly you need to eat right.

The bottom line is, no matter how long you slave away on that treadmill, it is extremely hard to achieve a calorie deficit with exercise. In fact, you might gain weight as muscle tissue is more heavy than fat tissue. However, you will feel more energetic, healthier and firmer with exercise so it is a vital part of the transformation.

Be careful however, not to starve yourself while starting an exercise regime. Make sure you nourish yourself sufficiently to be able to perform in the gym. The key is not to overdo it; not to overdo the exercise nor the diet.