(Source - Makeupsavvy)
I figured I would start documenting my progress, mainly for myself. But, it's also good to look at how far you've come sometimes, it's kinda feels like mini fist-bump to yourself and feeling really great about it.
But, I also think can shout about the fact I've lost nearly 2 stone, by making very small changes to my lifestyle.
Background
I would never say I was ever ‘overweight’ as such, but sometimes over-indulging on a few late night dominos and 'the odd' hungover maccies takes a toll on you.In fact it resulted in being the heaviest I had ever been in my life, and squeezing into a size 12.
Which, I am aware most people would say that's not that big, but on a personal level, and being quite petite it really upset me since I've been an 8/10 most of my life.
It also sucked because I've always been an active person, with dancing and competing from the age of 8. But, since giving up my training, I had become very, very unmotivated to head to a gym.
Also after leaving university, I was in a total rut - mentally, physically and emotionally.
It took me a good 3 months to convince myself to get to the dreaded place we like to call, the gym.
Nevertheless, I signed myself up to my local fit4less and marched down there for my induction and then never went back for about a month.
We’re all guilty of that, right?
It wasn’t till about May I started getting into going to the gym, and it was around that time I tried to clean up my diet.
I’ve never been great with food. In fact, that’s a huge understatement. I was a reeeaaaally fussy eater.
I would hardly eat anything green, and certainly never touched a salad.
Going Gluten-Free
Around July, I took the plunge to go gluten-free. I had been struggling for years with bloating, and poor indigestion, I finally decided it was time to figure out what was happening. So, I started to cut gluten from my diet, and from the first week I noticed a huge difference.I was more energetic, less bloated, and more importantly I WAS LOSING WEIGHT.
It was like a miracle, as I hadn’t lost a single pound, despite hammering it at the gym.
I started off by simply preparing my lunches for work, which saved me a heck of a lot of money, AND they were more delicious than the gluten-free wraps from the shop (which were virtually impossible to find.)
I also tried to make these lunches my main meals of the day, and had a light tea in the evening.
My standard lunches included:
- Diced sweet potato, red pepper and Quorn chicken
- Low fat Quorn chicken korma, with brown rice
- My mum's special spicy thai curry
- Quorn stuffed peppers with a bolognese sauce
- Tomato, basil and spinach, gluten free pasta
Just FYI - I am not a Vegetarian, I just really enjoy the taste of Quorn. Don't knock it till you try it.
This is not an exhaustive list of what I eat, rather just a go-to list! If anyone is interested in these recipes I'd be more than happy to share with fellow gluten-free peeps. These meals were just easy to prepare and usually were under the 600 calorie mark.
I'm nowhere near where my end goal is, but I've sure as hell made a start. Sometimes, that's all it takes.. a little kick up the bum never hurt nobody. I took these photos a few months ago, but I really need to update them.
I posted this photo on my Instagram a while back, and never intended to keep it on. But, I think these days 'real' women's bodies are few and far between on that platform.
I find taking photos is better for my mind, instead of constantly standing on the scales.
I find taking photos is better for my mind, instead of constantly standing on the scales.
I had a terrible relationship with Instagram, constantly wishing I looked like some impossibly slim model and sometimes I wish I had seen more images taken by women who weren't just a size 6.
(Life tip - stay off Instagram when your self-esteem is non existent.)
To be continued...
