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From an early age I was always called big boned and as the years moved on I was told it was ‘just’ puppy fat. Looking back now to be 10 and weigh 10 stone with my weight continuing to creep up with my age it was not a healthy place to be. I can honestly say I really did believe that as you got older you just got bigger. There was no education link for me between the amount of food I was consuming (I was very much a LARGE portions and second helpings child) and the lack or should I say NO exercise I was doing just kept adding the pounds. It was not until I hit mid teens that I really become conscious I was not the same as the other girls even though the school bullies had been pointing this out to me from an early age.
I wasn’t a miserable child I was just very shy and the only activity I really enjoyed was dancing which I still have a passion for to this day. Due to my job now people are often shocked when I say I hated PE lessons and sports day, I had no interest in puffing my way around a field or being picked last for team games. From memory the worst thing when I look back was not looking like a beetroot, BUT looking like a beetroot in PE knickers and a vest!
So what happened I hear you ask, well at the age of 16 my father received a pass to an old style ‘spit and sawdust’ gym where the men were 18stone of pure muscle and they trained with weights bigger than my head! I will not deny that as I first walked in I was petrified! But over the months I saw and started to understand how people could change their body shape. I started to see changes in my body shape and without realising I had made one of the biggest changes and steps forward to creating a healthier me. Once that first hurdle of getting started was over I started running around my local village, I did fitness dance DVDs as well as the gym. I actually looked forward to being active, why, because the pressure was off I was doing everything for me. I also remember a conversation with one of the 18stone body builders in the gym café, he said how well I was doing but he didn’t think I would still be doing it in a couple of years time. I think that was his way of setting me a challenge and it worked because 15 years on I’m still training in fact my life is now health and fitness!
My link with health and nutrition followed over the years, I understood that food is a fuel so for your body to perform to its full ability it needs to be fed but with the right things. Before I exercised I often ate high fat and sugary foods because they were there and I used food for comfort I was an emotional eater. It is a tough realisation and conscious decision to make and follow though but you can beat those habits. By no means am I a saint I still treat myself but I have to be aware of my portion sizes and the types of food I am fuelling my body with. The good news is the more you exercise the less you crave high fatty foods
So here are a few of my top tips and observations to keep you motivated.
Find something you enjoy doing being active does not have to be classed as doing exercise! I loved and still love to dance. It could be walking, swimming or a sport just get your body moving.
Education is key you never stop learning whether you are 5 or 50 everyone needs to know about being active and eating healthy and the effects it can have on your body.
Be aware of your emotional triggers, life never runs smoothly if you are stressed, upset or run off of your feet take a step back but do not neglect your health. Eat well, fuel your body and exercise even if its just a walk around the park on your lunch break. Remember activity releases your feel good hormones and these will help you cope with stress.
Your past makes you what your are, but you are not your past any more so remember to let things go. I like the person I am today my past has made me stronger more insightful, educated and understanding but I still have to remember to let go of the excuses and reasons I used in my past or not eating well or being active. Someone once said to me do you want those people and moments in your past to affect what could be your very happy future? My answer is a definite no!
Where I am today I feel very fortunate to be in I genuinely have seen health, fitness and exercise from both sides. We all lapse in our eating and exercise habits and its ok just don’t put of getting back to remember your health is a full time job.
My last observation and its can come in many forms of situations but I’m going to call it the ‘office diet’. After reading this you may recognise this going on in your ‘office’ right now. Someone brings carrot and celery sticks into the office and states ‘I’m on a diet’ slowly around that office everyone starts bringing in carrots and celery declaring they need to lose a few pounds and the main topic of conversation turns to food and what they have or haven’t eaten. BUT then someone brings in birthday cake and then the office splits one of two ways. Half the office ditch the diet and eat the cake with the promise of ‘I will start my diet again Monday’ (the day is only Thursday). Or the other half stay munching the carrots with everyone trying to tempt them with cake. All I can say is if you stuck to you guns congratulations you have just shown control, determination and understanding that healthy eating is a long term commitment.
