I found that when I tried to lose weight before, it was always the motivation that seemed to be missing. I was fine for a few days or even weeks and then it got away from me. I had been on the yo yo diet, losing 30 pounds and then putting it all back on and more, for years!
It seemed so easy, cut calories and exercise and you will lose weight, sometimes I felt like an idiot! Weight loss would either not start or stall and nothing I did would make me lose weight. I have read so many articles and tips on how to find an exercise that you really like, so that you can stick with it. Easier said than done.
So I ended up packing on the pounds and even though I wanted to lose and kept telling everyone that next week I will start my new healthy lifestyle. The weeks came and went in vain. So what was it that finally motivated me enough to do something and keep doing it? Well I started to feel stiff and sore and when I went out into the garden it was so hard to bend over that it made me feel terrible. Then I started to feel short of breath and I started to worry a lot about the possibility of having a heart attack. I’m 40 years old, but I know I wasn’t supposed to feel this way. It was time to take care of myself. My kids were grown and doing their thing so I had no excuses.
I started slowly walking to work. Rather than drop my husband off at work and take the car, I decided to walk from there. It was a 4.5 km walk and it took me 50 minutes. I did this 4 times a week. Wow, it was tough, my shins hurt and you don’t realize how many hills there are when you drive. The first two weeks were tough, but it gradually got better and I felt good once I got over my walking. I found that drinking small amounts of water while walking made a big difference in my recovery in the end.
On the food side, I just cut back, but nothing drastic. I just started using a smaller plate for my dinner with smaller portions while keeping 4 oz of protein. I actually started eating more at lunch, this helped immensely as I wasn’t as hungry when I got home. If I was hungry, I would make a cup of herbal tea while cooking dinner to take away my hunger, or just drink more water.
At the end of the six weeks, the pleasure I got from the exercise was amazing and I started getting compliments on my weight loss from people. In fact, I now miss not going for walks and make an effort to make up for it with other forms of exercise.
