Wise Words On a Wednesday #2

Time for week 2 of me sharing, what I like to think are, some wise words. This quote I noticed last week on twitter and immediately fell in love ( which also meant I had to RT, favourite and write on my facebook... yeah I like it.)

"Having a dream you don't pursue is like buying an ice-cream cone and watching it melt all over your hand." - Frank Papasso

I really like this as to me it means if you have a dream the opportunity is always there for you to pursue it and therefore have a chance at being successful with it (minus my dream of being a popstar as apparently I'm not that vocally gifted). Otherwise it's going to be there anyway and just slowly slip away because you didn't try.

I like to think that I've taken this on board and any dreams and aspirations I may have I now think I might aswell have a go in pursuing them, whats the worst that could happen?

EAT THE ICE CREAM!

MY WEIGHTLOSS STORY

At the beginning of this week I completed the Race For Life run in my local area. It was 5km and I had been training for it for the last couple of  months! (and by training I mean running around my neighborhood trying not to get caught with a bad VPL and no make-up on every morning)

I know for most of you 5km won't seem far but for me I was just really chuffed to get myself fitter, complete it in a good time and at the same time raise money for an amazing charity.
  After I finished in under my goal time with crossing the line in 28minutes - it got me thinking.... a couple of years ago I would have never been able to achieve something like this and I am really proud of how much I have changed myself for the better concerning my weight and health.

So with this thought I decided that I should do a quick blog post on how I lost weight and how I have became a healthier and happier person.

Just over 18 months ago if you saw me and then a photo of me now you would have never of believed that they were in fact the same person  (in fact you may have believed that I had eaten the current Kirstie!) 

Yup. I indeed weighed alot more. How much you ask? About 2 stone more. And you may all be thinking but your fine now? you wear size 10? why do you still want to talk about it? I do still get people that I know asking me for advice and 'how did you do it?' and to be honest it is something that I did all by myself no Atkins or Marjorie Dawes involved and that is something I am still very proud of. 

Before I start I just want to state that I am all for people who want to loose weight but these things always need to be done in a healthy, moderate way. Starving yourself does not work and my response to every single person who asked me "What diet did you do?" was ... 'The eat less and exercise more diet'. I ate less crap (because I was a junk food whore) and I made myself alot more active (because I was a lazy couch potato) these were simple, easy and basic steps AND they worked.

It was 2011 and over the past year or so I had slowly but surely gained of good few unflattering pounds. This was the first time in my entire life that I had ever been bigger than your average size 10/12 or "overweight" and although my friends told me I looked no different I felt and knew that in reality, I did.
I think first truly believed I was overweight when one rainy afternoon I decided to play on my wii fit and after my first little 'test' my cute little person who I'd grown to love suddenly expanded. I am deadly serious. It full on went plop with a sound effect and became a chubbier little mii person who I immediately felt sorry for.(Lets just say the wii and I then fell out and I was determined to prove it's judgmental scales wrong). 
This, along with the fact I had just booked a trip around America for 6 weeks for March 2012, with my best friend, was the firm kick up the backside I needed to start my weight loss journey.
It was October 2nd 2011 (I remember this as it was a friends birthday) and something in me snapped and right there, right then I was on a diet. 
I'd said this countless times before... "I'm on diet"..."I'm determined" but they all seemed to end on a drunk Saturday night and a hungover Sunday morning. 

But this time it was different, I had a goal.

I wanted to be confident America and be able to enjoy myself to the full. I wanted to be able to go to the water parks in Florida, go to the beach in LA, party in Vegas and not have to think about what I could wear to cover up and how I could avoid these intense public situations. At one point I was actually thinking about wearing leggings to Typhoon Lagoon - how is that even a normal thought? 
And even though I still have hang-ups about myself (that is just something in me that will never change) I went and I had done it and felt 100000% more confident and happy within myself. 
Along with wanting my confidence and self-esteem back (which at this time were total rock bottom) America was the number 1 reason for me to loose weight. But there were also a number of other things constantly on my mind and the answer for all of them always pointed towards me loosing weight and become a healthier and therefore becoming a  happier person.
 I would get anxiety a lot back then and really really badly and I am certain that was to do with my diet and the poor poor state it was in. My fitness was also horrific which for me was just awful. I'd always been a sporty kid/teenager and too be out of breath walking to work was just not right. Fashion also played a huge part. At the time I was working in fashion retail and so much of the stock that came in I loved but I just couldn't wear it because of my size and shape.
 I'm not say I was really really huge, I wasn't 47 stone and stuck in bed or anything, but knowing my body and how I felt, I just wasn't right.

Anyway I digress, it is October 2011 and I decide to get the "Myfitnesspal" app for my iPhone, which can I just say was absolutely brilliant for me. You can type in what you eat and how much you exercise and it calculates your calorie intake and loads more. If you are looking for something to keep track and help control your diet and find out more about what you eating  - this will help.
I knew the main things I wanted to cut out. White bread, pasta, cheese, pizza, crisps and sweet treats (mainly my top weakness - chocolate.) These are things that I knew had to go. I'm sure it's different for everyone but these were my downfall.
Drinks, surprisingly, weren't actually a problem for me. I only drink water and green tea anyway (unless I'm going out, in which case it's a vodka & lemonade) so I just made sure I was constantly drinking them. 
Water is one of the best thing for weight loss, it has so many amazing benefits and makes you feel so much better aswell, if I could give one top tip for being healthy and loosing weight it's drink more water.

Rather than bore you with what I used to eat daily I will list below food which became the main staples in my diet.

• Porridge 
• Cereals - Weeatbix/Bran Flakes
• Fruit - Bananas, Strawberries, Grapes, Satsumas, Tomatoes
• Vegetables/Salad - Broccoli, Carrots, Peas, Spinach, Sweetcorn,Lettuce, Cucumber.
• Eggs
• Baked Beans
• Wholemeal Bread
• Soups
• Jacket Potatoes 
• Fish
• Chicken
• Steak

Of course I'd still have treats now and again and most weeks I would have 1 day where I could have whatever dinner I wanted, which normally ended up being my favourite meal - my mum's macaroni cheese.

As for exercise I tried to do something everyday. I did everything from walking to Wii Zumba. Everyday I would make sure I was active for at least 20 minutes and always tried to better myself each day. I bought a stepper for my bedroom and to go alongside the exercise bike I already owned  and went on these most mornings whilst catching up with some TV shows ( two birds, one sweaty stone.)

After just couple of weeks and a few pounds I was feeling so much better abut myself and as soon as you start to see that number on the scales going down the more motivated you feel about what you are doing. The last thing you want to do then give up and ruin all the hard work you've done. 
Another thing which keeps you motivated is comments from other people, sometimes people worry about saying "ooo you look like you've lost weight" as they don't want to offend the person, but I loved it. The fact that other people were noticing these little changes just gave me that extra boost to keep going with it all.
So for the next 2 months I worked super hard and kept it up and amazingly by mid-December I had reached my goal weight, I had lost 28lbs and I had bought a size 10 dress for the first time in years. 
This was the happiest I had been in a long time and finally felt like myself again and since then I vowed to try and keep myself healthy. Yeah I still eat junk food (who doesn't) but I like to think that I am more sensible with my eating now and still keep myself really active.

If you want to set a goal, no matter how small, do it. Take little steps each day and with determination and motivation you will always make it to what you want.

Sorry if this has been a very long and rambley post and if you did/n't like it please let me know in the comments and give some feedback as too why.