I found that when I tried to lose weight before, it was always the motivation that seemed to be lacking. I was fine for a few days or even weeks and then it slipped away. I had been on the yo yo diet, losing 30lbs and then putting it all back on and on, for years!
It seemed so easy, cut calories and exercise and you will lose weight, sometimes I felt like an idiot! The weight loss would not start or I would plateau and nothing I did made me lose weight. I’ve read so many articles and tips on how to find an exercise you really like, so you can stick with it. Easier said than done.
So I ended up putting 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 down that it made me feel terrible. Then I started to feel out 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 adults and doing their thing so I had no excuses.
I started slowly walking to work. Instead of leaving my husband at work and taking 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 hard, my shins hurt and you don’t realize how many hills there are when you drive. The first two weeks were rough, but little by little it got better and I felt good once I recovered from my walks. I found that drinking small amounts of water while walking made a big difference in my recovery at 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 and keeping 4 oz of protein. I actually started eating more at lunch, this helped me immensely as I wasn’t as hungry when I got home. If I was hungry, I would make a cup of herbal tea while I was preparing dinner to quench my hunger, or just drink more water.
At the end of six weeks, the pleasure I got from the exercise was amazing and I started getting compliments from people on my weight loss. In fact, now I miss not going for a walk and make an effort to compensate with other forms of exercise.