The other side of 90 – Week 4

I started this challenge with my weight bouncing between 94 and 92 Kilograms – heavy right. The last (and only other) time I weighed this much was when I was pregnant with my daughter. However it took a while for me to register that it was getting out of hand and something needs to be done to rectify my weight/health situation. Lets keep in mind that I’m 1.76m tall and so I have successfully hidden most of the weight and have always hidden extra weight really well. It took a photoshoot for me to see how big I had actually become. The shock and horror that my face had changed so much! My arms looked double their normal size. Thank goodness for that shoot as I finally snapped out of whatever dream world I was in and now I’m here. 3 kg’s less, finally on the other side of 90 Kg’s.

Its my birthday month, and I have this saying “I cannot stop myself from aging, but I can stop myself from being overweight”. I can’t be old and overweight. So I made a pact with myself before all of this that I will not turn 39 on the wrong side if 90 Kilograms. So the first goal that was set was to be on the other side of 90 before my birthday. I’m a week ahead of schedule and am proud to finally get on a scale and it doesn’t read ninety anything at anytime of the day. I can now set my next goal and take one more step closer to my desired weight.

It’s February and I have now cut out processed sugar from my diet completely. I do eat fruit so natural sugars are OK for me to eat, I have already gotten into the habit of no processed food in January. Food portions have been reduced (because I like my food). My mother has always fed us well. We are a big built family, tall and heavy boned, mother has always fed us accordingly. Its difficult to see the size of their portions and mine is halved. But it didn’t take long for my body to adjust and one week in I am already used to my smaller portion. I feel satisfied after my meals. Which means I really didn’t need that amount of food on my plate as I am not a growing teenager anymore.

I have been asked a few times what diet I am following , my answer remains I’m not following any diet. I’m changing my eating patterns from an unhealthy one to a healthy one by eliminating the things I already know are bad for me. I know that my body doesn’t like wheat much and flour so I have stayed away from that completely. processed sugar in general is not good for you. Lots of fruit and veggies, protein , nuts, legumes – basically natural food. Food that my grandmother would recognize. I am also exercising 5 days a week in the form of outdoor walking and running, Gym classes and weight training along with my dance class twice a week. I’m not looking to rush this process, slow and steady making small changes every week to improve the quality of my workouts and my eating. Journal-ling and documenting my feelings to stay in touch with myself and what I want not what the world expects of me. Reminding myself everyday that I do this for my health and quality of life and I have chosen to document it here to help other people who feel the same way that I do. To understand that the process doesn’t have to be a ridiculously drastic and immediate change and that if they put their minds to it , change is possible.

I was going to go through this process whether I documented it here or not. However when the third person suggested I let people follow the process with me, it was only then that I decided to write about it. I understand the struggles of the mind and battling your way to a better situation and if reading my process helps push even just one person through, then I have accomplished something.

So here I am; Week 4, 3 kilograms down, 14 kilograms to go. Current weight 89 Kilograms and my next interim goal is to reach 85 Kilograms (Keeping in mind the challenge is to lose 17 kilograms in total to get to a healthy weight for my height at 75 kilograms). Feeling the change in my clothing already and a noticeable reduction in tummy size. I got this.

Live your life celebrating even the smallest accomplishments.