Change of focus

jenny3008

So I have been on my most recent weightloss journey for about 2.5 years since I started with my PT. Its been a bit of a slog, although an enjoyable one. I amazed myself with how exceptionally unfit I was and when you tied this in with joint and back problems its been a slow journey.

Over this time I have been focussed primarily on the number on the scales. When it goes down I'm happy when it goes up I'm frustrated. Its gone down about 10kg over this time. I wanted to lose approximately 30kg in total which would take me to about 60kg which for 5'6" I think is ok. Now the weightloss is for me slow and frustrating. I seem to be hyper sensitive to alcohol and if I drink I don't lose weight. But I like a few G&T's on the weekend with my partner, we socialise together and with others and to give it up would make me miserable. I'm good with my food all weekend in order to have the calories for this and I don't eat back my exercise calories.

Now this isn't a moan about that, I've come to realise that if I really want to drop the weight fast I need to cut the alcohol completely. I don't want to do that so I have to live with the weight.

What I have come to realise though over the last weekend is how far I have come.

I completed a 10k obstacle course this weekend. It was similar to the tough mudder series and run by a company called xrunner here in the UK. I trained pretty hard for it and was dreading it but I finished it and I did almost all of the obstacles. I kept going for the entire 10k in January in the cold and the mud, through the pain in my hips when the arthritis kicked in and I did it in 2 hours 15 minutes.

I am very proud of myself and it made me realise how far I have come and how fit and healthy I am now compared to where I was 2.5 years ago. To me at this time this is more important than constantly depriving myself of things.

So my new plan is to keep religiously counting during the week when I am home alone, be mindful of what I eat at the weekend, keep working out as often as I can ( 6-8 hours a week) and enjoy life and the ability I have to do more.

The number on the scale and the %age body fat which refuses to drop even through 10kg of weight is not going to rule my life anymore