So I’ve been thinking a lot about weight loss, diet, exercise and how it all links together and how to make it easier to actually stick with what you want to do and be the person you need to be.
Over the past 18 months I’ve been on quite a journey. I did my NLP Practitioner qualification and so worked through a ton of personal development, shortly after which I worked on some goal setting and one of them was to get to a 28″ waist by Dec 2012. So I dutifully listened to a weight hypnosis MP3 every single day for 90 days and I worked both consciously and unconsciously on my diet, and by diet I don’t mean a restrictive weight loss plan, I’m talking about the real meaning of the word, the food that you put into your body to achieve maximum health.
Now I should tell you at this point that I also gave up dieting the day that I received my NLP certificate and the reason I did this is because I knew then that actually diets do not work and I needed a FAR bigger shift inside me to be able to achieve, and more importantly, maintain my ideal weight and size. After 18 years of yoyo dieting I can tell you this was a liberating experience!
So how do you lose weight without dieting?
You change your mindset and you take action towards changing your lifestyle. Yes it’s not a 5 minute fix but this is the rest of my life I’m talking about and as it took 31 years to get where I am now and I’ve, hopefully, got another 50+ years to go, surely it’s worth spending 6, 12, even 24+ months creating new habits, new mindsets and ultimately a new lifestyle that enables me to be the size I want to be, FOREVER without ever having to diet again!!
What has changed for me?
I’m now only 2 inches from achieving my 28″ waist completely through healthy eating and increased exercise. I’ve also found that the weight is going into the background as I have shifted focus to health and wellness the weight thing is just a happy bonus – I threw my scales away so have no clue the weight implications. I do however know that I feel great, inside and out, which is SO important.
I have experimented with intermittent fasting, I juice regularly and have even completed a 21 day raw cleanse, which involved eating raw vegan and mixing in some smoothies and juices too for 21 days – this was a hugely educational process for me, it pushed me to try new things and open my mind to a whole new way of thinking and eating. Along side the dietary changes I have also been reading lots about nutrition and educating myself more so I can make more informed choices. I have also been going to the gym twice a week and, I feel so much better in so many ways already and I’m genuinely excited about learning and trying more and seeing how it can all slot into place as a long-term lifestyle choice for me.
I know that there is still some way to go before I get to a point where I am 100% happy with knowing how I want to be, what food I want to eat etc but I am thoroughly enjoying the process and the fact that really it doesn’t matter as long as I’m happy.
I’m loving the feeling that I am feeding my body the best food that I can, food it has been designed to consume. The raw vegan experimenting has been hugely eye opening and will certainly be a big part of my life going forward.
Which seems slightly bonkers and it was not so long ago that I thought even being a vegetarian was restrictive and crazy. After all, why would I want to live on lettuce!?
I have since discovered the wide array of fantastic foods that are out there and how, with a just a little preparation, you can really eat tasty and nutritious food without it just being lettuce.
I have a sweet tooth,love a pudding and have had a lot of fun trying new recipes, like raw berry cheesecake and mint chocolate protein thins – both of which are awesome. Not to mention the fab salad dressings and all sort of other delights that are out there if you start to look. All this amazing food at our fingertips, not only delicious. But also amazingly nutritious! I have on a few occasions had raw ‘pudding’ for breakfast, knowing full well that it is far more nutritious than most other choices with all the vitamins, minerals, fats and proteins in the fruit, nuts, coconut oil and other ingredients. It felt decadent and fantastic with not one iota of guilt! How fantastic is that!
So what I’m trying to say is that, if you are unhappy with how you look, feel or eat currently, I urge you to go on your own foody journey. Read lots, experiment with food and connect with other like minded people who want to go on the same journey with you, or who are already on their way.
It’s liberating, fascinating, exciting. It’s a journey of self discovery, food discovery, health discovery and so much more. There’s no deadline and there’s no grades along the way, other than your own improved health, so you really can take as long as you like and just enjoy the process.
You’ll be amazed the impact that your journey can also have on others too. One of my favourite quotes is ‘be the change you wish to see in the world’ and it amazed me how once you do this others see and become interested too and so it spreads.
Many people are now realising that in fact health really does matter, that we only have one life and we really ought to be enjoying it and giving ourselves the best shot at a long and healthy life. It’s not about restrictions or guilt, it’s about shedding those unhelpful mindsets and instead focussing on great things that really can help you look and feel amazing.
What can you start today that could begin your journey?
Maybe have a juice, eat a salad, try a new fruit, play with a new healthy recipe… It doesn’t matter how small the first steps, every journey starts with one step forward and it is the continuous steps that take you where you want to go. Some steps may be steep, rocky or daunting but the view and the feelings are more than worth it when you reach the summit.
The most important thing is to enjoy yourself and the journey… You never know where it may lead.
If you’d like to connect we have a group that you’re welcome to join on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/521871537856914/
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Author: Sophie Jewry
http://www.theholisticdirectory.co.uk
The Holistic Journal 