No blog about health and fitness is complete without views on weightloss and so here is my piece on the subject and my story.
I’ve just been reading a Time article about why excercise does not aid weightloss and it has made me sigh heavily because it just provides another excuse for those who want to hear that message. What is more, the article did not support that conclusion at all, just another attention grabbing headline. What the article did say was that if you gave in to hunger cravings after excercise by eating badly and then gave up other activities then you would gain weight – duh!!!!! (it also gives out of date information about fat and energy burn) Personally I believe diet, excercise and an active lifestyle all contribute to a healthy mind amd body.
Ten years ago I was 2 stone over weight and uk dress size 16/18. Now I’m a healthy 8 stone and can sometimes wear size 8 (not 18!). The initial weightloss took 6 months. I came off the contaceptive pill, stopped eating meat, and tweaked parts of my diet where I ate badly – replaced a cake with fruit, stopped dessert and stopped eating crisps in the evening. I allowed myself a treat night on a Friday night so that when I got cravings I could always remind myself about Friday and I bought food for my children that I didn’t like so that I knew eating their crisps and choc bars was not enjoyable and was wasted calories. Then I started to go to an aerobics class twice a week (sorry Pavel, it worked for me). Within a month I was losing weight and within six I was down to 8 1/2 stone and wearing size 12. Once the weight started coming off motivation kicked in which kept me going. No fancy Atkins, weight watchers etc just plain common sense, regular excercise and good diet. What is more-the weight has stayed off.
The hardest part was losing the last 1/2 stone. As I’m just under 5 foot that last 1/2 stone is important. I started to find that even at 3/4 times a week , aerobics was not working and that I had got too fit for these classes- most of the other women gave me dirty looks because I bounced whilst they shuffled at the back- atitude is important. So I left for an expensive health club and employed my first personal trainer. I also tried spinning rather than aerobics. I learnt to use a gym and overcame my fear of treadmills but didn’t lose weight. I also have learnt since that listening to my trainer- to whom I am paying big bucks is helpful. I ignored this guy and continued drinking too much red wine-2 glasses a night and carried on going to classes, when he advised gym routines. I even began to gain a little weight, despite 90 min spin classes.
When this trainer left he introduce me to Chuzzy – told me he was a bit scary and that he had his own way but that he was good. I was told to stop going to classes and cut down the alcohol (again)- this time I listened (he can be scary). He didn’t give me a program using treadmills and cross trainers, or make me workout until I was dizzy- he handed me a lump of iron with a handle and taught me how to swing it. He also suggested looking at a book about the GI diet. We’ve been working together for over 2 years now. My figure is great and I’ve gained a passion for kettlebells- what is more my motivation is still strong and motivation is the key to losing weight.
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