Get Fit, Feel Epic

If you’ve read any of my earlier posts, you’ll know that I started 2013 with a resolution to become fit and healthy once and for all.  My weight has fluctuated all over the place in recent years and I think I’ve followed every diet under the sun – clearly none of them were that successful or I wouldn’t be about to embark on another one!

However, here lies the difference – this time I’m not doing it to become skinny or just as a quick goal until I go on holiday etc etc, this time I want to make a serious lifestyle change and do things that are sustainable for my future health and well being.

The lovely Laura over at keeping healthy getting stylish is holding a ‘GetFit, Feel Epic’ competition in conjunction with MoneySupermarket.com.  Not only is the prize to die for especially for someone starting this kind of journey! But the opportunity to sit down and really think about how I plan to ‘Get Fit, Feel Epic’ this year was really useful too.

I got down to my lowest weight a couple of years ago by following Weight Watchers – I’m sure you all know how the WW programme works – you get a set amount of points each day depending on your age and various lifestyle factors and you can use them however you like – no food is off limits provided you stick to your points.  I would like to point out that I did the old version of the plan where fruit was pointed and there were no extra points for the weekend etc – I think I had 17 points every day and that was it!

I think I did it for about 18 months and lost over 2 stone so you could say it did what it promised.  However, it taught me nothing about healthy food or how to maintain my weight – unless of course I wanted to continue to count points for the rest of my life which I really didn’t!

My diet for those 2 years was something like Weetabix for breakfast, a sandwich made with WW bread and a packet of ‘healthy’ crisps like quavers for lunch, dinner was a WW ready meal with loads of veggies to bulk it out then I’d use my last 2 points for a bar of chocolate or a WW dessert after dinner!! Looking back I cant believe I ate like that for 2 years!

Most of the diet was pointed towards WW branded foods which were a godsend at the time – the points were printed on the packet meaning that I didn’t need to calculate anything but it was all processed junk.  As an example, half an avocado would have cost me something like 8 points (remember I was only on 17 a day) yet I could have 4 curly wurly’s or 8  packets of quavers for the same points!!! For a fat girl trying to lose weight and stop myself being hungry things like avocado were never going to win!

So the inevitable happened, I reached my goal weight and more, thought that was it, stopped going to meetings and as soon as I stopped counting points my weight gradually went back up! Im now a stone heavier than I was when I left WW a couple of years ago which for all intents and purposes isn’t that bad!

I’ve probably waffled on a bit, the point of this post isn’t to bash Weight Watchers and what is to some a very successful diet programme! Its to tell you all how I plan to Get Fit, Feel Epic in 2013!

First of all I want to eat clean.  I wouldn’t fill my car with junk and expect it to run so why would I do the same to my body?  Eating clean for me means no processed foods, no sugar, no white bread, pasta, rice etc and of course no sweets, chocolate, crisps etc.  I’m 2 and a half weeks into this so far and I’ve lost 6lbs – I’m also really enjoying it!

Its taken a bit of planning and more meal prep than I was used to but it does mean that I’m eating healthy home cooked meals from scratch for breakfast , lunch and dinner! I’ve experimented with quinoa, pearl barley, loads of different veggies, clean pancakes and desserts and if I’ve been peckish snacks have been Nakd bars or fruit and nuts!

My goal for continuing this is to cook at least 2 new recipes a week and experiment with foods I wouldn’t normally try or put together.

As a sidenote – meal planning and eating like this is saving me huge amounts of money which was  another resolution of mine – lose lbs, save £s if you will!

Next part of my plan is exercise! I’ve always been a bit of an all or nothing girl when it comes to working out I’ve also been known to be constantly chasing the next quick fix or big thing when it comes to working out.  Those infomercials telling you that for £99.99 you can get a 12 dvd set and lose a stone in 5 minutes – they’re talking to me!!! I swear I get sucked into everything under the sun!  At one point I was paying £60 a month for a gym membership that I didn’t use, £32 for a bootcamp membership that I didn’t use, £18 a month for online nutrition advice that I ignored and I also have insane amounts of work out dvds, dumbells, kettlebells, a hula hoop and a mini trampoline – all unused!!! Until now!

So at the start of 2013 I cancelled the bootcamp membership and the nutrition advice, sold all the dvds apart from my 2 favourites on ebay and made a deal with myself that I’d keep the gym membership provided that I went at least 3 times a week and made use of the spa facilities to make some relaxation time for me.  And its working, I’ve been about 4 times a week for the past 3 weeks, have tried different classes like metafit and I’ve been spending time in the sauna and Jacuzzi after classes which is bliss!

After abusing my body with so much yo yo dieting and junk food, I actually have no idea where my natural weight should be.  For the next couple of months I’m going to eat clean without counting calories – although I will be mindful of how much I’m eating and listen to my body when I’m full.  I’m going to work out regularly but I’m not going to kill myself in the gym just to be a size smaller – I want to have a fun life and still be able to have dinner with my boyfriend and drinks with my friends – I just want to be healthy!

So that’s my plan, if you’ve managed to read all of this well done : )  I’m looking forward to seeing where I am at the end of March and if it is possible to lose weight by being sensible and healthy rather than following some fad!

I’ll keep you posted!

Lisa x