Lost 5.2 kilos and 7% of her body weight in the 12 Week Beat the Winter Blues challenge
After a successful 11 months of weight loss on the Healthy Inspirations programme I was close to my goal weight of 71 kg. I joined the 12week challenge as I wanted to explore the possibility of working towards 67 kg as this is probably a healthier end goal, but primarily I wanted to see how it would feel and if it made me look significantly more wrinkled! I am 70 years old, so weight loss and wrinkles are a bit of a trade-off.
The timing of this challenge for me was perfect. It gave me the chance to explore options and basically choose the weight I want to be for the rest of my life.
This journey has been transformational for me. The imperative to lose my extra kilos was brought on when I was recovering from breast cancer last year and realised that I could not control the outcome and potential return of the disease, however, I could give myself the best chance of recovery by eating better, moving more, and enjoying life more. Living in the now and making choices to achieve this became of prime importance.
The 12week challenge really consolidated my reasons for achieving these goals. It would have been all too easy to call it a day before reaching goal weight. I was getting loads of positive feedback, I had become more active, my mood was good, my knees felt stronger ( I am missing ligaments in both knees), I am more confident and I love being able to wear clothes without worrying about how fat I look!
Mealtimes out or on special occasions have become guilt free and more joyous as I know how to indulge without ruining everything. I have also learned how to be better prepared on holiday or on road trips. The 12week challenge enabled me to dig deep about the looking my age thing. I have more lines on my face, but the whole process made me realise that feeling healthy was far more important than a few lines as that allows my personality to shine through, regardless.
On a practical level I have really valued learning what my body is sensitive too in terms of eating, and really wish that I had understood how sensitive my body was to carbs earlier in my life. My stools are much healthier too and I understand those rhythms so much more. I have also found I am more flexible in my body and can sustain long walks now. I have even started to explore recipes that use alternative ingredients to match my body needs which is great.
The weekly coaching and accountability is absolutely invaluable. Both Ange and Lila have been a fantastic support, and so encouraging. They have both come up with ideas to try, have shown interest in the science papers I was uncovering on carb intake, and both were fantastic at keeping things real. They both are so intelligent and shared their own personal journey freely. Ange took over from Lila and became my coach during the 12week challenge. I so look forward to our weekly chats, and feel I have new friends for life.
My Top 3 Tips
- To lose weight sustainably, it is essential to choose a non-fad programme that suits you, gives you insights about your metabolism and choices that you can enjoy, forever. Healthy Inspirations gave me that for the first time in my life. I had no idea before I started that I was so sensitive to carbs.
- Losing a lot of weight can be a life changing experience. Be prepared for long term commitment and deeper thinking about the reasons you are doing it if you want to succeed. The coaches are amazing to talk to and help a lot. Ultimately it helps to understand that it is about what you want deep in your heart, not what other people think.
- The key to success on a daily basis is for me being able to get through each day not feeling hungry AND to enjoy my food! All other dietary attempts throughout my life have either led to extreme hunger or boredom or missing certain foods. They failed. This is the first time I have found a way of eating that suits me, my lifestyle, and my tastes. It is such a relief.