I’ve been gone a while… but I’m making a slow comeback. 2015 was a funny old year. Actually it wasn’t really funny, but it marked the year I started to prioritise myself and my health over a lot of other things… including blogging. After a bit of umming and ahhing, I’ve decided to add another category to my blog, Health & Fitness! I’m no expert but I am learning as I go along… so here goes nothing.
Warning: I’m about to get pretty personal…
I’ve been overweight for as long as I can remember and although I always maintained I was happy/healthy/fine/insert any other generic word that fits, I was kidding myself. I was unhappy with how I looked, how I felt and how inactive I was. I joined gym after gym, went a few times a year and made excuses about why I couldn’t go… all the while paying a nice monthly donation to whichever gym I was a member of at that time. Since 2005 I’ve been a member of Healthlands, Greens, Healthlands again, DW, David Lloyd, DW again, Springs and now Nuffield (formerly Greens).
In March last year I decided it was time I made some big changes rather than burying my head further into the sand. I’d tried the 5:2 fast diet in 2014 for a little while and although I was losing weight, I took a break from it and (surprise surprise) gained back a bit of the weight I’d lost – but not all.
I was introduced to the 5:2 by my aunty who has been doing it for a few years and has had great success. It’s a pretty simple concept, you fast twice a week, eating up to 500 calories on those two days (600 calories for men) and eat ‘normally’ the other 5 days. Anyone who is familiar with 5:2 will tell you it’s not a quick-win, you lose approximately 1lb a week and at first those fast days can be difficult to get through. Luckily, I’ve got my aunty (I call her my 5:2 guru) on hand for any motivation/support. I’m also a member of a few Facebook groups which help loads when I’m having a tough fast day, my husband has always been extremely supportive too.
When I first started, not many people had heard of intermittent fasting and I did get a few comments about how it didn’t sound safe/sensible… but I’d watched the Horizon documentary and had seen my aunty’s results first-hand so I just nodded/smiled and carried on. I’m not going to go into it in this post, but the benefits of fasting are wider ranging than simply losing weight, this knowledge helps keep me motivated if the scales don’t move one week.
Even though I was happy with my weight loss, I wanted to get more active, so in June I started dragging myself to the gym I was already a member of. I hated it. I hated myself for being there and was so self-conscious that everyone was staring at me. They weren’t of course. I was just being majorly paranoid.
I bought some new gym gear and this really helped me get motivated to exercise. This must sound really stupid, but it worked. I now have a patterned legging addiction and I call my first pair my ‘magic leggings’ because they were solely responsible for getting me to the gym.
Here are my magic leggings!
I now go to the gym 3-5 times per week and can honestly say I love it. I do a combination of HIIT, cardio and resistance training. I have a routine, I make sure I go straight from work a few nights per week and at the weekend I go first thing in the morning, so I’ve got the rest of the day to do chores/meet friends/binge watch series on Netflix. I find it helps to clear my mind after a busy day at work, I do have less sofa-time in the evenings but I can deal with that.
So far I’ve lost 59lbs and have gone from dress size 20 to 16, (I’m nearing size 14 I think) although I bought a size 12 dress last week which fits. I’m not a real size 12 (YET), but I’ve never bought clothes less than a size 18 since I was 18 years old. So for the first time in 18 years, probably longer actually, I’m happier with how I look and how clothes look on me. I still enjoy delicious food (if you follow me on Instagram you’ll know this!), eat out and order takeaways now and again… but fasting has completely altered my relationship with food. It’s changed forever. I no longer eat like I’m never going to find food again. It’s been a gradual lifestyle change and I feel so much more energised now I’m losing weight but I do sometimes forget how much weight I’ve lost… e.g. look at size 20 clothes in shops, assume I won’t be able to walk between cars parked closely together.
I’ll talk more about the changes I’ve made, food-wise, in my next post. I really hope this has been interesting, I know it’s a bit of a change from my usual ramblings!
To end, here’s a before/during picture (not “after”, because I haven’t reached my goal yet).
Thanks for reading x
Cloud in a Teacup 
Congratulations! Keep striving for your goals. Just don’t feel worried about what anyone else thinks of you in the gym. Everyone is there to improve themselves. Think of it as an active therapy. 🙂
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Thank you! That’s a great way to think of it, I’ll be using that from now on… active therapy 🙂
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That’s what I tell my clients ha! It motivates them when they think of training sessions that way, at least for the one’s who have trouble with staying motivated. ❤ Hope that one helps you as well!
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You look amazing! Well done on your progress so far and good luck on reaching your goal – I’m sure you’ll smash it! 🙂
Sami x | Daisy-daydreams.com
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Thank you Sami! x
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That’s such an incredible journey! I have never heard of the 5:2 I am going to research some more on it and try it out. I definitely understand how you feel about being unhappy with your body, sluggish, and barely made it out to the gym. It’s always a hard process to get up and go, super proud of you and can’t wait to hear more about your journey!
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Thank you for your lovely comment. Would definitely recommend reading up on 5:2 if it’s something you think you’d be interested in trying 🙂
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Yes, I definetly am going to check into this super excited about it!
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Love this Shav 🙂 You have always been the coolest, most comfortable in their own skin, person I know, and it’s reassuring to lots of people that what’s on the surface isn’t always the same as what’s going on underneath 🙂 You look fantastic btw and I’m glad that you’re happy with your new self!
Incidentally I’ve been 5:2ing for about 3 years now… It’s just a way of life for me now, not weird or faddy or whatever… for some people it just works 😉
Much love
xxx
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Ahh thanks Jav, your lovely comments have made me smile! Also very happy to hear 5:2 works for you, 3 years is brilliant! The fast days just get easier and easier don’t they… and even when it’s a hard one, it’s not a big deal. You always look increds man! Can’t wait for your wedding – not long 🙂 xxx
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You’re doing so welll, you look brilliant! The hardest thing is definitely getting into a routine that works for you and sticking to it, seems you’ve definitely found yours – you’ll be in size 10s before you know it!
x
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Thank you so much Chloe! Still a bit of a way to go but I hope I can keep up the momentum 🙂 x
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Really admire you for this lovely. I find it so hard to focus on fitness and my blogging definitely suffered last year for me being on Slimming World – you can still eat a lot of food but you start making less interesting choices from the menu and I do feel bad about eating out sometimes. When I lived in Leeds I used to run but after an ankle injury that’s left me with pains in my foot if I walk for more than 20 mins I’ve been at a bit of a loss as to how to bring exercise back into my life. It is about making yourself your priority though and hopefully I’ll be able to do that someone this year. You’re looking fab but more importantly, you sound like you’re feeling it. x
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Thank you Fay! Well done doing so well on SW, I tried it a few years back and did lose weight but it wasn’t sustainable for me. That’s a shame about the pain in your foot. Have you tried swimming? x
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Nice work! Keep it up and every time you want to give up,remember why you started!! 🙂
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Thank you! Great advice 🙂
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I know how it feels because I ve done it myself. I lost 20 Kg,and belive me there was not a day that i didn t think of giving up hh. At the end it s all worth it! 🙂
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Wow well done! That’s a great result!
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I probably don’t tell you often enough how impressed I am. It takes a lot to be that focused (regardless of how much you want it) and what it shows is that you first need to find what works for you!
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Thanks Julie 🙂 I do think I’ve found the thing that works for me. 5:2 is perfect but the exercise really does help a lot even though it’s hard to break free from the sofa. Lazy girl at heart 🙂
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This is brilliant! You’ve done so well. It’s great that you’ve found something that works for you and that you enjoy! It’s so much better when you like it! 🙂 xo
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Thank you Danni! I do like it 😊, although am currently in pain after today’s gym session. Over did the squats 😂 x x
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You look amazing! Many congrats! 🙂
It is only something you can do yourself and sadly, not one ‘diet’ of changes will fit/work for everyone. It’s finding what you like and what works. Once you’ve got that and routine, you’re set.
Your right in saying there is no ‘after’ as really, it’s not just about ‘dieting’ and loosing weight, it’s about a healthier life and lifestyle, so really, it’s ever lasting. 🙂
Caroline.x
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Thank you Caroline! You’re right. I’m writing this from my exercise bike on a fast day 🙂 x
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I am LOVING your magic leggings! I really need to invest in some new gym clothes. I am going to re-join the gym after my walking lunch challenge as you are right, it does make you feel wonderful.
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HOW DID I MISS THIS COMMENT? Magic leggings are entirely necessary! I’m wearing my pink and black giraffe print patterned ones RIGHT NOW! x
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