You know I always “thought I had a great diet” and “I exercised almost everyday” from when I was 18. I ate breakfast everyday, I ate lunch and dinner, I didn’t eat during the night, I ate nuts and and bits of cheese and bananas as my daily snacks, I never ate takeaways regularly and I only binge drank once every couple of months. And I never gained any noticeable weight in my 20s. I thought I was doing it all right cause hey I was slim, I had a toned stomach, yes I always thought my arms were too big but doesn’t everyone have some body part they don’t love? But then I hit 31 and I saw photos of myself at a family wedding and I thought hmmm I should try and lose a half a stone..so I thought I needed to exercise more..so at my peak I was running 5 miles a day 5 days a week with weights but I wasn’t losing a pound. I got frustrated but carried on. Did I ever once really examine what I was eating? Never! Then the final dawning came. I had just turned 32, I had been on an all inclusive holiday with my fiancée to a couples only resort in Cancun, Mexico for Christmas where I ate all around me. All Inclusive Buffet laid on 3 times a day for 2 weeks. I remember we also ran the beach most days to tell ourselves it was all fine..but it was when I came home and I printed the photos there was one photo that just made me stop and stare and cop on.I was at least a stone and half overweight. I needed to finally stop eating so much.
So what did I do. Well No 1. I had the motivation. I am a very motivated person with great will power. And when I decide to do something I give it my full attention and don’t give up till I get there. No 2. My wedding day was 1.5 years away and I wanted to be super slim, I was designing my own backless glamourous satin slim fit dress and I was determined to have the arms I always wanted, and the arms always tell the truth (and its true the camera does gain you 10 pounds) so I remember Pancake Tuesday 2012 was the last day of the indulging, I ate many pancakes that day with crème fraiche and raspberries, Nutella etc yum yum.. and it was the first day of the start of my new slimmer life. I had never been on a diet in my life but I decided I needed something measurable to start as I had to have a regime to kick start me.
I first tried the Dukan diet ((French, based on protein), I made several recipes from the book and stepped on the scales daily and although I didn’t last on it more than 2 weeks, I couldn’t survive without the carbs. I started getting carb withdrawal headaches so I ditched that but…I took many aspects from the book, such as eating more protein, and why protein is such an important food group for the body nutrition wise as well as its multiple benefits in weight loss..Now we all know that meat and chicken is an excellent albeit expensive source of protein but… the humble egg is very cheap, it makes a really nutritious meal as well as being full of iron and vitamins and very good for a slimmer you…I learned through this book that the body has to work so much harder to burn 200 calories of protein than 200 calories of fat or carbs so you have a “net loss of calories while eating protein” and it reduces your appetite significantly enough to notice. Which helps make up for that chocolate bar you had last night. Ahem Ahem!
So for me it was about making small changes one thing at a time. And creating “new healthier habits” because most of what we are eating and doing is “out of habit not out of purposely meaning to overeat or eat the wrong things”.And that is something we can all change. And incorporating more eggs into my diet was the start of the new slimmer me. I got into the habit of having boiled 3 Eggs for breakfast once a week (yes with yummy butter, salt and pepper and brown toast).. I also eat an omelette once a week for dinner. Made with 4 eggs. With low carb vegs such as tomato and onions and a tin of tuna or salmon. This is a very high protein meal. We now are in the habit of having an “omellete dinner day” once weekly in our house, and now we have our own hens, It’s a very easy dinner, and easy to replicate which gives us one less dinner to have to think about! So now I am consuming approx 10 eggs a week each week consistently. And this extra amount of protein decreases my appetite significantly enough to notice and burns way more calories than before which really helps me keep off those extra pounds.
So that’s TIP 1 for A New Slimmer Polished You.
Tune in to my Next Blog on Weight Loss for More Tips on how I got and stayed at my goal weight for my wedding day…
Love Fee
