Sunday, February 11, 2018

My Weight Loss Transformation So Far | A Visual Transformation ♥

I have been on a weight loss journey for what seems like the longest time. I have always had challenges with my weight ever since I hit my tweens and my weight has gone up and down like a yoyo over the years.

I wasn't fat when I was a teenager, but it wasn't until I hit seventeen and found a love of the gym and walking around the countryside daily with a friend, that I hit my lowest weight ever and got myself into a pair of super skinny size 10 jeans from Miss Selfridge - I'll never forget how fab I felt at that moment.

As the years went on the gym days disappeared and the takeaway days took over. I went through a period of two and half years of eating nothing but crap - thinking I could eat what my stick-thin boyfriend at the time could eat and not put on weight either, sadly though my metabolism had other ideas.

Even after that though I still wasn't obese, I was a size 14 and yes I probably could have done with losing a few pounds but I was happy so it didn't bother me.

It was only after I had my eldest son that my weight began to get out of control. Looking back though I didn't even realise I was as heavy as I was and even in that picture up there on the right I don't remember thinking I was as heavy as I was. But I was heavy, I was fat and sadly, being at that weight led to a whole host of medical problems for me and the eventual removal of my gallbladder.

Going up in dress sizes didn't even seem to hit me. I just put on size 20 leggings when I was pregnant with my second son and thought it was just a reality of being pregnant. However, long after I gave birth to my second boy, those size 20 leggings stayed a wardrobe staple for me and for a long time they were all that I wore with dresses and cardigans to keep me covered up.

I remember the hot summer days and me not wanting to take those leggings and cardigans off. I somehow felt as though they camouflaged my weight and people wouldn't really notice, but of course they did, yet it took me a lot longer to notice that my weight was a problem and I needed to change.

On August 30th 2016 I decided that something had to change. That I needed to lose weight to feel happier and more confident in myself and to improve my health.

I began walking on a daily basis, pushing Beau in his buggy up and down the hills of our town. I even began jogging, at first feeling self-conscious when a car passed us, but eventually realising it didn't really matter what people thought about me. I am trying to lose weight for me and me only and the opinions of others are of no concern of mine - although I of course appreciate positive comments from people about my weight loss.

I used to worry so much about what people thought about me and the prospect of being laughed at, but the effort I'm making to lose weight has made me realise that I should be proud that I'm trying to change and do something about my weight issues, instead of shying away and pretending they don't exist.

It wasn't until January 23rd when I joined the gym again and received a healthy eating plan off my Healthcoach that my weight loss and positive body image started to accelerate. I realised that there was no point in me pounding the roads daily if I was still eating lots of junk and processed foods. I now make all my meals from scratch, serve myself smaller portions in a bowl and try to stick to a 1500 calorie a day diet.

I also drink tons of water - we're talking pint glasses of water at a time and my daily exercise efforts have really ramped up too, with me doing two hours (give or take) of exercise a day.

I still go on my daily walks with Beau and actually find them a lot harder than the gym - the hills kill me! The gym is my place to get away from it all - I leave my phone in my locker up there and only focus on myself once I'm in there. The cardio part of my workout is a killer - I hate the cross trainer, treadmill and the bike but I do it anyway, doing between 8 and 10k each time I'm there.

The weight machines are what I really love. I now do 300 ab reps, 300 leg reps and 200 arm reps each time I'm in the gym. I realised straight away that I have absolutely no upper body strength - all my power is in my legs, so this is something I'm trying to work at and hopefully someday I'll be able to lift more than 40lbs on the arm weight machines.

I life 70-90lbs on the ab machine and after almost three weeks in the gym I feel as though 70lbs is too easy for me. I've gone up to 130lbs on the leg press but feel comfortable at 115lbs for the moment.

I've been amazed at how much my strength and cardio fitness have improved in just under three weeks and the changes to my body have amazed me too.

My stomach is so much flatter and if I could just get rid of my love handles I might even have a pre-baby stomach again! My arms are becoming more toned and my knees are starting to appear in my legs again. My double chin has gone and my face is no longer puffed up and full. My collarbone is showing itself again and I just feel a whole lot fitter.

I have so much more energy from eating healthy, non-processed foods and I no longer feel the need for weight loss supplements.

Yesterday I ventured into Penneys and saw two beautiful and bright Bardot style summer dresses and I really wanted them. I scoured the rack for a sixteen in both but there were none to be found so I picked up the fourteen's hoping to be in them by the summer. I decided to try them on just to see if I could get them on and was delighted to find that they already fit and aren't clung to my stomach area - a problem I've had with dresses before.

I took some pictures on my iPhone and was surprised to find myself not hating how I looked - I actually think I look okay! My legs are so much slimmer than they were and I don't have a massive tummy. I feel fit, healthy and although my weight loss transformation is still in progress and I have a long way to go, I already feel like I've come so far.

Since August 30th 2016 I've lost 33lbs/15kg/2.3 stone. If I could lose another two or three stone I would be delighted.

It's been a hard slog but it's been so worth it and I'm dreaming of a summer where I can wear my dresses without leggings (all of which I threw away) and cardigans to cover me up. I will get there.

You can read more about my weight loss journey here.
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3 comments

  1. Really well done, Fi! You are so focused and dedicated and you look and sound super! Roll on summer indeeed! :)

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  2. Well done Fi. That is a great achievement - keep it going!

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  3. Well done you are doing great and looking so well. I am on a mission to get healthy too and this is great inspiration for people like me just starting out x

    ReplyDelete

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