Diet, Willpower and Achievement

This weekend my weight dipped down to 11 stone 13 lbs. Admittedly I weighed myself in the morning, after exercising and before breakfast. I almost definitely weighed more by the end of the morning. However, I have always weighed myself at this sort of point in the week/day, so I do aim for consistency.

Having started out close to 16 stone, hitting this point feels like a real achievement. I have lost roughly 25% of my weight over the last seven months. That’s quite a big deal, I think. I add to this sense of achievement in reminding myself I got here without spending money on some expensive nutritional supplement or stressing over some obscure dietary balance. I chose to eat less, eat healthier, and exercise once a day, every day. Simple. I didn’t fret over the details, just consumed with a dose of commonsense. I didn’t stop eating dessert or sweets, I just realised that eating them more than occasionally simply didn’t make sense.

Now, I plan to revert to something closer to normality. I have eaten as much as 1000 calories less than the recommended intake per day since the start of this diet, and now I need to ease that back a little. I will continue to exercise, but I will accept that I need to rest occasionally. If I only managed a short walk or something, that will suffice. I know that tomorrow I’ll cycle for half an hour or burn off 200 calories doing an aerobic workout, so no hassle. I need to get into the moderation mindset. I no longer eat portions like I used to anyway, so keeping to the eating shouldn’t be a problem. I have grown indifferent to the site of cakes at work or biscuits in the kitchen – but the occasional slip should do no harm.

I aimed for 12 stone 3 lbs – effectively a 3 1/2 stone loss. I have slipped down further than this for the moment, but I know that I can bob around in that general area and bring it on back should I really slip. I feel a great sense of accommplishment and I’m happy to admit it. I’m also keen to support anyone else who tries it for themself, as finding the willpower can be really difficult. At the beginning, you feel every temptation picking at your resolve like an itchy scab. I’m up for supporting the cause and helping people through the rough patches. You can do it, because I did.