Slow and steady wins the race
We all know the story of the hare and the tortoise like the back of our hands, right? The annoying fable that taught us all as children that "slow and steady wins the race". Adult life has taught me that this is in fact true.
A similar quote that I love is "A little progress each day adds up". Because it's true. Life so far has taught me that rather than rushing right into things, expecting brilliant results straight away, it is better to work hard on something for a long period of time to obtain even better results. Baby steps really do add up to something greater in the long run, and this was proven to me with my school work and exams, in running my business, and now in my weight loss too.
Although I'd like for there to be, I don't think there ever will be a time where I'm not in some kind of infuriating conflict about my body and how I look. I love myself, but at the same time I want to alter so many things. How is that even possible? It's such a massive contradiction and it winds me up so much. It also makes me feel like a huge hypocrite when I sit and preach about self love yet want to change so many things about myself. All too often I have to remind myself that the reason I want to change myself is because the 'ideal' body is pushed onto me- and everyone else- by the media all too often, and on a good day, it works; I embrace my curves, I appreciate my clear skin, my curly blonde hair, my blue-grey eyes. I see the likes rolling in on my Instagram selfies and I feel pretty damn fabulous.
On a bad day, it makes me feel worse. My social media feeds are flooded with the likes of Khloe Kardashian, Sarah Ashcroft and Tammy Hembrow and I can't help but suck my podgy belly in, wish my thighs were toned and tanned, that my bum was a little peachier- even if I know photoshop/surgery has played a role in so many of these 'perfect' celebrities' appearances. But hey, it happens right? All a part of living in the 21st century, woohoo.
My weight is obviously the main problem I have with myself, and any long term readers of my blog will know that. I harp on about it all of the time- because it bugs me nearly all of the time! I have crash dieted alot; I've tried diet pills, I've tried shakes, I've tried not eating at all, I've tried running, I've tried walking 10,000 steps a day, every single day, I've reduced portion sizes, cut out this food group or that food group. Nothing has ever helped me or worked.
At the start of 2016, I went through a break up. Initially, I lost a lot of weight through lack of appetite, but within a few months I was noticing a physical change in my body, as well as a change in my eating habits. Everyone knows that people get comfortable in relationships; you eat out more, order more take aways, and sometimes you get a little lax with your appearance because you know you're already with someone who loves you as you are. This definitely happened to me- towards the end of my relationship, me and my partner were having at least one Domino's take away a week, going through one of those giant blocks of cheese from Costco a week, countless bottles of fizzy drinks, packets of sweets, galaxy share bars and share bags of crisps with dips. I started that relationship as a size 6/8 and I left it a size 12/14- the biggest I have ever been, the heaviest I have ever been (one thing I won't share ever is my weight!) and the most unhappy I've ever been with my physical appearance. It was a real low point for me, and I genuinely felt like I had hit rock bottom.
So throughout 2016, it's safe to say my eating habits changed, as well as my attitude towards food and, ultimately, myself. I rarely get take aways now, usually only when having a games night with BJ, Alec and Ricarda. I only have fizzy drinks when I have dinner with my dad, twice a week, as opposed to having them every day. I rarely eat chocolate as I can't actually stomach it anymore; I much prefer sweets, and even then I don't have those much either. I still love crisps and dip but even that has been cut right back, and I usually have baked thins and low fat cream cheese as a healthier alternative!
I also tried being vegan for a short period of time, which helped me to adjust some of my eating habits, and while it didn't last, I really want to try being vegetarian this year before transitioning to a completely vegan diet next year. In addition to this, I started to buy my own healthy snacks and ingredients for lunch time wraps. I shared my weight loss/self love journey very openly on social media as a form of motivation for myself (I didn't want to fail in front of so many followers!) and I began to drink a lot more water. Now, as we enter 2017, I have even taken up Zumba!
To me, it doesn't sound like a lot to have done in the space of a year. When I write it, it doesn't look a lot either. And I didn't really feel it was a lot, until I came across a photo of myself the other day that shocked me.
The photo is from a night out where, at the time, I had felt I looked good. I had been out with Bobbie, who also told me how great I looked. We took a lot of photo's together, I loved my outfit and my make up and had a good night.
However, when I look back now, I'm not happy with what I see. And when I compare it to a selfie of me from last week, I can't believe the difference.
Are you ready? (I definitely wasn't!)
A similar quote that I love is "A little progress each day adds up". Because it's true. Life so far has taught me that rather than rushing right into things, expecting brilliant results straight away, it is better to work hard on something for a long period of time to obtain even better results. Baby steps really do add up to something greater in the long run, and this was proven to me with my school work and exams, in running my business, and now in my weight loss too.
Although I'd like for there to be, I don't think there ever will be a time where I'm not in some kind of infuriating conflict about my body and how I look. I love myself, but at the same time I want to alter so many things. How is that even possible? It's such a massive contradiction and it winds me up so much. It also makes me feel like a huge hypocrite when I sit and preach about self love yet want to change so many things about myself. All too often I have to remind myself that the reason I want to change myself is because the 'ideal' body is pushed onto me- and everyone else- by the media all too often, and on a good day, it works; I embrace my curves, I appreciate my clear skin, my curly blonde hair, my blue-grey eyes. I see the likes rolling in on my Instagram selfies and I feel pretty damn fabulous.
On a bad day, it makes me feel worse. My social media feeds are flooded with the likes of Khloe Kardashian, Sarah Ashcroft and Tammy Hembrow and I can't help but suck my podgy belly in, wish my thighs were toned and tanned, that my bum was a little peachier- even if I know photoshop/surgery has played a role in so many of these 'perfect' celebrities' appearances. But hey, it happens right? All a part of living in the 21st century, woohoo.
My weight is obviously the main problem I have with myself, and any long term readers of my blog will know that. I harp on about it all of the time- because it bugs me nearly all of the time! I have crash dieted alot; I've tried diet pills, I've tried shakes, I've tried not eating at all, I've tried running, I've tried walking 10,000 steps a day, every single day, I've reduced portion sizes, cut out this food group or that food group. Nothing has ever helped me or worked.
At the start of 2016, I went through a break up. Initially, I lost a lot of weight through lack of appetite, but within a few months I was noticing a physical change in my body, as well as a change in my eating habits. Everyone knows that people get comfortable in relationships; you eat out more, order more take aways, and sometimes you get a little lax with your appearance because you know you're already with someone who loves you as you are. This definitely happened to me- towards the end of my relationship, me and my partner were having at least one Domino's take away a week, going through one of those giant blocks of cheese from Costco a week, countless bottles of fizzy drinks, packets of sweets, galaxy share bars and share bags of crisps with dips. I started that relationship as a size 6/8 and I left it a size 12/14- the biggest I have ever been, the heaviest I have ever been (one thing I won't share ever is my weight!) and the most unhappy I've ever been with my physical appearance. It was a real low point for me, and I genuinely felt like I had hit rock bottom.
So throughout 2016, it's safe to say my eating habits changed, as well as my attitude towards food and, ultimately, myself. I rarely get take aways now, usually only when having a games night with BJ, Alec and Ricarda. I only have fizzy drinks when I have dinner with my dad, twice a week, as opposed to having them every day. I rarely eat chocolate as I can't actually stomach it anymore; I much prefer sweets, and even then I don't have those much either. I still love crisps and dip but even that has been cut right back, and I usually have baked thins and low fat cream cheese as a healthier alternative!
I also tried being vegan for a short period of time, which helped me to adjust some of my eating habits, and while it didn't last, I really want to try being vegetarian this year before transitioning to a completely vegan diet next year. In addition to this, I started to buy my own healthy snacks and ingredients for lunch time wraps. I shared my weight loss/self love journey very openly on social media as a form of motivation for myself (I didn't want to fail in front of so many followers!) and I began to drink a lot more water. Now, as we enter 2017, I have even taken up Zumba!
To me, it doesn't sound like a lot to have done in the space of a year. When I write it, it doesn't look a lot either. And I didn't really feel it was a lot, until I came across a photo of myself the other day that shocked me.
The photo is from a night out where, at the time, I had felt I looked good. I had been out with Bobbie, who also told me how great I looked. We took a lot of photo's together, I loved my outfit and my make up and had a good night.
However, when I look back now, I'm not happy with what I see. And when I compare it to a selfie of me from last week, I can't believe the difference.
Are you ready? (I definitely wasn't!)
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| Left: April 2016. Right: January 2017 |
I cannot believe the change in myself. I honestly hadn't noticed it happening to me- I know I've tweeted here and there about losing a couple of inches whenever it happens, but whenever I look in the mirror, to me I always look the same. I guess it's because I see myself in the mirror all of the time, every day, it's harder to notice a physical change.
I also bought some new work uniform on Friday and discovered I have gone down a size, to a size 10- at least, in Topshop anyway- we all know how unreliable clothes sizing can be!
It's safe to say that I'm honestly so happy that there's been a far bigger physical change to myself than I had noticed. Finally, I'm starting to look in the mirror and like what I see all of the time, not just some of the time. My body looks how I want it to look- not how anyone else wants it to look- and that makes me happy. I feel more confident in myself, I feel healthier within myself, and now I feel happier too. I eat better than ever before, I drink more water, I exercise more than ever before; all of these are positive adjustments, and they're not just beneficial for weight loss either. They're making me fitter and healthier as a person, my skin is clearer, I feel better within myself, more positive and happy. That's what counts, right?
At the end of the day, being healthy and being happy is what matters. It doesn't matter how big or how small you are, how short or how tall you are, whether you eat pizza every day or prefer to have a Instagram worthy avocado based meal, its how you feel about yourself that truly matters. A lot of people have said to me I've always looked great, or that they think I've always had a good figure, and I accept that as a compliment, it's nice to hear, and maybe to them it's the truth. But I've not always been happy with myself. I haven't always thought I looked great. I haven't always looked in the mirror and like what I was looking back at me. Now, I finally do.
Slow and steady really does win the race. Small, healthy lifestyle changes have all amounted to one huge, physical change for me, and I could not be happier.
Love from,
Florence Grace
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