This isn't my first attempt at trying to achieve a healthier lifestyle, I have tried umpteen times to eat better, lose weight and become stronger through exercise. Last year, I even achieved a stone weight loss before I allowed a stressful time in my life to get in the way and distract me from my goals. At that time, I gave up on myself and the goals which are so important to me, because life was getting out of control. I had just finished University and I was so terrified of the fact that I was without education for the first time in my life and I didn't know what was coming next that I gave up on everything, other than what was easy.
By the end of March this year, I had gained back the stone I had lost! But, I am in a much better place now and I have the motivation to reach my goals again, but this time I won't be giving up. There are a few things which have aided my new found determination, apps I have found and people I have talked to but I will talk all about those things in a separate post.
First, I want to show you my before photos from early April. Although I have already lost some weight since then, its important to me that I start at the beginning. I will provide progress pictures throughout the series and all will be dated until we catch up! (Please excuse my moody face on these pictures, I wasn't loving being this exposed and having my picture taken but I guess that's the whole point isn't it!)
I started out at 13 stone (182lbs), but here I had already lost around 7lb, unfortunately these are the first pictures I took of myself. I was just about to start working out 6 times a week here so I took these pictures in order to compare my progress, so I'm sure you'll see them again!
I hope to get down to 10 stone (140lbs) eventually. I do have target dates for getting to certain weights and the knowing that I have those targets, helps me stay more motivated towards achieving my goals. It is important that you are realistic when setting yourself time targets because if you don't give yourself enough time you are much more likely to get overwhelmed and give up all together.
- Have more energy.
- Be more positive.
- Explore new foods and try new recipes.
- Develop a better relationship with exercise.
- Feel stronger.
- Have more confidence in my appearance and with myself in general.
- Drink more water (I hear its great for the skin! Bye spots!)
- Lose 40lbs to get back down to my weight before college.
- Make new friends who share in my interest in becoming healthier.
I will explain my reasons for setting these specific goals within further posts, my aim with this blog post was just to provide you with an outline of my main aspirations for myself!
If any of you also share some of my goals, or maybe you've written your own, feel free to share them in the comments below!
little note: It took a lot of courage for me to post these pictures, I would really appreciate it if any comments could remain positive. Lets all encourage one another not bring each other down.