‘I feel sexy again; sexy is not about wanting to have sex, sexy is about being confident, proud and smiling and I feel all these things again’
I think when you struggle with your weight your whole life, you end up finding reasons to justify to other people why you are overweight or make jokes to try to make it seem as though you are comfortable with who and ‘how’ you are, but nobody ever really wants to be overweight and feel uncomfortable. I knew that one day I would have to focus on myself and my health, and as I got older I started to become more aware that with each kilo I was putting on, I was also taking days off my life and away from being with my family.
The final ‘push’ I needed to really get me to do something about my weight came in November 2008 when I could not dance at one of my dearest friends weddings, I felt like I was too fat and I finally realised that my weight was beginning to rob me of the joys and happy experiences that life has to offer. In the past, trying to lose weight just for my own self esteem never seemed to be enough, but I finally realised what being healthy would mean for the ones I love; I wanted to make sure that I was around to watch my daughter’s children grow old, I have promised my husband a long marriage and my mum should not have to worry about having to bury me because I am at risk of having a heart attack, these were my main reasons for starting The Real Body Plan .
After just 12 weeks I’m amazed beyond belief at my results. I wanted to get my weight under 100kg, I wanted to fit into beautiful clothes and I wanted to finally fit into the seats on the plane; last weekend I flew to Melbourne with my husband to go to the theatre and I felt on top of the world because I sat in my seat on the plane quite comfortably, I felt sexy getting dressed in a beautiful suit, and walking around the city in heels just seemed so easy! My life has truly changed.
The food side of the program has fitted easily and seamlessly into my life. The Real Body Recipes are great and have given me new ideas, as well as a much better understanding of what to eat and how big each serving size should be. My husband and daughter have also gained from these recipes by having healthy delicious meals.
Before starting The Real Body Plan , I was a very big comfort eater and would often reach for sweet and sugary foods. However over the past 12 weeks I have had to face several of life’s obstacles, the most difficult by far was watching my sister-in-law lose her battle with cancer and finding out my daughter needs surgery to remove pre-cancerous cells from her cervix. But I dealt with these situations without sugar, and I survived. I can confidently say that I am no longer a comfort eater; I think that somehow believing in yourself and knowing you are strong enough to control your own life, gives you the strength to deal with these situations very differently than if you feel you are being controlled by everything that is happening around you.
I really like me again, I feel proud of who I am and I feel like my husband can stand with a woman he can feel proud of. I no longer have to make jokes about how big I am to hope people will for forgive me for it. I am not scared to sit in a seat and wonder what I look like from behind. I can buy dresses from the normal sizes. I feel normal again. I feel like the very best me, not just a third-rate me. Carrying weight weighs down more than the scales, it weighs down our souls. But I now feel light and care-free, a wonderful and exciting feeling.
So although I have completed my initial 12 weeks, I have not completed the program, to me it is a life time friend. I still have goals to achieve; lose another 18kg, walk the Story Bridge for my 44th birthday and hike through Peru. I will never let my weight make me feel old ever again. I will continue on this journey and know that I will be successful as the Real Body team understands that losing weight can be hard mentally and emotionally, and that each of us need to be ready, need to set our own goals and sometimes need to take baby steps. If you don’t get to your desired weight in the 12 weeks, you have not failed, it is your journey and you need to create your own path. All roads lead to Rome, not all of them go in the same direction.
The final ‘push’ I needed to really get me to do something about my weight came in November 2008 when I could not dance at one of my dearest friends weddings, I felt like I was too fat and I finally realised that my weight was beginning to rob me of the joys and happy experiences that life has to offer. In the past, trying to lose weight just for my own self esteem never seemed to be enough, but I finally realised what being healthy would mean for the ones I love; I wanted to make sure that I was around to watch my daughter’s children grow old, I have promised my husband a long marriage and my mum should not have to worry about having to bury me because I am at risk of having a heart attack, these were my main reasons for starting The Real Body Plan .
After just 12 weeks I’m amazed beyond belief at my results. I wanted to get my weight under 100kg, I wanted to fit into beautiful clothes and I wanted to finally fit into the seats on the plane; last weekend I flew to Melbourne with my husband to go to the theatre and I felt on top of the world because I sat in my seat on the plane quite comfortably, I felt sexy getting dressed in a beautiful suit, and walking around the city in heels just seemed so easy! My life has truly changed.
The food side of the program has fitted easily and seamlessly into my life. The Real Body Recipes are great and have given me new ideas, as well as a much better understanding of what to eat and how big each serving size should be. My husband and daughter have also gained from these recipes by having healthy delicious meals.
Before starting The Real Body Plan , I was a very big comfort eater and would often reach for sweet and sugary foods. However over the past 12 weeks I have had to face several of life’s obstacles, the most difficult by far was watching my sister-in-law lose her battle with cancer and finding out my daughter needs surgery to remove pre-cancerous cells from her cervix. But I dealt with these situations without sugar, and I survived. I can confidently say that I am no longer a comfort eater; I think that somehow believing in yourself and knowing you are strong enough to control your own life, gives you the strength to deal with these situations very differently than if you feel you are being controlled by everything that is happening around you.
I really like me again, I feel proud of who I am and I feel like my husband can stand with a woman he can feel proud of. I no longer have to make jokes about how big I am to hope people will for forgive me for it. I am not scared to sit in a seat and wonder what I look like from behind. I can buy dresses from the normal sizes. I feel normal again. I feel like the very best me, not just a third-rate me. Carrying weight weighs down more than the scales, it weighs down our souls. But I now feel light and care-free, a wonderful and exciting feeling.
So although I have completed my initial 12 weeks, I have not completed the program, to me it is a life time friend. I still have goals to achieve; lose another 18kg, walk the Story Bridge for my 44th birthday and hike through Peru. I will never let my weight make me feel old ever again. I will continue on this journey and know that I will be successful as the Real Body team understands that losing weight can be hard mentally and emotionally, and that each of us need to be ready, need to set our own goals and sometimes need to take baby steps. If you don’t get to your desired weight in the 12 weeks, you have not failed, it is your journey and you need to create your own path. All roads lead to Rome, not all of them go in the same direction.
