Many times in my life I have felt this way and like most people I think about my weight and figure quite a lot, we are all our own worst critics. Somehow though, the craving for chocolate and biscuits and crisps and crisps and crisps just come in to my mind and say "you're fine, it's fine, eat me" and I do, I eat the biscuits and the chocolate and aaaaallll of the crisps, and I love it and life goes on and then a while later I'll be looking at myself in the mirror thinking, "I would feel so much better if I didn't have that there, or this here" etc. It's a constant battle. (Sorry if I sound like a greedy westerner, I'm being a little sarcastic)
This time though, oh this time things are different. Somehow I have managed to control the cravings, I have been focused on eating healthily and managing my portion sizes and I've cut out naughty snacks (admittedly with a few lapses). I quite liked something I heard recently, it was something like; to maintain a healthy diet you shouldn't be looking at certain foods and thinking "I really want that but I can't have it because it's unhealthy" this is not a sustainable way to carry on, you should allow yourself to eat whatever you want to otherwise you'll end up feeling deprived by your own diet ideals, instead you should learn about the pros and cons in foods and with that understanding, you should be able to think "I can have that if I want it, however I don't want it".
It's not that I have had to try really hard to manage these changes, t's been quite easy and fulfilling this time around. I have weighed myself each morning which has been encouraging as I have been heading towards my ideal weight. I thought about what is different this time, what has inspired me to really stick to it, I came up with the following;
1. There have been a few extra snippets of motivation and support in my life in the form of the foodies and fitness bloggers that I follow on Instagram. There are so many, they post all sorts of diet and food tips, a lot of home exercise tips too.
2. Ordering my food shopping online and having it delivered - saves a lot of time and stops my from buying crap (as previously mentioned I do try to avoid actually going into the store as I end up buying like 5 bags of crisps and 2 packs of cakes) it's a lot easier to say 'No' to an image of Hobnobs on a website as opposed to having to put them back on the shelf in a supermarket - it ain't gonna happen. I've ordered a HelloFresh box to arrive next week, it will be the first time I've tried it - The box will contain recipes and ingredients for 5 random evening meals - I'm really looking forward to trying it.
3. Over the last year I have really started to enjoy cooking, finally getting alright at it, so that helps - getting enjoyment out of preparing healthy, tasty meals. The foodies I follow on Instagram have really helped boost this aspect!
4. My job also helps, I am a PA and I work from my boss' home so I have access to a full kitchen to prepare what I need to and store things in the fridge. I usually work alone so I can break whenever.
5. My current lifestyle - admittedly it is quite quiet and systematic in ways, but I like it - I don't leave for work till 9 so I have a couple of hours in the morning to do what I need to, I go to work, come home, make tea, prepare lunch for the next day, chill and go to bed. I fill most weekends with dog walking, cleaning, seeing friends/family, catching up with my other half, watching movies - I allow myself the weekend to eat the naughty stuff; I'll buy some crisps, a custard slice, some milkshake, chocolate... I will soon start to bake my own cakes for the weekend and make my own tasty drinks in order to cut out the manmade crap, save money and improve my baking skills, but even still - 5 days out of 7 is not bad for avoiding crap, compared to my old all consuming ways!
I'm not saying I'm the cleanest eater, and who knows I may have given up by next week... I am not one for going out for a meal and ordering a plate of lettuce but the way I see it now is if I can be healthy and eat clean when it's easy to be, then at the times when I want a juicy steak with an unhealthy dose of cheesy garlic potatoes or when I reeally fancy a KFC for dinner *cough* last night... I won't feel like I'm punishing my insides too much.
That's all from me this time around... Thanks for reading.
Eat well, have fun, keep smiling!
XXX
