Okay, so I love food. Straight to the point. And there has definitely been times in my life where I've loved food a little too much. Luckily, I was young, and my body type meant that I was able to lose the weight without too much effort. However, my body shape also means that I'll never be one of these really skinny, size 6 people. Not without looking rather ill at least. I wouldn't say I was necessarily a 'chubby' kid by any means... I was just 'normal'. In between skinny and 'chubby' if you like.

I've managed to remain that way for most of my life, fluctuating between a size 8-10 (What I think my natural dress size is) and a size 12, at my biggest. I'm talking dress sizes here because I try not to focus too much on what the scales say for obvious reasons, in relation to the causes of weight fluctuation. I do weigh myself occasionally of course (but not when I'm on my period!!) so I can keep track. But mainly I go with how clothes fit me, as I feel that is a much better indication of weight loss/gain.

Now I know a size 12 doesn't sound bad, in fact it's probably quite an average, healthy size. But I'm 5 ft 3, which means that even a healthy weight of 10 st, can make me look like I'm carrying a fair amount of weight. Even now, at 9 st 6, I still look like I could do with eating a few salads. To other people I probably look fine, but then they haven't seen me in my underwear

I carry most of my weight in my thighs, bum, hips and stomach. And although I probably don't need to lose any weight as such, the really bad cellulite says I could definitely do with some toning!! Plus, I'm going away in less than 3 months, and there's no way I would feel comfortable in a bikini in my current state! So that's my motivation; to feel good in a bikini. And I have 11 weeks to do it :character00116::character00116:

I also really just want to improve my overall health and fitness, and to better my emotional health in the process. I also have a definite lack of confidence in myself, so feel this could help that too.

Now, I don't believe in diets. For me I feel like a diet is nothing more than a short term solution. It's not something I could realistically continue for the rest of my life. Which is what I'm aiming for. I want something that is a lifestyle change. Something that doesn't involve me having to count points or calories, or anything like that. Because I feel like that is what makes me feel like I'm being restricted. And that's how diets fail. At least for me anyway. I know some diets like Slimming World and Weight Watchers, allow you to have treats, but even they felt too restrictive and a lot of effort at times.

So I've pretty much made up my own diet. Which isn't a diet, because let's face it, I simply cannot stick to it. My approach is pretty much just healthy eating. Eating smaller portions (I use side plates instead of dinner plates, to trick my mind into thinking I'm eating more than I am) to train myself into only eating the amount of food I actually need. Also, only eating when I'm hungry and not because I feel like I SHOULD eat.

I also have quite a sweet tooth, so whenever I'm craving chocolate, I allow myself to have 2 squares of 75-85% dark chocolate. I actually love this 'trick', because not only does it satisfy my chocolate craving, but because dark chocolate is so rich, it's hard to eat more than 2 squares without forcing myself to eat them. Although I must admit, eating chocolate this dark, does take a little getting used to! If I'm just craving something sweet in general, day after dinner, I generally eat a few dates, as these have a VERY sweet, sticky and caramel-like flavour, that makes them delicious. Or Sometimes as a dessert, I'll slice a banana in half, top with cinnamon and honey, and then bake in the oven, and serve with some Greek yogurt. If I'm craving cake, then I'll make a healthy mug cake, with banana and almond flour, and maybe a couple of chocolate chips. Similarly If I'm craving cookies, banana, peanut butter and almond flour makes a good cookie pie. With chocolate chips in, obviously.

So I still allow myself to have everything that I love, just try to find healthier alternatives. Especially since there's no way I could never allow myself to have pizza! So generally, I eat a lot of healthy meals from scratch, making sure to get in a good amount of vegetables or greens (I love spinach and kale). I also try to limit the amount of pasta, bread and rice I eat, sticking to wholemeal/wholegrain varieties if I do. Instead, replacing these with vegetables and greens. For example, using courgette and aubergine slices instead of lasagne sheets.

On top of that, I also drink a lot of green tea to help boost my metabolism, as well as exercise. I can't currently afford a gym, otherwise I'd much prefer to do that. So instead, recently I've been doing a few short exercises, that only take 10-15 minutes of my day, and doing these most days of the week at least. I know that isn't a lot of exercise, but for a beginner, and making sure I have time to fit it into my day, and sticking to it, it's a good start.

So anyway, this diary is pretty much a way of me keeping track of my progress and what I doing. Also any recipes or cool food hacks I come across, being able to have them all in one place, without taking up memory on my phone Plus, I feel like having an online diary, which other can read, will help me to stay motivated.

If anyone does read this (and gets to the end) I salute you!
 
I've just finished reading your diary.
I like you carry my weight on my hips and thighs I hate it. I envy those people who have lovely slim legs. However I also had cellulite on my legs. Over the last 8 weeks I have used my exercise bike for 15 mins in the morning and 15mins in the evening. I have managed to shift a lot of the cellulite which I am so pleased with as I myself am on holiday in 3 weeks. I won't have a great bikini body but so what if people feel they have to stare at me it's their problem not mine.
I am a size 12.14 at the moment which isn't too bad and have lost a total of 16lb since i started my journey in Nov.
I am 5ft 4 in so there isn't a lot of difference in us. I hope u achieve what u want in the next 11 weeks and I wish u lick on your journey les x
 
I've just finished reading your diary.
I like you carry my weight on my hips and thighs I hate it. I envy those people who have lovely slim legs. However I also had cellulite on my legs. Over the last 8 weeks I have used my exercise bike for 15 mins in the morning and 15mins in the evening. I have managed to shift a lot of the cellulite which I am so pleased with as I myself am on holiday in 3 weeks. I won't have a great bikini body but so what if people feel they have to stare at me it's their problem not mine.
I am a size 12.14 at the moment which isn't too bad and have lost a total of 16lb since i started my journey in Nov.
I am 5ft 4 in so there isn't a lot of difference in us. I hope u achieve what u want in the next 11 weeks and I wish u lick on your journey les x


Hi Les,

Apologies for the month long delay on the reply! Hope you are well :)

It's just not fair is it? Not only were we not blessed with lovely slim legs, we also have to constantly battle the cellulite too! One thing that does comfort me about that though, is that even really skinny people can be affected by it. It's just one of those things *sigh*.

Well done on your transformation! And well done for managing to motivate yourself to exercise everyday :) How was your holiday?

I have been exercising most days and have found it to be making a difference to my cellulite too. Hopefully it'll be barely visible by the time I go on holiday. Fingers crossed! I also commend you on your confidence! Something of which I am very much lacking haha.

Thank you for your support. Hope your journey is going well too :)


Becky x
 
I know I haven't updated this in a whole month (my bad), I've been pretty busy with catching up on work and social events. However, also during that time, I've been figuring out the best routine for me in getting to where I want to be.

So it's now 6 weeks until I go away, and I can't say a huge amount has changed in the past 5 weeks (mostly due to a few breaks, oops). I think the most that may have happened is a couple of pounds in weight lost. In terms of my goal to get more toned, I can't say I've noticed much yet.

For my eating habits, I've been trying to make healthier choices where possible, with more protein and less carbs, since I probably don't eat enough protein and too much carbs! Although I always opt for wholemeal/wholegrain bread, rice and pasta, I do eat too much of it. So, either I'll eat less (a smaller plate, one slice of bread instead of two etc.) or I'll swap it for vegetables instead (courgetti instead of pasta etc.). As before, I'm not being overly strict with it since I still want to allow myself treats. Particularly as I haven't been eating much sweet things lately. For someone who is a lover of cake and cookies and chocolate, it is a shock. And it's not because I've been denying myself them, I'm just not craving them!

In terms of exercise, I've been aiming to work out 4 times a week, maybe more depending on my social engagements/eating the previous/next week, to make up for it. I've also been following Charlotte Crosby's 3 minute belly blitz DVD. If you haven't already tried it, you should! It's great. I haven't managed to get through all 12 rounds (of 3 minute routines) in one go yet, but I did manage to do 9 yesterday, plus the warm up and cool down exercises. If you haven't tried it, I recommend looking up the reviews on Amazon, some of them go into detail about what it's about. Also, there are a lot of good reviews! I can't say how well it's worked for me yet since I've only had it for just over a week, but I have noticed it's helping with my cellulite. Hopefully over the next 6 weeks, I'll notice more of a toning effect.

In addition, I'm starting to have a protein shake after my workouts since it's an easier way of obtaining protein than trying to eat the same amount from food. I made sure to find one that is low in sugar though! I'm also taking green tea supplements, as they really help to increase your energy, decrease appetite (so less cravings) and speed up your metabolism.

I'll try to keep you all more updated over the next 6 weeks :)
 
Sounds like your doing great. Well done on the exercise it does make you feel better.
Holiday was fine but no matter how hard you work out my legs never change if only I had the confidence to get up a d walk around in my costume. I don't even go swimming because I'm so conscious of them . I would just love my legs not to run together at the top.
Oh well that's enough moaning2 lovely to read your post.
Take care x les
 
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