A year has passed since I made the decision to change my life...and this is what happened

[yoyo-nono]

I can't believe it. Tomorrow will be exactly a year since I opened up my HealthUnlocked account. Exactly a year since I made that decision to change...for real. I remember the first time I went for a run. I felt horrible! I could hardly run a km. Everything was hanging out. I have failed so many times int he past that I told myself that I had to stick to the running for 3 months at least before I would fork out on the gym. I had no faith in myself. Experience has taught me not to trust myself and my little resolutions. (I managed to prove myself wrong and go to the gym regularly now...thank goodness!) When I set out on this healthier way of life, my main goal was to break the evil, mad, horrible cycle I was in. I would binge and then go on some diet craze and then lose a few pounds and then do it all over again. Food made me so unhappy and it took up so much of my time. My outlook on these things have changed and I am free. Everything started when I completed the 12 week healthy eating plan. I lost 10 kg. I managed to keep it off since and I am miles fitter and stronger now. But for me it was more than just 12 weeks. It was the first day of my journey to change for good. When you are on a journey, you can't fail...you can only learn from your experiences and mistakes. That really kickstarted the good habits. But after that , I continued to implement all the principles that they talk about on the NHS website and I continued to exercise. I felt like it took much longer than 12 weeks for me to get over my issues with sugar. And in my experience I would say that sugar really is addictive. Even now, if I eat too much sugar its like something gets switched on in my brain and I just want more. But if I am sensible with what I eat and limit my treats I don't care too much about eating sugary stuff and I am able to manage my cravings.

To all of you who have started out on this journey, I wish you all the best. It worked for me...and it worked because I did not see it as just 12 weeks of healthy living but as the beginning of a new way of life. I think different things work for different people but as long as you keep on remembering that whatever you do to lose weight has to be a change that you can implement for the rest of your life, you will be successful.

This journey is not easy, its not always fun and you will make mistakes along the way...and that is okay...that's life. Don't give up. Old habits die hard. But the longer you do it, the easier you will become at it until one day you realise that your new nature has now become second nature. Good luck and never, ever give up.

[Windswept1]

Well done,a very sensible approach.

[eeek1110]

Thank you for sharing yoyo-nono. I hope to be like you some day.

[yoyo-nono in reply to eeek1110]

Hi eeek1110, good luck with the journey. I wish you all the best.

[Zest Healthy BMI]

Hi Yoyo-nono,

Congratulations on your inspirational progress - you've done really well, and I enjoyed reading your post. I agree with you that the NHS weight loss advice is definitely a lifestyle change, and one that is sustainable and healthy.

Wishing you a great week ahead.

Lowcal

[yoyo-nono in reply to Zest]

Hi Lowcal, I smiled when I read your post. I can remember more than one instance when the thought of your weekly weigh-in's prompted me to make better choices. The fact that you have always been there has helped me to reach my goal. Thanks for the online support. It was invaluable to me. Talk of inspirational...

[Hidden]

Great post which I am sure will inspire many people. Well done on your success and on your approach to healthy eating

[linggirl]

Thank you, thank you for your super post. I am so pleased for you. You have given me inspiration and determination to continue the weight loss programme. Well done

[yoyo-nono in reply to linggirl]

I am glad that my post gave you hope! That makes me so happy. I wish you great success in reaching all your goals.

[Jenever]

What a really inspirational post. As I'm currently on week 8 of the 12 week plan so it's interesting to read the experience of those who have already completed. I'm really pleased for you, it is clear from reading your post that you are feeling so comfortable with yourself and happy with what you have achieved, and rightly so. I can relate to what you say regarding changing your eating habits for good, a new healthy lifestyle is something I want to achieve, not a diet but a way of eating I can follow for the rest of my life. As much as I used to enjoy all the sugar while I was eating it, I always felt sluggish, bloated and uncomfortable afterwards. Thank you for sharing your experience, as I already said it was inspirational.

[yoyo-nono in reply to Jenever]

Thanks Jenever,

I must say that I was very sceptical when I started this plan, and I always thought to myself that the real success of it would not be how much weight I lost but rather if I managed to make a real change. Well, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. The 12 week plan is a great way to develop the habits you would need to be healthy afterwards. The hard part for me was coming off the plan. I did feel a bit lost, but that was when I really started to learn to listen to my body. Luckily, there were also articles on keeping the weight off which I found useful. I wish you all the best for the future.

[vickster5]

Well done ! I loved reading your post and found it very inspiring to help me keep going , think about week 19? I am hoping it will be a lifestyle change as i need it to be. Your approach is fab and one i hope to remember, especially about it being a journey!

So right about sugar... i started of obese and truly ashamed of myself, so decided there were no treats until i got to a certain loss ( as i tend to be an all or nothing person). After a while cravings did lessen and i have just kept going with cutting out the obvious sugar. Not sure how long this will last but hopefully have managed to stop my biscuit binges!

Lets all keep going with our changes!

[yoyo-nono in reply to vickster5]

Hi Vickster5,

I am glad that you enjoyed reading my post. I am also an all or nothing person. Sugar is a hard addiction to kick. If you keep cutting the obvious sugar for long enough, the need to get a sugar high will diminish. It took me the best part of 6 months to feel like I gained control over the addiction. I think the reason why it took me so long was because I always managed to get my little fix...so I would not binge but still manage to sneak in a chocolate bar here and there. That's okay, people might say...but it wasn't okay for me because I was thinking about it when I couldn't have it...and I didn't feel that I was free. A sneaky high sugar snack would then lead to me wanting more than I should. I would then eat loads but because I exercised, I managed to stay a healthy weight. Real change came for me when I accepted that to kick the habit, I needed to get rid of the foods that triggered this behaviour. I replaced them with foods that were still treats but not something that I liked too much. This worked for me. I don't really crave the sweet stuff any more! But last week one weird thing happened...I did not eat as much fruit and salad as I normally do and by the end of the week I had an intense craving for fruits, salads and water!!! Sometimes you don't realise how much you change until it sneaks up behind you and bites you on your bum. ;-).

[vickster5 in reply to yoyo-nono]

Makes sense, thanks!

[Hidden]

What an inspirational journey, you are so right about the sugar addiction I to do ok for a while but then make a high sugar choice and whoosh it's like having a high !!.I congratulate you on your success continue to live along happy and health life.

[yoyo-nono in reply to Hidden]

Thanks flossie358, I wish the same for you.

[Mello17]

Thank you and well done, very inspirational

[Redjenner]

Yoyonono,

Great post. Well done on keeping going, and for developing a mindset that helped you change habits its sooooooooooooooo hard and many of us have tried many diets, even succeeded then to fall off the wagon and put on more than before.

Changing habits, lifestyle, approach, mind set, choices is what I am pushing for.

Best of luck going off plan, keep on, keeping on!

Redjenner

[Hidden in reply to Redjenner]

well done can i ask have you been checked for diabetes the reason i'm asking i'm a diabetic and that how i use to feel please just for me see you doctor about diabetes to see if that is what wrong with your sugar levels. but keep doing what your doing i've lost seven stone with five more to go, i was nearly 28st i'm now 21st 6lb, hope all goes well let me know please how you get on my name is Alan look forward to your reply take care.

[ChoosingLife]

That's just what I need to hear as I have the same goal-long term changes! Initially just to set in a few good habits my simple goal is to record calories and be on here for 1 year. I know the changes will be for life and I'm possibly going to need to keep on counting -we will see -but I need to know there is a goal I can stick to for that long. Counting the calories whether they are low or high is something surely even I can do! 4 weeks=7lb loss and 48 more weeks to set the habits in and I'm loving it! Thanks for sharing your year's update. It's really helped me look forward.