In a new weekly feature, Her.ie newbie Liz is going to share her weight loss journey. She'll be filling you in on fighting temptation, her willpower struggles with the cocktail menu and taking painfully slow steps towards regular exercise. All in the name of a dress.
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Hanging on the wall at the end of my bed is the constant reminder I plan on shedding nearly two stone this year. I also plan on marking the trials and tribulations of ‘trying to be good’ – the favourite saying we all tout, and quickly replace when a cake is put in front of us.
Week nine: Variety is the spice of life
Nine weeks in and I’ve had the same diet ups, downs and roundabouts of every lady facing a battle with the scales. There have been great weeks where I’ve dropped some serious pounds, and the Easter gain that cut into my confidence as well as taking me a step backwards in my pursuit of zipping up that dress.
The roundabouts are the weeks I recognised I had made some great inroads, but I had a lot more to do to keep me on track for my mission. This week has been a roundabout, and I’m still deciding how to fill you in on the week that was... and how I actually feel about the progress made.
This week I hit my diet plateau.
Stepping onto the scales, I was feeling pretty confident. I was on fire this week.
I’d chopped the veggies, munched on the fruit and made the arrangement of dinners to bring to the office. If I had a theme tune this week, it was likely a power anthem to match my mindset. Well, since I’ve gone this far, I’m going to pick the tune.
I think I’m going to settle on Eye of the Tiger. Please leave your judgements at the door – I happen to be a big fan of cheesy music.
So feeling pumped, (yes, I might have listened to the tune on the way to my meeting), I was happy to shed the coat and board the weigh pad. The scales clearly weren’t happy to see me. The moment of truth flashed on the screen, and my cheeks burned with an angry frustration.
For the second time I was only down half a pound. Half a measly pound.
I was warned to expect this. A month or two of clean(ish) eating, stepping away from the chocolate and dipping into the pool has all led me to dropping a full dress size and being down nearly a full stone in weight. To write those words feels incredible.
But here’s the catch... and I know it’s going to sound greedy, but I want more. I want to be closer to goal and able to zip that dress up with a smile on my face. I want to feel confident that I’ve achieved my target and I’m no longer hiding my clothes in baggy tops or floaty dresses.
A friend warned me that there would come a time where the weight wouldn’t drop off as easily and I’d have to up the ante in every department. All those hours spent swimming lengths or working on my running efforts, I’d mentally pictured the fat melting from my face, arms, tummy, thighs... basically anywhere a bit of pudge had set up base camp.
I welcomed this weight-loss plateau with the same excitement you take in settling into the dentist’s chair. Except I couldn’t numb this pain with food, I had to face it straight on.
I want to point out that I hadn’t tried the dress back on since that first day in the changing room, so rather than wallowing in my minor loss, I went into my bedroom and pulled the dress from its hanger.
I took a deep breath, dragged out the spanx and slipped The Dress under my legs. Putting my arms through the sleeve I faced the mirror to see if my efforts had made an impact on the dreaded stretched zip. I pulled on the zipper, and with little wiggle room, I reached just under my bra strap.
I was elated. I may have even done the Chandler Victory Dance from Friends.
Nine weeks ago that zip wouldn’t wiggle. If I was going to wear that dress it was going to be á-la baby pin Liz Hurley style circa the early 90s. We all remember, and shudder, at that black dress.
Now I could see that things were picking up. There is a real chance I am going to make my deadline - I just need to keep the spirits up.
So here’s my second admission of the week. I’m a nerd. I’m a super-super nerd. I always did my homework, studied for the test and made colour-coded notes. I know, I know – who doesn’t want to be friends with that cool kid?
So I did what I do best. I went online and decided I was going to study my plan. I was going to know every element of the foods I was eating and no pro-points would pass my lips without me tracking them in my colour-coded days (yes, I have too much time on my hands).
I’ve downloaded some new recipes and I’ve bought in a full food shop. I’ve even treated myself to some fancy new food containers to store my creations in once prepared. Move over Nigella, there’s a new chef in town.
I may not be able to cook, and there’s a strong chance I’m going to be writing about food poisoning next week, but at least I’m trying.
And just to note, an apron is my current favourite item of clothing. One size fits all – and it’s not thanks to safety pins.
This week's stats go a little something like this -
Height: 5ft 8
Starting Weight: 174 lbs
Current Weight: 162.5 lbs
Weight Loss To Date: 11.5 lb (At least it wasn’t a gain)
Goal: 148 lbs
Feeling: Like I’m back in the swing of things.
The Dress in Question:
Photo via
Zara
