Search icon

Health

21st Sep 2014

It Started With A Dress: Knowing What The Future Holds…

Forget about the scales. It's all about the dress.

Her

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. 

_____________________________________

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 26: Looking into the future 

I’ve been looking for some divine intervention. I’m not saying I’m religious, but I’m a big believer in signs.

On a day last week, when I missed my grandmother, I was given a gift of lavender. I knew it was her way of letting me know she was close by.

But in a time of change and new beginnings, sometimes you need to know you’re on the right path.

So this week I took myself off to Mullingar and had my fortune told.

I was placing a lot of hope at this woman’s door, travelling at 7am to make it on time, giving up my Saturday morning lie-in. I made a silent promise to myself to treat my body and my tummy to a decent breakfast when I got out.

Going into the encounter, this lady knew my name. Leaving I felt she knew my life story and was writing the new pages of a fresh chapter before my eyes.

So here’s the thing (and don’t worry, I’m not about to bore you with the finer details of my life-to-be). She did pick up on something kind of strange.

We were just finished reading my tea leaves and pulling cards when she stopped everything and told me to take a deep breath.

I hadn’t even realised I’d been holding it in. She stopped the entire session and told me to work on a breathing pattern with her. Then she told me something that I had never considered:

“You carry your heart in your tummy. All of your emotions, everything is tucked into a well in your tummy. It’s ok to let it go.”

That’s when she told me she knew I must struggle with my weight and started addressing self-acceptance. (As well as a herbal remedy for tiredness. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that was less intuition and a lot more likely the result of breaking my weekend sleeping ritual.)

“You will learn to accept your body and feel an acceptance for it over the next 6 months.”

There was no talk of weight watchers, food portions or going to the gym.

What she did suggest was that I try yoga and head back into swimming to relax my mind.

So this week I’m going to work on reconnecting with my spiritual side. I used to sing in a choir during my skinnier years and I remember a banner in the church that said to sing is to pray twice.

I’m not looking for a miracle, I want to be the miracle.

Like a super svelte skinny version of myself. But one that apparently needs to book herself in for a bikini wax.

So if anyone sees a sign for a Skinny Goddess remedy, or unravels the secret steps to  a shrinking waist please send it my way.

I’ll be busy sweating buckets in Bikram yoga.

This happened to be the same week Iput on a pound. I’m going to need all the help I can get.

This week’s stats go a little something like this –

Height: 5ft 8

Starting Weight: 174 lbs

Current Weight: 155 lbs

Weight Loss To Date: 19 lb

Goal: 148 lbs

Feeling: Every muscle in my body

The Dress in Question… NOW FITS!!