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 15: A smile and a wave
So I’ve decided it’s pretty much a fact, that if I lived in a sweltering hot country, I would have the best beach body ever.
What makes me so sure? Well Ireland went through something of a heatwave this week, (and by that I mean actual sunshine rather than a spell without showers) and I found I had this diet thing down.
Long gone were the dreams of sausage sandwiches and cheese on toast. All I wanted was lighter snacks, healthy salads, ‘nothing heavy’. I was waiting for the endorsement deal from Weight Watchers at any minute. I was a poster girl for healthy eating.
I was pretty smug with it until I realised that there was only one slight problem with this theory (apart from the fact our summer will be short lived and could even have disappeared by the time you read this post). The other thing I happen to love about summer is a good beer garden.
You know the type I’m talking about right? Where all the gang are sitting around, nursing a pint and catching up on the week’s events.
So after an evening or two out in the sun and having some light refreshments (and by light I mean a diet mixer with that vodka), I realised that I’d need to counter the results of my new sun shimmering lifestyle.
You know the 100 days of happiness that seems to have infiltrated every Facebook news feed, and Twitter stream these past few months? Well I adopted my own (much lesser) 7 days of exercise.
And out of much respect to my family and friends, I didn’t post about it everyday, because my puffy red face and sweat soaked tshirts are something that should remain out of the public limelight.
In the words of a Craig David song, I went for a walk on Monday, did a lap of the park on Tuesday, took myself for a swim on Wednesday, and on Thursday and Friday and Saturday, I did some gentle jogging.
Not quite as smooth on the lyrics front, but you can actually sing along. (Yes, I tried it.)
My point? It was all about making the time to do some exercise. I was happy to find an hour to read my book in the sun, or meet friends for a tipple, but somehow I felt like I should reward myself when I managed to make it as far as exercising on a daily basis. I was almost more prepared to spend time thinking about the excuse than pulling on the runners and setting out on my daily jaunt.
I’ve also no qualms about saying it, I hate running. I find it pointless in some senses. Yes you get some exercise, burn some calories, but I always feel like I’m running towards nothing. There’s no ice-cream at the invisible finish line. Or say Gerard Butler.
I’d much rather go for a swim, even if that means paying some attention to the dreaded bikini line first. (I’ve shared my weight, this little nugget is nothing).
I have a tendency to smile and wave, or just say hello, when I walk into an office, or meet friends. An oversized eager schoolchild if you will. I do this just about everywhere – from work, to my local supermarket, and apparently, the gym too.
Here’s the thing though, the girl in the gym knew my name this week. Not after day five, or after I got locked into a cubicle and needed freeing (this may have happened too…) but she knew my name from being around the place. From being around a SPORTS place.
Basking in this new sense of pride, I took myself along to another place where everybody knows my name. No, not as a cameo on Cheers. I headed off to my weigh-in.
Placing my newly polished toe-nails on the scales, I took a deep breath and waited for fate to kick in.
I was down a pound. Not exactly ground breaking, but the scales are tipping in my favour.
And the best part? I got a wave and smile back from Mary when I turned up on time.
So what was my seventh day of exercise? Well, post our meeting, myself and Mary went for a coffee, and we took the long walk to the café.
This week’s stats go a little something like this -
Height: 5ft 8
Starting Weight: 174 lbs
Current Weight: 159 lbs
Weight Loss To Date: 16 lb
Goal: 148 lbs
Feeling: Happy in the sun
The Dress in Question:
