Why I stopped dieting!
Updated: Feb 22, 2020
If you look at me now, you may not be able to tell... but I’ve struggled with weight issues for a long time.
Right through high school and in my first years of uni, I was what you would call “chubby” and I absolutely hated it.
Losing weight was my priority.
Since I didn't like sports and told myself I wasn’t good at it, I thought dieting was my only option.
After all, with all of the revolutionary diets shown on TV, magazines etc…there had to be one that would get me that perfect figure right?
So in the school cafeteria, I was the girl stuck eating salad (with no carbs of course) while everyone else enjoyed sandwiches, paninis, fried noodles… basically anything that tasted better than raw veggies and some salad dressing!
When that failed, I tried high protein diets, strict diets, and soup diets to name a few… but got no results. No matter what I ate, my weight stayed the same.
In the end, I didn’t lose much weight but got really good at calorie counting - which turned out to be helpful in my current job :).
2012 vs. 2019
On the left, it's me back in my second year at uni in 2012. I was at the highest weight I had ever been.
I was already studying nutrition and as you can imagine, most girls in my course were thin and ate very small portions. I was desperate to be like them so I tried copying their habits.
I ate small portions for lunch. I obsessed about the amount of food I ate. I avoided the foods I liked… still no results.
I would succeed at this for maybe 2-3 days max. But I was hungry all the time. Seriously ALL the time until eventually, I would just give up and binge on one whole pack of biscuits or a whole packet of chocolate in not even 15 minutes. as I felt so frustrated that I wasn't getting results.
Change started the day I accepted where I was and that I would focus my efforts on my health and fitness.
So, at the end of 2012, I came back home on holidays and started going to the gym. I joined a group class on Monday mornings and the coach, Vincent, made me realise that exercise could be fun (and trust me, it is). I really started enjoying it and went regularly to the gym for the next 2 months. I also started applying my nutrition knowledge to real life, having portions that kept me feeling full.
Back in Melbourne, I registered for a gym membership and started going for group classes. I started cooking regularly, ate out a little less and focused on enjoying the food I was preparing. I shifted my focus to exercise and nourishment rather than dieting and that’s when the magic started to happen.
Losing weight slowly
I lost weight very gradually over the next 3 years. 10kg in the space of 3 years, might not sound like much but I could see a big difference in my relationship with food.
I was not avoiding foods I liked, I was not bingeing anymore and I had less cravings. Bonus point, my body was transforming naturally. I was getting more toned until I eventually had to drop down my clothes by almost 2 sizes.
Jump forward to 2019 (photo on the right above), I'm only 10kg lighter but I am a whole different person. Yes I do have cravings still, and sometimes I gain a few kg when on holidays. But that's ok because I know I can lose them if necessary and that I can find the right balance.
And above all, I don't define myself by my weight or my looks. I focus on how I feel.
I've learnt to accept that life is a journey and you can't control everything about this journey. But you can definitely enjoy it, with a little treat of your favourite foods here and there :)
Bodies come in different shapes and sizes. No one has the perfect body and nothing good comes out of hating your body.
You won't live fully if you keep running after the perfect body. Learn to put forward your strengths.
What I'd like to take away from this is that if you want real change, invest in your health. Choose to nourish your body and move your body around because you love it. Make sure to give yourself enough time to change and you will bloom.
Ready to change, check out my services to see how we can bring more health into your life. And come back regularly for more blog posts, including yummy recipes :)