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My Journey

Posted by Corina Collins (founder) on 10th Jan 2016

My Journey

My Journey began almost 9 years ago, now this is a bit of a story so you will have to bare with me as I tell my story, when I look back it seems like almost a lifetime ago. "Warning this story will take you 5 min to read because it is a true story".

I woke up this day thinking to myself nothing seems to be changing, I felt bigger than maybe I looked in my mind and very uncomfortable,just could not be bothered really but put myself through the same routine every day. Get up for work put my makeup on and dressed the best I could for my size and off I would go smiling at everyone along the way looking full of confidence but not really it was all smoke screens suffering inside. People would say do something about it easier said than done at times depending on your lifestyle.

I remember this day really well I have never really been one to stick to any plan, always on this exercise program and diet I had tried many diets in my lifetime Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers which worked at the time but I always gave up after a few months and then ended up bigger than before I started. I know you are saying I have heard this all before but it's true yoyo diets will put more weight on in the long run.

This one day I don't know what it was but I had decided to change everything this was going to be the day, I had a beautiful girlfriend who I met through work, she was facing her own challenges in life at the time and together I guess we helped each other. We decided to join the gym and local swimming pool and as we both started work later in the day we had plenty of time before work, so off we went cutting laps of the swimming pool followed by some gym classes. We continued this almost every morning and before I knew it I was losing weight and had gone from around 90kg down to 61kg giving me so much confidence. With this confidence I decided to even take up golf lessons, my life had now changed from doing nothing for me to do everything for me I felt like I was on top of the world with a whole new me and was just loving it.

Not long after I lost all my weight and was down to 61kg and trying to reach my goal of 58kg I went on a holiday and had a great time but after a month of being home from my holiday I noticed that something just did not seem right all of a sudden I felt extremely tired, sore all over my body with no energy I thought what is wrong with me everything just seemed like an effort so off I went to the doctors to see what was wrong, was I lacking in something in my diet?

After several tests it was confirmed that I had contracted the Ross River Virus which was making me feel tired with no energy, this went on for months and ran into a few years in no time at all I had put back on all the weight that I had worked so hard to lose, it happened in a blink of an eye it's just amazing how quickly you can put that weight back on and I was back to being over 90kg again.

Many years had passed now still feeling tired, unwell and down about my weight every time I looked in the mirror I just hated it not wanting to smile anymore. I went back to the doctor who advised me at the time that having Ross River was a tricky virus because you can't over do it and run yourself down but on the other hand you need to exercise to lift your mental health, so I thought long and hard about this and decided I needed to make another change and fight this virus with positive thinking, exercise and a healthy diet. So off I went and found a local gym that I loved with heaps of other men and women just like myself striving to change their lives.

I remember my partner telling me that he thought I would never last more than 6 weeks of getting up at 4.30am to head off to the gym but here I am 3 years later and still loving it. Through the gym I have meet some great people who are always encouraging me to keep up my dream of getting back on track. I am helping others to feel positive with the yes we can attitude I am now down to under 68kg and have managed to keep it off for a solid 3 years.

I have never felt so healthy and happier with myself I know I still have a long way to go to get to where I really want to be, but if it takes me another 12 months I know I will get there. I have learnt that the longer it takes to lose the weight the longer its stays off. Don't rush it the quicker you lose the quicker you will put it back on from my own personal experience.

A few tips that I have personally learnt which has helped to change myself that I would like to share this is just what has worked for me, I am not a doctor, dietitian, nutritionist or personal trainer:

  • there is no such word as diet for me, as soon as I think about going on a diet straight away put weight on
  • don't be so hard on yourself I try to do the 80/20 rule, be good with what I eat during the week and let my hair down a little on the weekends. It's just too hard on yourself you will just want it anyway it's okay to have a slice of pizza and so much better and fun when you make it yourself
  • whatever you eat try to work it off by going to the gym, run or riding a bike etc
  • find an exercise that you like to do not what everyone tells you to do
  • walking the dog will not lose you weight, yes it's great to go for a walk but it's stop start with a dog as they like to sniff every post
  • exercise at least twice a week with a friend it's so much more fun
  • prepare your meals the day before because buying lunch is usually not that healthy for you and it's more expensive and you have more control
  • don't make excuses like I don't have time there are 24 hours in a day you only need 1 hour to make a change
  • it takes 3 months to get you to change but when you do you will love it
  • don’t be to hard on yourself it will make it harder to reach your goals pressure plays with your mind
  • don't try and say you are a size 12 when you are a 14, you are what you are you will get there without lying, determination and a little work goes a long way
  • go back to the basics with food and think fresh it might sound boring but it's not with all the recipes on today social media it's not hard
  • I have also learnt that you can not skip meals or replace good food with a shake you will always be hungry
  • don't skip breakfast it's the most important rule, I always thought if I don't eat I will lose weight, breakfast has helped me to kick start my metabolism which I have not felt in years

These are the rules that have helped me go from over 90kg and back down to less than 70kg that may not seem much but to me it is everything I have never felt better. Good food and little exercise is all it takes I hope this may inspire and change other lives like it has for me. Today I have thrown away all my size 20 clothes yipeee and I will Never Look Back :)