How I went from fat to fit…

Have you ever had a long term idea about yourself that one day you realised was false?

I did. I thought I was a fat kid.

I’ve since realised that it turned out that I was just tall. I stopped growing at 11 and ended up around 5ft 10. That’s way taller than some adults. And I towered over most people I knew.

But tall meant big in my eyes and after being told at 12 to lose weight by my swimming coach it sealed my self image.

Then once again when I was 17 a consultant told me to lose weight to improve my health. Unwittingly, his comments sent me off on a weight loss spiral to unhealthy lows where I looked stick thin and gaunt and not at all the picture of teenage health.

It wasn’t until I got into the fitness industry and I started to follow my interest in exercise and  food and nutrition for health that I started to get a better image about who I was and how I could look after myself.

I’ve discovered that there isn’t one rule for all when it comes to food, exercise and feeling good on what we eat and do.

There are some fundamentals that apply to all of us — I went over those last week. But I thought I’d share with you the 3 big changes I made to my diet that meant I didn’t think I was fat, looked fat or got fat any more.

It has been life changing.

1. I cut wheat and gluten out of my diet. I first learned of this back in 1998 from a book called ‘The Blood Type Diet’ by Dr Peter D’Adamo. It spoke of how some people with certain blood groups would be better off without wheat and gluten. We cut it out of our diets and Dale and I lost 7lbs in 7 days each.

2. I stopped being a foodie.

I used to proudly tell everyone that I’d eat anything and everything and that I was very easy to cater for. In reality it was this that was keeping me fat! Once I realised that gluten didn’t suit me I started to notice other foods that weren’t too friendly to me either.

For example, yoghurt sends me to sleep, pulses and especially chickpeas bloat me to a whole size bigger and milk makes my breathing hard.

3. I eat when I am hungry. I used to be dictated by meal times. Always thinking about food or eating food. And I always ate if a meal was due. Well I don’t do that now. If I’m hungry I eat. If I am not, I won’t. It’s really quite simple!

This one thing can make or break a weight loss diet.

You won’t slow your metabolism or lose muscle or any of the other myths we hear about yo-yo dieting. If you eat when you are hungry and don’t when you’re not then your body will tell you when to eat.

It’s a basic function 🙂

As an aside…

I’m now 3 stone heavier than I was when my swimming coach told me to lose weight.

I am the same weight as when the consultant told me to shift some poundage when I was 17.

Funny old world isn’t it?!

To your continued health.