talkhealth Blog

So I’ve often written about goal setting, and the importance of choosing a short-term, achievable aim, so you have something really concrete to work for and achieve in not too much time at all. What I’ve been doing, as well as setting week by week, month by month goals, is also have in my mind the big milestones, such as 6-months in.

And I’m now at the 6 month mark. And if my plan has gone to, erm, plan, I should be half way to goal weight, which would be three stone down. 19 kilos. 42lbs, if you prefer.

Which is a long way of saying that, as of this morning, I have hit my goal bang on fricking time. Which is amazing, considering I didn’t lose any weight in February at all, and some months lost on 5lbs or so. The June-long Parkman Paleo Challenge was a brilliant get-back-on-track project, giving us both some good structure around activity and food. I lost 10lbs over the month and 3% body fat. I’ll take measurements tomorrow so I’ll know what I’ve lost body inches wise. And because I find it hard to see the difference in myself sometimes, I thought it would be useful to put, side by side, a pic from January and one from this week.

I realise I look quite glum. I also realise that I still have a few ‘problem areas’, to work on. We are planning to extend the Paleo Challenge into July, with the exception of our weekend in Paris, when we plan to eat as much bakery as we can possibly shove in our faces.

So, in the tradition of the Oscars, I’m going to thank a few people….

1) my husband, Glutton Boy, who loves me whatever, but who introduced me to paleo and crossfit and encourages me all the time
2) CrossFit London. One day I’ll write a blog post all about how brilliant they are and how much they’ve done for me in so many ways.
3) Friends who check restaurant menus to see if  I can eat there, who ask me what I can eat and don’t mind that I’m picky, obsessed with crossfit and more difficult to plan a night out with
4) Colleagues who don’t mind that our group of desks is the only one that doesn’t have sharing bags on sweets constantly on the go, so I’m not tempted. And who listen to my crossfit tales with something approaching interest
5) My mum who has been considerate of my diet for the first time in  38 years, making a Jambalaya with the rice on the side so I can eat it

Also, here’s a short list of things that are brilliant about having lost 3 stone:

1) I am ‘normal fat’, not ‘freakish fat’
2) People are nicer to me, weirdly
3) I can choose what to wear by what I want to wear, not by what I can get in to
4) People I haven’t seen for a while do a double take, especially my company director who told me he didn’t recognise me for a while
5) I can run for a train without making strangers laugh and without needing oxygen
6) I feel so much better

So there we are. Halfway through in terms of time and task. And if this is how happy I am about it now, I’m going to be fucking ecstatic in December.

With love
NSGG xxxx

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Rachael Parkman

Rachael is a late 30s south Londoner, who’s always been bigger than she wants but thinks she’s found the solution. Lives with her husband and cat, and enjoys cooking, gin and tonic and wearing nice shoes.