I guess that I should be trying to write about something poignant to welcome in the New Year.
But you all know that this time last year I struggled to walk due to my weight, that I hid myself away from everyone, and that I didn’t think I would crack this weight loss…and the fact that I now go to the gym and swimming seven times a week, have been hill walking in the Highlands, have been public speaking, and have connected with friends – old and new – recently…well, this is poignant enough for me! The changes in 2013 were amazing, and there is more to come in 2014.
Today I decided that I would do nothing. I wanted to stay in bed for a while, enjoy my PJs, watch the ballet, read my new Jeffrey Deaver book and generally just enjoy the peace and quiet here. So that is what I did.
All other ’1st of January’ days would see me starting my new diet and exercise regime and generally setting standards so high that by the 4th of January I would have packed it all in and would be eating a cheese board again, feeling like a waste of space. So this year I have decided just to take my time about it all…to give myself some time to think about what I really want to achieve.
This chance to start afresh that we are given every new year can put a huge amount of pressure on us. If we are overweight, people expect your resolution to be ‘lose weight’…if you are a smoker, then the resolution should be ‘give up smoking’. But what about the factors that drive us to do these things – both smoking and over-eating can be emotional responses to stresses and strains in our lives. So how about looking at those and trying to make a resolution to deal with the underlying causes?
Obviously, there are some issues that will always remain and will always be as they are. So try and work out ways to overcome, climb over, under or around these…there is always a way forward! If you find that you use the same reason for not moving forwards, then you need to look at this a little closer – work out if it is an excuse or a genuine reason…and if it’s the former then give yourself a kick up the arse…and if it’s the latter, then speak with a trusted friend about ways of moving past this, or dealing with it yet still making progress.
These excuses or reasons don’t have to link to weight loss either. I was forever blaming my job for the stress that made me eat, yet I felt that I could not do anything about this as I needed the income to pay my mortgage etc. Yet here I am, coping without that £45k salary and company car, and making progress. I am not saying that it’s easy, and Mr WLB and I have had to make a number of compromises along the way…but it was doable in the end.
As I haven’t made any resolutions yet, I found some whilst perusing the Internet this morning, and thought that I would share them with you…to see if any take your fancy.
1. If you hate your job, then find a way of quitting your job. The money is just not worth it if it is making you miserable. Have a closer look at your finances and work out a minimum budget and salary that you could live on…and get out there and see what other jobs are available. Before telling your boss to stick it where the sun doesn’t shine, just make sure that you have something else lined up! 
2. Be nice to yourself. Consider the advice you would give to a friend in a similar position…and follow that advice! Stop beating yourself up for doing things like skipping the gym when you genuinely don’t have the time. Stop beating yourself up for eating out and going ‘off plan’…if you do have the time to go to the gym, and you didn’t have to go ‘off plan’ maybe give yourself a kick up the arse again! Do the best that you can do in any given circumstance…and if that best doesn’t meet the high standards you have, just be kind to yourself and recognise that you did try!
3. Forgive and forget…apologise to those that you have wronged, and forgive those that have wronged you. This doesn’t mean that you need to be best buddies again, but just try not to dwell on what happened. This might mean that I have to remove the photo of my old boss from my dartboard…not sure if I am quite ready for this resolution!
4. Have a friend clear-out. Get rid of those toxic people and frenemies. If you don’t really like someone…then don’t have them in your life. Time is precious and you need to start putting your needs first! Maybe have a social media cull – get rid of all of those people on Facebook and Twitter that you don’t really like. Nobody has 312 genuine friends…I think that I could use fingers and toes to count mine…so quite why the number of ‘friends’ on Facebook is a determination of your status is beyond me. I regularly cull and it feels pretty bloody good!
5. Bucket list. Create one, and do the things that are on it. Do not wait until tomorrow…as tomorrow never bloody arrives. If you want to ride a horse along the beach, or do a sky dive or bungee jump, then bloody well do it! This is the year of the horse apparently and I am determined to be back in the saddle at some point during it!
6. Keep a diary or a journal…or write a blog. You don’t have to do it daily if you really don’t want to. But trust me, it helps with the emotions, it helps me track my food, my highs and my lows…and I love looking back at some of the things I have written. Your experiences shape you and it is so interesting to reflect at times…makes you appreciate how far you have come and what you have learnt.
7. Family – you can’t chose them as the saying goes. But blood is very much thicker than water and strengthening the bond with family members is important. My family are my friends…I trust them implicitly and know that they have my back. See what you can do to get relationships back on track. If there really is no fixing a situation, then move on!
8. Help someone. Help strangers….do good things ‘just because’. Don’t expect anything in return.
9. Conquer a fear. Spiders, flying…these are my biggies. At the beginning of the year mine were quite simple – going out in public…and I cracked that one this year. Not sure that I will be able to say the same for a spider at the end of this year though!
10. Turn off your phone and Internet connection at times…constantly checking Facebook and Twitter is not good for the soul.
11. Cry. When you’re happy and when you’re sad; embrace your emotions as they come.
12. This is probably my favourite one – stop being so shallow. Next time you find yourself judging someone based on their appearance, imagine the person standing in front of you saying, “I’m beautiful.” You’ll start to believe it.
So there we have it. A few suggestions that are not the usual suspects. I am still not sure of mine…I have a little a silly one which is to drink more water. I only drink water – no tea, coffee, squash or fizzy drinks – but I only drink about 2 litres and want to aim for 3 litres. Other than this, I just want to stay on the path that I am on – I want to make progress, I want to help others make progress, and I want to try and inspire just one person out there…to show them that it can be done!
Breakfast: Smoked salmon, scrambled eggs, wilted spinach and cherry tomatoes.
Lunch: Smoked beef, salad and tomato sandwiches with fruit (2 x HEB).
Dinner: Steak, chips, cheesy peppers and fried mushroom, tomato, onion and spinach (HEA and 3 syns for an extra slice of cheese!).
Snacks: Two packets of French Fries (8 syns) and a mini Green & Blacks bar (4 syns).
A gorgeous food day – starting the year as I mean to go on! Brekkie was lush – the smoked salmon I bought here is amazing, and tastes great with spinach, tomatoes and scrambled eggs. The smoked beef I bought here was also amazing and tasted lush in my sandwiches! Dinner was lovingly prepared by Mr WLB and tasted lovely – chips / roast potatoes on top of fried onion, tomatoes, spinach and mushrooms. The peppers were de-seeded and baked, and the steak was grilled…simple, tasty and filling. I say ‘lovingly prepared’…he set every fire alarm in the cottage off in the process and I worried that Highland Rescue would be turning up!
Exercise: Nothing…a delightful PJ day watching the ballet! 
Thank you for reading,
Weight Loss Bitch xxx
WeightLossBitch
On a health and fitness driven journey to lose over 32st / 448lbs / 203kgs – yes, it is a considerable amount – I am committed to losing my excess weight without the aid of weight loss surgery, diet pills, or quick fixes…as there aren’t any! Changing my eating habits and building up my fitness levels, along with addressing the ‘head issues’ will be crucial in order for me to achieve my goal. Living in England as a 31 year old super morbidly obese woman can be challenging to say the least. I have been shouted at in the street and verbally abused far too many times to mention; hence the name ‘Weight Loss Bitch’…the day I am just called a ‘bitch’ instead of a ‘fat bitch’ will be the day that I know I have cracked my weight loss! With many reasons to lose this weight I am documenting my journey for a number of reasons. Firstly, I would like to keep a record of the ups and downs, the highs and lows, and the challenges I face with such an enormous task to tackle. Secondly, I would also like to inspire and encourage other people who are in a similar situation and to show them that significant amounts of weight can be lost naturally…with a bit of motivation, hard work, dedication and will power. Thirdly, all of the blogging, Facebook-ing, Tweet-ing, Pinterest-ing and YouTube-ing keeps me occupied and keeps my fingers out of the fridge!
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