Over the last few months I've written various posts about losing weight and my battle to get the kilos off. Its something that I still don't like talking about, or even writing about, because of the taboos surrounding this topic. Yet, this is a topic that can have dire consequences if we aren't careful. So often we have our heads in the clouds, thinking that we're alright... we continue to eat whatever we want and we don't exercise enough. Weight has a very bad habit of creeping on quite quickly, and subtly. We don't really notice, until our jeans get tight, but we just buy the next size up. Then suddenly we're too heavy, our Body Mass Index (BMI) is reading as obese and the medical world is warning of Diabetes type II and other weight related health problems. Then we realize that how stubborn fat can be... our bodies lay it down so easily but burning it can be an absolute nightmare. Well, this was me. Six months ago, I started having problems with my feet when I'd go running, I felt uncomfortable in my skin and weighed myself, my BMI was in the Obese Class I category. My mum had been praying for me during this time. Up until that point, I'd been stubbornly thinking I was fine and that everything was going splendidly. My mum was able to advise me and help me start the long journey back to a healthy weight and a healthy lifestyle. In the beginning I was really pesamistic about it because I thought I wouldn't possibly be able to loose almost 30 kilos (27 kg to be exact). I started making some drastic changes to my diet back at the end of May... though I really struggled because I wasn't always bothered to go running through the forest near where I lived and I didn't always have the energy to prepare food that was healthy, even after my time in South Africa.
During the weeks leading up to my move to The Hague, I knew that if I really wanted to loose this weight, I needed to join a gym. I'm one of those people who'll actually use a gym if I'm paying for it. I found a gym near where the Redeemer church office and I try to go at least five or six times a week, as well as eating healthily (I've almost completely stopped eating carbs; though occasionally I'll eat carbs if I'm eating with a larger group of people and someone else has prepared). Since moving to The Hague and since joining the gym, my weight loss has started coming off slightly faster than I'd dared hope, which is why I'm thrilled to say that when I weighed myself this morning, my BMI is no longer in the Obese Class I category! I'm now in the Overweight category! I've still got a long way to go. I'm not going to quit until my BMI is in a normal, healthy range. I won't let myself put this weight back on again! For those of you who have known me for years know that I've said this before, and each time I've meant it. However, this time I've realized just how dangerous it was for me to be the weight I was. I was scared that something would happen, like being diagnosed with diabetes type II or that the pins and needles in my feet would continue. I'm determined to keep loosing weight and to be a healthy weight.
Now, I know that there are some of you who think that I look fine the size I am now, and that I don't need to keep loosing weight. I'll be honest, I'm loosing weight for myself. I don't feel totally comfortable in my skin anymore and that's one of the things that I really am looking forwards to.
It's time for lunch so gonna sign off now.