11 Questions...

After reading this blog entry from Michelle at EatingJourney / Tony at TheAntiJared I thought this might be worth sharing our own answers. I think they're pretty relevant wherever you are in your weight loss journey, just to make you stop and reflect... What would your answers be?

11 Questions on weight/ weight loss...

1. What makes your blood boil?
When people assume they can't do it, before they've actually really given it all they've got.
Everyone has the capacity to do this, they just have to find their trigger, their motivation, and do it for themselves, not someone else / a dress / whatever...

2. What hasn’t changed about who you are?
Negative version:
I thought (perhaps naively) that losing the weight would make me a more confident person.
It hasn't.
I may be more confident in my body than I used to be, but I'm still just as shy and scared of new situations as I was before.
Positive version:
At least it hasn't made me vain and conceited!

3. How do you harness your authentic self? (I'm reading this as 'how do you keep it real?)
I try and remind myself daily that there's more to life than just food and exercise.
It was thinking life revolved around food that made me fat, so why would it be any healthier for my life to revolve around food now I'm not?
Madness.
But I take my food/exercise routine very seriously, and when I'm feeling like 'cheating' on it, I give myself a talking to to find out why.
If it's just laziness, I force myself to do it.
If there's actually something wrong, or something more important I should be doing, then I let that take priority.

4. How has weight loss negatively impacted you?—if it has at all
It's bankrupted me, getting clothes that fit, but thats the only negative it's had in my life.

5. Your best kept secrets?
I'm not sure I actually have any secrets from you lot, you know more about my weight etc. than anyone else!
Don't be afraid of experimenting with food, would I guess be my biggest secret...
When I cook things get rammed with strange veggies, and I'm never sure they're going to be edible especially when there's a new veg in there, but 99% of the time it turns out great.
You might think you hate it, but just try again, I detested all veg as a kid/teenager/early adult but now I'm vegetarian, that says alot to me!

6. Are you scared you’ll gain the weight back?
Terrified, to be honest!
Most days I look in the mirror and remember what I used to look like, and it fills me equally with pride at what I've achieved, and fear that I won't be able to maintain it.
Learning to trust myself, my diet, my body, to all work together, has probably been harder than losing the weight ever was.

7. What is one thing that you’ve been able to do that has surprised you since losing weight?
I'm just about capable of plodding my way through a half marathon at my current fitness level. I would have struggled with even a mile, 5 stone ago!

8. Do you have any fitness goals?
Yes, absolutely.
I want to complete Bristol Half Marathon in a respectable time (sub 2:30 would be nice, sub 2:15 would be ecstatic!)
I want to start practising yoga and be semi decent at it by next summer.
I want to get back into lifting weights after the half and one day be able to squat my body weight!

9. 4 1/2 pieces of advice for someone who ‘just can’t seem to get into the head space’ to start?
1. Take it one step at a time, one week concentrate on upping your water consumption, the next your fruit and veg, the next on reducing your portion sizes, etc etc etc... It's not a race, you don't have to master everything at once!
2. Try and include exercise whenever you can, even if it's playing with kids, a 10 minute walk, anything thats above and beyond your usual activity will help firm you up and you'll feel better about yourself.
3. Don't be scared of trying new foods and recipes, there's some amazing things out there waiting to be tried and they're not all deep-fried!
4. Think about what you're doing this for, who you're doing this for, and why you want to succeed... And remember those three things every time you're wavering.
1/2. You are more than capable of anything you set your mind to, so long as you believe in yourself.

10. Favourite cardio?
Running, without a doubt. Spinning was fun but only done it once, and swimming is enjoyable but I struggle to push myself hard enough with that.

11. Least favourite thing about weight loss?
That everyone has an opinion on what you should or shouldn't be eating, on which programme you should or shouldn't be following, on what weight you should or shouldn't be aiming for.
If everyone concentrated on their own health and wellbeing instead of criticising others for trying to make positive changes to their lives, then the world would be a much happier place!