In a new weekly feature, Her.ie newbie Liz is going to share her weight loss journey. She’ll be filling you in on fighting temptation, her willpower struggles with the cocktail menu and taking painfully slow steps towards regular exercise. All in the name of a dress.
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Hanging on the wall at the end of my bed is the constant reminder I plan on shedding nearly two stone this year. I also plan on marking the trials and tribulations of ‘trying to be good’ – the favourite saying we all tout, and quickly replace when a cake is put in front of us.
Week four: Accepting my body is doing its best. Well at least for now.
I was on a high last week. It’ll probably go down in history as THE BEST DIETING WEEK OF MY LIFE. So you can imagine the kind of excitement I felt stepping forward for this week’s weigh-in.
Slipping off my cardigan (every little bit helps), I gingerly stepped on the scales. Well reality brought a crashing blow. There was a loss. Of half a pound. I wanted to cry in frustration.
How was this possible?! I rejected a Lindt chocolate bunny and this was my thanks!?
I sat down, shoving my weight card in my folder and made a mental check to stop off and buy myself as much chocolate as I could smuggle into my handbag on the way home. I was raging, craving sugar and trying to be positive.
That’s when Mary* sat down next to me, and gave me a gentle pat on the knee. I should point out from the offset that I have a weird affection for the elderly. Man, woman – once they’re sporting some wrinkles, they’re my new best friend. This has led me to doing a recycling round for the old woman in the flat above, and having cups of tea with the crazy cat lady who was dying for a chat over a custard cream.
So Mary could see I was glum. She had the kind of gentle voice you hear reading to children in films. I wanted to hand her my gossip magazine and have her start reciting the pages. Instead she settled into the comforting role:
“Well you’re not a happy camper this morning love, you ok?”
I couldn’t help it. I unleashed all my hurt, my despair, and that I was on a very public mission to lose weight and was frightened that I wouldn’t make my target. She took my hand in hers (did I mention how much I love old women?) and with the other produced a handful of hard-boiled glucose sweets. She offered and I happily accepted.
That’s when she gave me the best advice I’ve gotten on this mission to date.
“This is just the beginning. You’re young, you’ve loads of time and you’re already admitting you need a bit of help. Sure, wasn’t that the hardest part. You’ll be grand love, give yourself a day off and start back in tomorrow”.
It’s official. Mary is my new favourite person. Everyone needs a Mary in their weight loss journey.
So I popped back on the cardigan (breathing a sigh of relief that I’d had the foresight to take it off) and settled in beside Mary for my week’s inspiration. It was all about the importance of eating a breakfast, and when the clocked chimed in to the hour, I stood up with a new lease of life. Mary had this down. Sure, wasn’t I on the right track. Just a slow, long one.
So I’ve been looking at the maths, and I’m officially a quarter way through my timeline goal for weight loss. I’ve also got 12 weeks to go, with an average of 1-2lbs loss a week needed to hit my target. It’s totally doable. If I up the game.
So, here’s the newest task at hand, and it’s eight weeks away. I’m going to run the Women’s Mini Marathon. I’m going to be as graceful and sprightly as a herd of tortoises crawling through peanut butter, but it’s going to happen. This is also guaranteed to up the ante on that scales.
I will embody Liam Neeson. God help that weigh pad. I’m taking no prisoners.
If you need me, I’ll be waiting by the phone. I’m expecting my call for Taken 3 any minute now.
*Mary is in fact a fake name. Just because I choose to be public with my weight loss, doesn’t mean she wants her life in my scales spotlight.
This week’s stats go a little something like this –
Height: 5ft 8
Starting Weight: 174 lbs
Current Weight: 168 lbs (Officially out of the 70s bracket)
Weight Loss To Date: 6.5lb (3.5 more lbs to a dress size down!)
Goal: 148 lbs
Feeling: Frustrated but determined
The Dress in Question:
Photo via Zara
