Losing weight is not easy. Especially not for someone, like me, who lives to eat. Having struggled with my weight all my life and having been bullied for it, I've tried different kinds of dieting, and thank goodness I didn't do anything that have caused any irreversible damage. It took me a long time to realise that losing weight is a lifestyle change. It's not even just about losing weight. It is about being healthy and feeling good about yourself. Because when you feel good, whatever your weight is, you glow. Weight is a just a number and it is an insufficient indication of health. I want to be healthy. And I have started my journey towards becoming healthier through being more in touch with my body.
I do feel I have come a long way. I weighed 52kg when I was in Year 4, 4'11'' (or 150cm) and haven't really grown since (height-wise). In junior high I discovered the fatty goodness that was fries and had those almost every second day. My weight sky rocketed to above 70kg. I felt sluggish, unhappy, and I was sick all the time. I could actually feel the pressure I was putting on my heart and I would get random nausea. Lucky that I changed schools in Year 9 and rediscovered my love for tennis. Training regularly and staying active had helped me lose some weight.
Then came braces in Year 10. I couldn't eat. I loved gummy bears (I still do. Yikes.) and I couldn't eat them. Eating fries hurt my teeth. I liked this boy and I thought he would like skinny girls. Girls were starting to wear make-up and wore skimpy dresses and I felt like a blob. I started eating less. I started hiphop dancing and realised how unfit I was. We were doing warm-ups and I couldn't even do 15 crunches without feeling like dead. I felt ashamed. I started doing crunches at home and even started getting a faint outline of six-pack. I caught up with the dance routines and I was happy. I joined Duke od Edinburgh and went on expeditions for hikes, kayaking, bike riding and horse-riding. I challeneged myself to things I previously thought I couldn't do. I felt good. I felt active. I was 57kg.
Then came Year 12. All the exam stress. I stopped exercising. I ended up getting into the course and my uni I wanted, but exercise didn't resume. I moved out with my friend and ate a lot of take out. By the fourth year of uni, I was back at 70kg. Eventually I joined the gym and got a few personal training sessions (which helped me kick start my weight-loss regime). I overworked myself and didn't drink enough water (WATER IS SO IMPORTANT!!) and ended up with a fever twice from dehydration. My then boyfriend loved eating as much as I did. So we were always out looking for good food, and even though I was exercising regularly, not eating clean kept me at the same weight. During my rite-of-passage Europe trip, he broke up with me, and one of the reasons was that he felt we were binge eating together and I was chubby and being with me reminded of the time when he was overweight. I was very upset but he was a massive douchebag and I wasn't about to let myself go like he did and blamed his dissatisfaction of his own lifestyle on someone else.
In 2013 I moved to Hong Kong for work, and I was quick to notice that for some strange reasons locals there (even my relatives) feel like they have the right to comment on your appearance. Whenever you meet up with relatives you haven't seen for a while, the first thing they say is "Oh you've lost/gained weight!" And being the only female in my department did not help with the situation either (I work as a TV cameraperson). My colleagues (without malicious intent, but this habit seems so ingrained in the culture that it somehow makes it ok) would comment on the way I dress and the way I look, my height, and my weight. Being in TV I also work with a lot of celebrities and in HK, it's all about being skinny (and pale. The sun and fatty food seem to be their worst enemies). So I joined the gym. I was bombarded by personal trainers at the gym to sign up for personal training sessions. I eventually gave in and signed up, only to be scruntinized and underestimated because I am not skinny.
PT: How much do you eat?
Me: Honestly? I don't think I eat more than anyone else.
PT: But you DO, don't you?
Me: Excuse me!?
I did a weigh-in and used the In-Body machine to look at my muscle weight, balance, fat percentage and BMI. I was appauled to find my body fat to be 40%. Almost half of my existence is fat!! My BMI puts me in the "Obese" range. I knew I had to do something, but this personal trainer guy wasn't going to help me. I stumbled upon Blogilates one day on Youtube, and sticking to the routine for half a month (and eating cleaner than I previously did) was more effective than anything I have ever done before. That was the point when I felt it wasn't just about physical changes, but a change of my mindset. Of wanting to be healthy. For my own sake. And shouldn't be because of what others think about me (I'm still working on this one but I felt I'm doing pretty good!).
Since starting blogilates July last year, I am visibly slimmer and went from 67kg to 62kg. Weightloss was not very fast at the beginning but I felt a lot stronger (I walked up 10 levels on the stairs for a shoot in a super old building and wasn't huffing and puffing all that much!). Building and activating my muscles and then doing cardio and eating clean would help shedding the excess weight. I still need to work on drinking more water and getting enough sleep!
I have been anticipating this Dietbet since forever and I hope it would give the drive I need to kickstart and solidify this lifestyle improvement. I have been eating healthier (recipes from Cassey's 12-week meal plan) and exercising more and have been feeling happier and more energised!
Good luck to everyone on this journey and I am so excited to see the results! Stay motivated!
- Iris