You know that feeling you used to get when watching a DVD that you hired from extra vision or the like. On the days before Netflix of course! You had settled down with your snacks. And you were really enjoying watching things play out. And then just as it got to a good bit, it started to skip and freeze… Suddenly you feel a mix of emotions, annoyance as things were going well and then just fell apart. A sense of hope that you can fix it. But at the same time, a sense of disappointment and anger that you want to just throw it out the window, never to be seen again?

Well, those feelings pretty much sum up how I felt about exercise and dieting in 2017. Everything was going really well, I was exercising regularly and enjoying it. I did a couple of 5k’s – improving my times with each one! I even found a love for lifting weights. As the year went on and the weight wasn’t shifting to the degree I wanted it to, the exercise began to slip as I started to lose motivation. I wasn’t training or eating well so the weight started to creep back on. I took action and joined a slimming club, which has worked well and I’ve just over a stone off so far. But something still didn’t feel right.

I looked at photos when I was training the most. And photos from over Christmas when I’d lost a stone! I look like I’m happy and enjoying myself, but I can see that the smile is still hiding something. It’s hiding the fact that I’m not happy in who I am. I can lose all the weight I need to and train amazingly but If I’m not already comfortable with myself and happy with who I am, I’m still going to be miserable at the end!

A New Approach To Weight Loss

I knew where the problem lay and that I needed to look at my self-image and how it was affecting my mindset. I’ve talked before about the courses I’ve done with Kim Calvert of dynamite nutrition. One of the things I did religiously while working with her was a gratitude log. Just making sure I started every day with a positive outlook. Always looking for the best in life! So I knew I need to get this going again…

I’m a sucker for beautiful stationery and I found this lovely lady through Instagram called The Bee’s Knees. She produces the most beautiful gratitude log! There is so much content in there – and it’s black and white to allow for some mindfulness colouring! If your an Instagram lover like me – get following her! She shows life exactly how it is! Doing this every day really helps me, I don’t start the day negatively and I feel good cos I’ve taken the time to think about nice things.

The other thing I decided I wanted to do was to work with Paul Keenan. He’s working alongside Kim at dynamite nutrition, but he is also personal trainer running his own business ‘Volume Fitness’. What really made me notice him was his total belief in how much self-image had to do with the journey of losing weight and getting fit. In fact, when I first contacted him, we had two sessions that barely even mentioned the gym side of things! This approach to weight loss was something new…

We covered so much those evenings.

I gave him total honesty as I knew that would be the only way this would work! We looked at how my life is now. And how I want it to be. Then we completed a self-image script that I repeat and listen to this morning and night every single day! It’s the first and last thing I do and it’s become a habit! Paul’s take on self-image is totally refreshing and his posts on his page always really resonate with me. He’s made me realise that this journey isn’t just about getting some weight off. I need to have a total change of mindset and with that a whole new me.