The Battle of the Bulge

By Angela Bensemann

Over the past six months I've lost 11kg. Saying it now it all seems quite easy but at the time it was anything but.  The hardest thing was getting my head in the right space.  It seemed to be one step forward and two steps back until I cracked the head space game and started to see some real progress.

Here’s how my journey evolved:

1. Getting into the right head space – a lot of internal head arguing.  “You need to lose weight, no you don’t – you’re fine.  You need to lose weight none of your old clothes fit you – I’ll buy bigger clothes.  You need to lose weight – you should expect to be heavier once you hit 40!  You’re out of breath walking up the road – ok maybe it’s time to lose weight and get fit.”

2. The research phase – this is where I tried to work out how I was going to actually stop procrastinating and do it.  Were there any get thin/fit quick schemes that worked long term? No (dammit). Would hypnosis work? A bit outside my comfort zone but hey I was willing to give anything a go at this point.  Yes I did try it and no, it didn’t work for me.  Dietary supplements – could they be right for me? No.  How could I give up a meal for a shake?  It was back to the tried and true – time to go to Weight Watchers.

3. Find a friend.  A bit like phone a friend in ‘Deal or no deal’.  Find a friend involves reaching out to a support person. Once the friend had been found (thanks Peta) off I trotted to Weight Watchers meetings where I had to front up each week and be weighed in front of strangers.

4. Start doing some exercise.  This was the hard bit for a couch potato like me.  Trying to find a part of the day where you can fit in a 45min walk or shorter jog is not easy.  I worked out if I did it at 6am I could get it over and done with and get on with my day.

5. Get into the groove.  This part involved following the weight loss plan and exercise regime, going to meetings, keeping a food diary and starting to track my success.

6. Set small milestones and celebrate when you achieve them.  Non-food related rewards were the best!  Hitting the 5kg mark was a great first step.

7. Reap the rewards – people started to notice I was looking different, I had more energy and could fit my old clothes.  I can comfortably fit my 15 year-old wedding dress should I decide to wear it on our 20th anniversary!

8. Stay on track.  This is the next major hurdle and currently where I am at.  This is where your support network is critical – it’s easy to think, “I’ve done so well so I’ll just have a big chocolate cake and bottle of bubbles and cheese and crackers etc etc”.  You can have all these things but moderation is the key!

9. Enjoy the new you.

10. Look for the next challenge.
Use our free Goal Setting worksheet to get you on the way.