Five things I did to get a good headstart on getting healthier!

When I started the year, I wanted to make sure that losing weight was not going to be another new year’s resolution-we all know what happens to those! I wanted to make sure that I would change my lifestyle in order for me to embrace healthy living as a part of every day life as opposed to ‘quick fixes’ that will bring on rapid weight loss only to be gained back-in a double portion.

Below are five things I ticked off before I started,

1. Current Weight Status

I weighed in at 107kg and this was not really a shocker because I knew that I had piled on more weight with my pregnancies that,by the way,  were not very far apart but all the same, heartbreaking to see that figure but I needed to know so that I could prepare for the road ahead.

2.Average daily food consumption

I am all about greens and I have made sure that my family loves their vegetables and fruit. I have somehow considered myself a healthy eater but oh boy, was I wrong. I soon learnt that the ‘death by starch’ portions on my plate at every breakfast and dinner were cancelling out any effect the fruit and vegetables were meant to bring about. Not to mention the 2l of Coke I just had to have on a daily basis to keep my energy levels up. This brought up my daily caloric consumption to a whooping ±2800 a day.

3.Daily Activity.

It’s so tough being a mum especially if you have one clinging on to the breast, for what seems like eternity, and the other a clean freak toddler, impatiently waiting for you to clean up every mess around her not to mention both still in diapers but hey, I was not complaining.  Motherhood still is the best job ever and I am fortunate to have the privilege of watching my angels grow. However, everything became so busy in the last three years, leaving me no time to go to the gym or engage myself in meaningful active exercise or so I thought. Although I took my kids to the park daily, it still did not make up for my otherwise not so active life. I was beginning to feel too tired for anything else, after all, I had cooking, cleaning and mothering duties to keep me busy all day long but sadly, that just was not enough because the weight kept creeping.

4.State of mind

What was so different now, than the other times that I have tried to lose weight? Answer-I really want to live a healthier life now for me and my family and this desire is coming from a deep place within me and I have such a strong urge to succeed in this area. Previously, I tried to lose weight quickly and for all the wrong reasons. Truth is,  I have always loved myself no matter what shape but over the years, my weight issues have really crept up in other areas of my life and impacted on me negatively in ways I have never imagined. This journey has opened me up to a world of healing and mourning over my losses and is allowing me to rediscover myself all over again. Sometimes what we eat and take in, is a reflection of how we feel inside and when we don’t find an outlet it builds up to become something destructive and seemingly impossible to conquer.

5. Support System

My mum and my brothers have always encouraged me to lose weight. I am sure it has not been easy for them to see me in this way and they have tried to reach out in many ways but it has never worked.  I think it is because I was not really ready for it and most importantly not ready to confront my issues. My brothers have run with me, bought me fancy trainers, exercise equipment and offered advice. Sometimes it worked but never for more than a month. I have always given up. My husband on the other hand, God bless him, has never made me feel any less beautiful two kids and 30 kgs later. I have never heard him complain or compare me to anyone and when I decided to go on this journey, what he had to say was, ‘I am proud of you for taking this bold step. I know you can do it and I want you to remember that it might take time but it will happen. Don’t beat yourself up for the little stumbling blocks -they are necessary to make you stronger.’  I am so glad that I have my whole family behind me reminding me that this is not a two day process but a lifetime journey and that when I fall, I will be able to get up and try again without being judged because in this journey there will be times for failure but never time to dwell on it and you will always need a loving hand to pick you up.

Now that I knew what I needed to know, I was ready to make the necessary lifestyle changes.

Keep well and keep shining and remember you are totally awesome!

Lots of Love,

Tatz

New Beginnings!

Hallo there! My name is Tatenda but you can call me Tatz-most of my friends do. I am a 27 year old mum to two amazing girls. I have started blogging because I would love to share my weight loss journey with anyone who would love to share it with me.

Like a lot of people, I have struggled with weight for as long as I can remember. I recall being the largest in class and occasionally second largest from my early days in pre school. It turns out, I was born a very tiny baby and from the moment my parents held me in their arms, I was fed to catch up. Unfortunately, I did more than catching up. My family blamed it on genes and eventually concluded that it was baby fat that I would lose over the years. I never did.

Well, Enough is enough! Last year, I was diagnosed with hypertension and that changed my life. I decided, I was going to lose weight for myself but more importantly for my kids. Now, I am going to document this journey and I hope that I will be able to inspire someone out there as well as be inspired by others that have decided to embark on this long but important journey called, ‘getting healthy’.

In my next blog article, I will reveal what I have done so far and how many pounds I have lost since the beginning of the year.

lots o love

Tatz