The urgent diet - 2 years on
This time of year two years ago, I went on what I saw as an urgent diet. This kick up the (slightly over lardy) bum stemmed from watching a friend’s video of myself on a beach and being shocked at what I saw. This morning I realised the rough anniversary, so weighed myself and clicked open the blog I wrote at the time to see what’s changed…
That blog – I lost 1 stone in 6 weeks on the “do I really look like that plan” – was written in the December. I did it quite deliberately to record for posterity what I did (in case I ever needed do it again). The records show I dropped a stone from 13 stone 8, and I later remember getting down to around 12 stone 3 at some point.
On the scales this morning I was pleased to see that after all this time I’ve managed not to put the weight back on and am still a healthy, though by no means skinny, 12 stone 7. Yet to maintain that I have had to radically alter my eating patterns. I don’t snack or eat the copious number of crisps at work anymore, I still pay attention to calories, drink far less fruit juice, and eat less bread. Though I still love crisps, desserts and chocolate, they’re now far less the norm and more of a treat.
The other big change is running. Even when I was dieting I was less focused on exercise, now it’s three times a week out for a run, and much longer distances too (around 5 – 7k usually, far more than the 2k I used to do). So I hope all that has merged together.
Being on TV puts on 10 pounds
Of course, the other factor in this is being on TV. They say it puts on ten pounds, and I know often the comments from people meeting me for the first time is “you look a lot younger and thinner in the flesh” to which my internal monologue wants to comment “so I look old and fat on the tv – when there are millions watching – fab!”
So yes, TV is a motivator, but not a positive one. Even as the Money Saving Expert, people still comment on your looks and it’s tough not to become very conscious of it. I’ve known of a good few (too many) people in TV, especially relatively newcoming women, who develop anorexia or bulimia because of the constant pressure to be the ‘right’ weight – a sorry state of affairs.
