A Healthier Me: 12 Month Weight loss Update

I can’t even believe I am writing my 12 month weight loss update. A whole 12 months of hard work and dedication. I can’t believe I have got to this point. I dreamt of the day that I got to write a 12 month update here on my blog. Losing weight always felt so impossible for me. I had so many things working against me, but here I am. Living proof that if I can do it, so can you. And I know its so cliche and so many people who lose weight say this, but I have made this my life. I love working out and eating good food. I can’t see my life being any other way.

It’s not always been easy though. Although I feel like I really didn’t struggle that much with the eating and the exercise. Alot of the struggles came mentally, which I will get into. This post might get a little lengthy, as I want to share more of the stuff I didn’t get to go into detail throughout the other updates I have given in previous posts. Weight loss is so complex, and I didn’t realise it until I completely transformed my life. So I want to make sure I give an accurate testimony as to what I have been through the last year.

WHERE I STARTED

Let’s go right back to the start of April 2021. England was still in a strict lockdown, no gyms open, no seeing family or friends and basically shut off from everything. I had quite an important doctors appointment the week before, which outlined the need for me to lose weight. And thats when it hit me what I had done to my body. It’s weird because looking back to me at that time, I never felt unhealthy or thought I looked that big. But, thats body dysmorphia for you.

I took the step to contact a local online coach – all of her details will be at the end of this post. We talked through my goals and set me up on her eating plan and exercise plan too. And I started from there. I remember the first workout like I did it yesterday. It took me about an hour and a half to complete it. (To put into perspective, it now takes me 25 minutes to do the same workout now)

The workouts were very difficult at first and I was sore for weeks. My body went into complete shock! Which is understandable because I hadn’t done any real exercise for years.

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6 MONTHS IN

At around the 6 month mark I really started to see a difference in my body, and others did too. I went down in clothing size and of course the number on the scale went down too. It was probably at this stage that I decided to stop weighing myself and focusing on numbers. I’ve lost weight before and did it through slimming world which is like weight watchers, and all it did was make me feel awful about my body weight. I began to obsess over the number on the scale and I didn’t want that for me. So me and my coach agreed that I would weigh once a month.

At the beginning I spoke about how I struggled with certain parts of weight loss and it was body dysmorphia. I know I’ve spoke about this before in another update post but I don’t think enough people talk about how hard it is watching your body lose weight but in your mind you look the same. Its not until I see photos of myself that I recognise that I have lost weight, and it’s still the case now 12 months into this. Trying to shed alot of the insecurities I had before has been hard. I still feel like I need to wear big clothes and hide my body but in reality I don’t because I don’t look like how I did. Trying to navigate those feelings has been difficult, but it’s something I am actively working on, and it has gotten better.

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NON SCALE VICTORIES

If you aren’t aware of what a non scale victory is, it’s a weight loss goal or achievement that isn’t just about the number on the scale being smaller. These victories are just as important as the weight loss itself. I think alot of mine are probably exercise goals that I have achieved. I really wasn’t an exercise person before I started this journey and now I absolutely love it. I’ve gone down 3 clothing sizes too and even my feet have shrunk! It’s crazy where fat is stored on our bodies without us realising.

Something I knew I needed to include in this 12 month weight loss update is how my face has changed so much in the last year. I go back and look at pictures of myself and I think I look so different. I really went on a soul searching and self love journey when I started losing weight. And that wasn’t intentional either, its just something that happened naturally. I stopped using all of the instagram filters to make me look ‘perfect’ and started showcasing myself as I am. I think its important to love yourself in all life stages, but losing weight and getting my confidence back was something I was really excited about.

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12 MONTH UPDATE

So, here we are. 12 months in. I’m running a half marathon in just under 2 months, which is really kicking my butt but I’m loving all of the training. If you’d like to donate towards the charity I am running for, please click below.

I’m focusing less on losing weight right now, which is okay. I do want to lose more, but I’m not in a rush. And I think thats what you must remember. So many people go into weight loss journeys thinking they will lose so much weight in such a short amount of time but that rarely ever happens. I’ve never had a weight loss goal in mind, I’ve never set a date or a time where I must hit a certain weight. And I think thats why I’ve been able to make this my life, rather than a temporary fix.

I still get times where I forget that I look different than I used to. So when someone sees me for the first time in a long time and they are shocked, I almost get confused and ask why and then I remember I do actually look different!

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I hope you enjoyed my 12 month weight loss update! Have you lost weight? Are you wanting to lose weight or tone up? What do you think is holding you back from doing it?

If you got to the end of this 12 month weight loss update, well done! As promised my online coach’s instagram details are below if you want to get in touch. She works with people internationally, and if you do sign up with her please tell her I sent you!

Olivia x 
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