The truth on Weightloss and Lifestyle change!

Hallo everyone!

My oh my, I would NEVER in my wildest dreams have thought I would be doing a blog! I am super excited and really hope that out there, someone whom is desperate and lost in their own body, can find some sort of aid by reading and joining this blog! So let's begin by introduction:

My name is Julie van Heerden and I have been on a diet for all my life! I have been working for Dr H C Rossouw of the Dr Rossouw Weight Loss plan for the past 14 years and we have all been fighting the battle of the bulge in our own lives as well as with our patients and clients for many years.. So we are not super skinny and all of us are or has been battling the bulge; we are like you! We have weaknesses, we battle to stay focussed, we suffer from OCD and we have difficulty in controlling our emotional eating! We are human! And because we also suffer from this disease called obesity, we can relate to every single weight related issue you have to deal with...

Now on to my story...

I have been obese for ALL of my adult life... And that has been for the past 22 years... Many things contributed to my eating and lifestyle habits and my achilles heel used to be bread and pasta... Huge portions, no routine, inactive lifestyle, alcohol, smoking, too little sleep, too much stress, you name it, I rocked it!

But a year ago I had come to the point where I just could not live inside my then body anymore.. I had enough, I loathed looking in the mirror, I became very depressed, had a lot of health issues and I was truly ready to change.. No quick fixes anymore, no trying and giving up, I had to commit to a plan and stick to it... So I started on the plan that we have been advocating for so many years... I had to make peace with giving up bread and pasta, as it was clearly toxic to my system, I had to COMPLETELY change my outlook on life and I had to implement exercise,structure and routine in my life. It was extremely difficult for me, with my OCD and difficulty to accept change - to change! But as soon as I decided OKAY, this was it, it was like a light switch was turned on! I planned my first 7 days, set my alarm on my phone by the hour to remind me to drink my water, what to eat at that specific time and to give myself encouraging messages to get me through the day! A complete "retrain of the brain"!

The first four days were HELL! I craved for EVERY single thing you could imagine! I went to bed early so as to avoid succumbing to the cravings and one evening I actually burst out in tears because I could not believe that it was so difficult for me to stick to this plan! A true battle was going on in my mind, as I was not hungry at all, but my cravings used to rule my life and now I was in withdrawal, and it was scary! Every morning that I woke up, having made it through the night without raiding the fridge, I was overwhelmed with pride and every day from there, my confidence grew! So after the first week, sticking to my restricted meal and calorie plan, I lost a whopping 3.9kg! It was such a shock, I knew it was a lot of water weight aswell, but it made me realize that I CAN do this, and I did NOT die! My starting weight was 96kg (I was 106kg at my heaviest a few years bac) and my ultimate goal weight is 62kg. And it is one year later... I have lost 23 kg thus fat, I have come down from a size 44/42 clothes (20/18) to a size 34/36 (10/12) and for the first time in my LIFE I actually fit into a "Small"!!! I have NEVER ever owned anything smaller than a size 38 / 14 (Large) and for the first time in my adult life, I can see my thigh muscles!

Yes; a year seems like a ong time for 23 kilo's, but it is a LOT better than nothing! You can do it faster or slower, just as long as you do it! It is the most rewarding experience and the biggest gift you can ever give yourself. Not only can I now wear clothes that I want rather than clothes that hide my rolls, I comfortably jog 3 km (aprx. 2 miles) every single morning, I do strength training with light weights every day at home and my rheumatoid arthritis has not flared up this whole year! I firmly believe lifestyle and diet has a huge impact on disease and although it will not cure it, it will sure as hell make it a lot better if you choose life over food!

To start with, I will blog once a week on my progress, the ups and downs (and yes it is not all moonshine and roses!) of losing weight and lifestyle change and answer any questions you might have on your own jouney to goal. Also feel free to share your stories, being overweight and obese is an extremely lonely disease and with support we can all completely change our lives, one pound at a time..

So come on, join me and share this blog, we ALL deserve to be healthy and happy!

Have a fantastic, healthy week, till next time! :D