GETTING INTO GREAT shape is not about a gimmicky diet, or working out until you’re physically and mentally exhausted; it’s about a healthy lifestyle change.
Exercising for the sake of exercising, and not eating right, is a medicine worse than the disease. I learnt this the hard way; throughout my 20s and 30s exercise was an addiction, rather than a planned component of a healthy lifestyle.
I lived to exercise, rather than exercise to live, I wasn’t eating right and saw food as the enemy, rather than a source of nourishment. At the age of 25 I was borderline anorexic. I weighed just 7 stone (98 pounds)—I’m five foot seven!
I now train smarter, by embracing the “less is more” approach. My sessions in the gym are now less frequent but more intense. Since I eat more regularly and mindfully, I have now changed my relationship with food.
Now, in my 50s, I’ve never felt better. I was a mother of three, balancing a career, and all the commitments that come with having a young family. But there was still something missing; despite training hard and eating well, my body was still holding onto abdominal fat.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, there is no option but to slow down. I also found my body fat was going down without me focusing on it. I tried to make sense of this; what was I doing that was different? I hadn’t changed my exercise regime or my eating habits, so what was it? REST was the missing link; my stress levels are much lower which has resulted in me being in the best shape of my adult life.
“Believe and achieve” is my guiding principle in life; having overcome many hurdles and health issues from doing things the wrong way. Now eating and exercising in the right way has become an enjoyable way of life, rather than a painful chore.
I’ve read the books, done the courses, and made the mistakes and overcome several challenges, and now I do know, as my friend Wayne told me, CHANGE is the only guarantee in life, and how you adapt to change will determine the person that you will become.
