Dear readers,
I would like to share this personal journey with you all, my personal battle with the bulge.
Being brutally honest, I was never the type of guy who was interested in having the six-pack, ginormous arms and thighs and my pet hate, the no neck syndrome, but to have a healthy, toned looking one.
I appreciate the look (like we all do, right!) and respect the hard work that goes into maintaining body beautiful perfection, but it’s just not me.
Sadly, there comes a time when you look at yourself in the mirror, and the person who stares back you hardly recognise. This is what happened to me. I comforted myself with food and the travelling didn’t help. Many weren’t aware of how I was feeling, and I hid my emotions well and covered my body even better.
5 years ago, okay, different age group but never the less… As my mother would ask “Are you eating? You look far too thin…” As a young gay man, I was rocking 32″ skinny jeans from any clothing brand. My body was a coat hanger for fashion. And slowly as the years went on, so did the inches….
A year ago today, marks my anniversary of when I did something about my weight.
At my largest, my weight came in at 121 kg (19.05 st). That’s like the same total weight as a girl band these days…
The old me…
So, I guess you want to know my secret…
I can honestly tell you now that I didn’t get any surgery like 3 people thought hahaha, that was funny though. It was 2 big things that I changed in my lifestyle.
Firstly was how much sugar and secondly the potions of food I was eating.
The second was relatively easy to do. I called the diet, “Eat like a Queen for Breakfast, Lunch like a Princess, and Dine like a Pauper”. Basically, in the mornings I would carbo load, eat all my cereals, breads, pastry etc. Lunch was all balanced, a bit of this, a little of that, and throw in a bit more of this and that. Dinner was protein and salad (very little dressing). Either fish or meat, and the usual garden salad.
Quitting sugar was hard… I think 34 years of adding sugar to everything made me an sugar addict. I generally popped 2 spoons of white processed sugar into coffee, tea and cereals. And if you think how many teas and coffee you drink in a day… it adds up.
I scared myself by counting the number of spoons I was eating throughout the day (without being OCD about it) and filled a ziplock bag to visibly see and feel just how much sugar I was eating. I basically freaked out…
No, I didn’t go cold turkey at first, I reduced 2 spoons down to 1, and a few days later, I had stopped adding sugar entirely.
Many have asked if I had stopped entirely. No. I still eat fruits and hahaha still drink wine and beer etc.
Sometimes when I’m tired or run down. My body craves sweet anything so I add a bit more sweetness to my diet. I started using honey as my sugar replacement and a Romanian friend of mine gives me homemade honey and it taste so damn delicious.
The result… I now weigh 85 kg (13,3 st) loosing a total of 36 kg (5.6 st)
I’m back…
It just goes to show how fantastic our bodies are, and giving up things like processed sugars and how we eat can dramatically improve not only our body, but our self-esteem and confidence.
I’m not going to sound all corny and say crap like “I feel like a new person” because I don’t. I feel like a better version of myself. Too much or just right!!! haha.
Lets get the summer rolling… Where is everyone going this year???
Beauty and the Chameleon ‘-)
