Thursday, March 12, 2015

The Lilac Linnet: Making Healthy Changes and Saying Goodbye to the Scale

Today I have Llinos, from The Lilac Linnet posting about healthy body image.  I know this is something I need to work on, and I love the message she shares!

Since September 2014, I have really been working on my fitness in ways that I haven't ever done before. I know I'm not alone in having left any exercise behind at the last gym lesson in school, and for the daily routine of drive to work, sit at a desk and go home to sit on a sofa to take over. 20150214_121054 But, I knew I wanted to change that. In February 2014 I underwent surgery to remove a cyst on my ovary. I recovered well, but I wanted to take up healthier habits to look after myself. I'm an apple shape; my stomach is where my weight goes, and I've always had a difficult relationship with my stomach due to that weight, and surgery scars. I wanted to stop worrying about the size of my stomach, stop staring at it in the mirror, stop comparing myself to women with flat stomachs. As my stomach had healed from the operation, this seemed like a great time to let all of these negative feelings go. I started small because I wanted to create lasting habits. I began going for a walk at lunchtime everyday, so that I was getting out of the office and into the fresh air by moving my body. Then, after a few weeks, I took up running with the help of the Couch to 5K app. Now I try my best to walk daily and run three times a week. I have more or less cut cola from my diet, only eat fries once a week, and dinner is usually veg and meat or fish. I have a sweet tooth but a small piece of dark chocolate satisfies it, and I love trying healthy baking recipes. 20150214_121115 However, if life gets in the way, I don't best myself up about it. If I go out for dinner I will enjoy my meal and maybe a cocktail. If I miss that run, there's always tomorrow. When I first made these changes, I was quite obsessive about weighing myself and measuring my waist size. I had a clear idea of what size I wanted to be. I was anxious about losing the fat around my stomach. However, I now realise that I can be happy with my body now, right in this moment. I can enjoy my outfits, and makeup. I don't have to wait to reach a certain number on a scale. I realise that the action of weighing myself constantly was tied up with the guilt I felt at eating unhealthily, and at my lack of movement. Now I know that I'm doing my best to eat well and move often, and that I'm moving in the right direction, I don't have to frenetically measure my waist! This is a lifelong path, which I'm taking one day at a time. How can you make a small healthy change in your life today?
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