You will probably have read the amazingly inspirational stories behind this year’s Online Slimmers of the Year and from their recollections you will have realised that on one day in their lives ‘something happened’ to make them take that decisive step to lose their excess weight and get fitter. Usually that ‘event’ was a horrible moment when ‘the penny dropped’ that they needed to do something. It was Gemma’s photograph of herself at her little boy’s Christening and Carol’s photograph of herself at her 60th birthday celebration that suddenly spurred them into action. At the time they were shocked at their size but looking back, that photograph was what each of them needed to jolt them into action. In retrospect they are truly grateful now for what happened.
For Angie it was her doctor telling her she needed to go on statins in her early forties that made her decide to take action and change her life and for Janet, it was the realisation that if she didn’t change her lifestyle she would suffer a similar fate to that of her poor dad who she’d lost four months previously.
Perhaps one of the most touching stories I ever heard from one of my Slimmers of the Year was Laura’s, four years ago. The moment when Laura decided to take action was when her two year old little boy pleaded for her to take him and his baby brother out as she had become something of a recluse after experiencing two difficult births, a massive weight gain and mobility problems as a consequence. It was at that point that Laura considered reaching for the phone to call Social Services. She felt so low that she wondered whether her boys would have a better life with a foster mother but, thankfully, instead, she decided that she needed to take action herself. Laura then lost 11stone in and astonishing 9 months by strictly following my diet and exercising every day. When Laura came for her photoshoot she handed me two cards from the boys (aged 2 and 3). The words read ‘Thank you so, so much for making my mummy a ‘yummy mummy’ and changing our lives!’ and the other one said, ‘Thank you..... You’ve made us a very happy family.’ I will keep those cards forever!
So, we have two options. We can wait for that dramatic, maybe embarrassing, or even a heart-breaking moment like Laura’s, that triggers our decision to lose weight and get fitter, or we can act right now.
Losing weight takes time, just as it takes time for us to gain it. But taking the time to be calorie-conscious, to eat more healthily and watch our portion control, enables us to take back control and make small steps toward being more active and, if we do, we will transform our life just as it has in these amazing success stories. Please remember, you are not the only person in the world who is overweight. You are not mentally deranged or stupid (as I used to think about myself when I couldn’t control my own weight!). You have progressed over a period of time into a state of unfitness and overweight and the only person in the universe who can change that is you. No one can do it for you and there are no short cuts. Yes, it is about long term lifestyle change but instead of thinking that means deprivation think of it more as an opportunity to start living, laughing and being lighter! And then your confidence ill come flooding back and you will know it was all worthwhile.
You will find everything you need on the Rosemary Online site including thousands of delicious recipes, exercise videos, real-life coaches to answer your questions and advice from top experts, and when you need a real boost, you can always opt into a month’s worth of One-2-One coaching to help you along.
If there is one comment that was made by all of our Slimmers of the Year it is that when you are slim ‘life is so easy’! You don’t have to struggle to climb the stairs, get in and out of the bath, go through a turnstile, sit in a chair or fly in an aeroplane. You can find clothes that fit and make you look beautiful. People take notice of your opinion instead of you being invisible. You become a ‘normal’ person.
But much more than that, you will add years and years to your life. Your quality of health will be transformed and your body will be able to function as it should with lower blood pressure, normal cholesterol, no Type 2 diabetes as well as reduced risk of a variety of cancers and of course heart disease. Your joints will have a much better chance of carrying you into old age and you will hopefully be able to be independent and fully capable of caring for yourself for many, many years to come.
Taking small steps really is the key to achieving any goal that you have in your life. When you do achieve it and you reach the top of your mountain, the view is priceless! Just do it!