Health Body, Healthy Mind

Since the age of 10 I’ve battled with my weight and with my relationship with food. It’s always been my ‘go to feel good’ remedy. When something bad happens, I seek comfort in sugary treats, deep fried deliciousness and carbtastic bread. When my parents split up, that’s when my diet and relationship with food changed. I was less active through depression, and I ate my way through the sadness. Over the following 8 years, I saw myself balloon to 19.5 stone, so unhappy with myself and my own skin. At the age of 18 I decided enough was enough, and went on a crash diet to lose 6 full stone. 6! I was so proud of myself, I got down to a size 32 waist, I still had a belly but meh, I’d lost 6 stone. 

Since doing that, I’ve been up and down. The problem was, I’d managed to crash my way to 13.5 stone but I never actually resolved my relationship with food – because I didn’t actually know what that meant until yesterday. 

Since meeting my girlfriend I’ve put on over 2.5 stone and it has GOT to go. So recently I’ve spoken about my decision to follow Joe Wicks, the body coach. A healthy and balanced lifestyle mixed with bursts of energetic exercise throughout the week to get lean – and so far I feel incredible. I’m not following the online diet as I’m unable to afford it at the moment, but I’m using his book because I LOVE to cook and online exercises to address what has long been a problem. It’s about balanced meals at the right time of the day including carbs, fats, proteins and even the odd treat here and there. I’ve been following religiously for over 3 weeks (apart from a recent trip to M&Ms shop in London…I’m not even sorry) and so far my shirts are no longer tight, my jeans no longer have to ‘bed in’ and I feel so much more positive and energetic towards my new lifestyle. That was until yesterday. 

For reasons I won’t go into, yesterday was a terrible day for me, anxiety-wise. There was a high level of stress, drama and a feeling of loss that meant my anxiety levels were through the roof, my IBS was doing backflips in my guts and my mood was very much at a low. After feeling all this, what was my go to? Bingo – junk food. I was genuinely craving junk food. Chocolate, cake, pie, KFC, chips, anything to just get my mood up and fast. I couldn’t stop thinking about it! And that’s when it hit me. It was my most extreme case of ‘comfort eating’ I’d ever been able to stop and realise. Luckily, that brought me out of whatever mood I was in, because for 3 weeks I’ve worked hard through exercises and a more strict eating regime. I wasn’t letting anxiety take that away from me! So I chewed on some cashews, drank a pint of water, and refocused my mind on what was important, and it worked. 

I genuinely believe this new lifestyle is making me feel better both physically and mentally. I don’t get mood dips anymore. I don’t feel angry or guilty that I’m eating the wrong foods, so my mood isn’t constantly tainted with negative thoughts. I’m able to focus on what’s important and that’s getting myself better. 

This post isn’t for everyone, but if you feel lost, want to change your diet and boost your mental health, I can’t recommend Joe Wicks enough. You can follow him on Twitter via @thebodycoach or on Instagram with the same name along with free videos on YouTube from beginners to advanced, just search The body coach. His videos accommodate all fitness, he does them with you (and is often just as knackered) and I just feel like he ‘gets’ it. 

It has genuinely helped me to feel much better about myself physically and mentally, I hope if you give t a try it does for you too. 

P.S I am on absolutely no way affiliated with Joe Wicks. I’m just a fan and think he’s brilliant 👍🏻

P.P.S Yes I blame my girlfriend for the weight gain after we met