Today matters to me for two reasons, because it's International Women's Day and because it marks my 1 year Spark-versary. This time last year, I was sitting at my laptop in the office when the office manager came by and dropped off a picture of me taken at a talk and book signing Cherie Blair held for LSE alums. I'm not an LSE alum, but my boss was and he made such a fuss about it, the whole office emptied and we went for the talk, I guess seeing as our office was sponsoring the talk, non attendance was non negotiable.
So anyway, today last year, I get the picture, with my smiley jowly face, frizzy 'fro, and bulgy sweater and I was depressed. Seeing as it was IWD, I made a facebook post on something along the lines of despite almost every pic being another bad angle one, at least that day, I would be proudly woman - jowls and all. But that evening I went home and started thinking seriously (for the thousandth time) about doing something about my bulging waist and jowly face.
This time was different though. I decided I needed to start exercising and so I went on Youtube for fitness vids. The idea was, I'd try some out, if I could stick with them, then I would buy the videos and start exercising with them. I stumbled on coach Nicole's vids, attempted the 10-minute Cardio Jump Start (I almost had a heart attack, and that was after I stopped at 4mins). At the end of the video - like all her youtube videos, Coach Nicole said log in to SP for more fitness vids and WL resources. I felt like she was talking to me personally, and soon as I could get off the floor, I did.
That was the evening of March 8th. The rest as they say has been history since then. So this March 8, as I look back and reflect over the last year, I am amazed. So let me count my blessings a bit:
# I've lost over 50kg, gone from 130'ish to 79
# I've gone from wearing a UK 24 to a 12 / M
# My waist has gone from 48 ins to 32 ins
# My hips have gone from 54 ins to 42.5 ins
# I walk 10km 3 - 4 times a week
# I can wear my underwear standing upright...lol
# I've lost all those jowls, and a lot of the bulgy waist
# I've moved countries (and continents) for the third time in 4 years, this time without the safety net of a job, yet I'm able to remain optimistic and confident. If I could lose 50 kg in a year, nothing is impossible!
As I log off to continue with my job search, writing this blog has been a good pep talk for me. Only by looking back on occasion can we truly begin to appreciate how much distance has been covered, even when we thought we were standing still. So, I remain confident that come March 8th the next, I'd have moved on from here, no matter how impossible it seems now!
So anyway, today last year, I get the picture, with my smiley jowly face, frizzy 'fro, and bulgy sweater and I was depressed. Seeing as it was IWD, I made a facebook post on something along the lines of despite almost every pic being another bad angle one, at least that day, I would be proudly woman - jowls and all. But that evening I went home and started thinking seriously (for the thousandth time) about doing something about my bulging waist and jowly face.
This time was different though. I decided I needed to start exercising and so I went on Youtube for fitness vids. The idea was, I'd try some out, if I could stick with them, then I would buy the videos and start exercising with them. I stumbled on coach Nicole's vids, attempted the 10-minute Cardio Jump Start (I almost had a heart attack, and that was after I stopped at 4mins). At the end of the video - like all her youtube videos, Coach Nicole said log in to SP for more fitness vids and WL resources. I felt like she was talking to me personally, and soon as I could get off the floor, I did.
That was the evening of March 8th. The rest as they say has been history since then. So this March 8, as I look back and reflect over the last year, I am amazed. So let me count my blessings a bit:
# I've lost over 50kg, gone from 130'ish to 79
# I've gone from wearing a UK 24 to a 12 / M
# My waist has gone from 48 ins to 32 ins
# My hips have gone from 54 ins to 42.5 ins
# I walk 10km 3 - 4 times a week
# I can wear my underwear standing upright...lol
# I've lost all those jowls, and a lot of the bulgy waist
# I've moved countries (and continents) for the third time in 4 years, this time without the safety net of a job, yet I'm able to remain optimistic and confident. If I could lose 50 kg in a year, nothing is impossible!
As I log off to continue with my job search, writing this blog has been a good pep talk for me. Only by looking back on occasion can we truly begin to appreciate how much distance has been covered, even when we thought we were standing still. So, I remain confident that come March 8th the next, I'd have moved on from here, no matter how impossible it seems now!
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