MY MOTIVATION

Like I said in my last post I knew I had to lose weight but I had no idea how to go about it. That was until I discovered the weightloss forum for Africans. www.africanweightloss.com/forum. It changed my life. There I met women who were making serious efforts to lose weight and were SUCCEEDING. I read success stories and was motivated. However my greatest motivation came from a member of the forum, Natachy Austin. skinnyymi.blogspot.co.uk She went from 140kg to 67kg strictly by dieting and exercising. Wow! And I was 145kg. I decided that if she did it I could too. AND I'M DOING IT. And Natachy who's my weightloss buddy has been of great help to me. Encouraging me when I felt like I couldn't do it anymore and pushing me to do better.

Here's her story. Maybe you'll be motivated too!

I love to cook and experiment on different cultural foods. I will say combining studies and work didn’t put much stress on me. As a child, I was very skinny but as time went by, I grew into being big. All through my secondary school, I was big but after an accident that left me bed bound, I added more weight and I couldn’t stop gaining. I just got bigger and bigger. My taste buds increased and I couldn’t stop eating rice in particular. I didn’t eat fast food or fizzy drinks but rice was my weakness as I could eat it all day and at night without knowing when to stop. At 308 lbs. and standing 5’3″, I wore UK size 26 (22/24 in US) in jeans and I now wear UK size 10/12 (6/8 in US). It has taken me 2 years to get to 147.7 lbs. (67 kg); my ultimate goal is 138 lbs. (63 kg).My mum motivated me to lose weight. She would cry and watch me while I sleep. She would always tell me that at my age, I shouldn’t look like this. My fiancé encouraged me all through my journey. He never for one day pushed me into losing weight. He would say, I love you fat or slim and that gave me the courage to continue. Some people’s negative comment about my weight also motivated me to push harder, just to prove to them that I can do it. By the time I lost my first 15 kg, I knew I could do it. This time, am done being fat and it’s for good. I want to be able to wear what I like and look my age. My health was at stake at 308 lbs. with knee and joint pains I knew I had to lose weight.First, I set S.M.A.R.T goals. My goals were specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time bound. I knew that the fat I carried around has been accumulated over a long period of time and losing it wasn’t going to be easy. I set my mind to it and told myself the truth that I had a lot of weight to lose. I gave myself 3 years to lose the weight! The support I got from my mum, fiancé and siblings kept me going. I kept a journal of what I ate and made improvement where necessary. I started in 2010 ending and in 2011 I joined a weight loss forum online, mainly for Africans where you have to log in what you eat.I ate and workout most times, not 24/7 though! I work out evening time, and it consist more of strength training than cardio. I use videos that I see on you-tube because i don’t go to a gym. I tried the gym once but it demotivated me in a way that I cannot explain. The cardio I enjoy are jumping ropes, jogging, walking and little dancing (I don’t like cardio). However, I enjoy weight training a lot! I have more energy now, before I felt like I was carrying another person around while walking around. I can now wake up full of energy and ready to move. Shopping is more fun than before! Now I enjoy trying on clothes and finding what fits me is now very easy and affordable too!I am soooooo happy i started this journey and the time, patience, determination, motivation and hard work is what is needed to make those changes."A year from now, you might wish you had started today"