Making the change to healthier living - is it worth it?

Hello Again

It's not always easy trying to eat healthier and exercise.

I've been trying to write more about how my food habits had to change to avoid being Type 2 Diabetic. And its been heavy going.

If you've read 'It's not a diet it's a modified food intake plan - Part 1'…. or possibly 'not read it' cause it's too heavy going… you'll know what I mean. It's not super easy. It's not a fun read. And changing your food habits won't necessarily be easy or 'fun' either.

I remember getting all that blurb from the dietitian and wondering how the hell I was going to manage it all. The info about Type 2 Diabetes read like gobbledygook, and that 45 minutes a day seemed like Mt Everest to me…. impossible.

I felt a bit desperate actually. And very alone. Alone in the sense that no-one else could do it. I had to do it alone and I wasn't sure I was up to it.

Some of those feelings have resurfaced in the last couple of days as I've been trying to think how to encourage others to improve their eating and exercising habits.

Hence the shocking photos. The first was at my husbands fiftieth birthday party. It was a Hawaiian theme. And you can see I got into the spirit of the occasion. I remember on that night someone said I was very brave. looking back on the photo's I think I more fully understand what they meant.

I had NO idea that I looked like that!!!! In fact I was quite possibly bigger when I weighed in at the dietitian at 109kg.

Now I look at these photos… and yes, I am mortified by the one at the top. Its almost unbearable to have it up there. But it certainly makes the point. So now when I look at them, I think of all the health issues I was having and I know that my body is now working a lot better for me and I'm certainly living healthier and happier.

In that last photo,  (about 14 months after I started this journey) I know a lot of people were worrying that I was getting too skinny. I'm not a small framed person at all, so that was me at 76kg and I too started to worry even though the health professionals were telling me I needed to lose a few more kg's to meet the top of my healthy BMI range….72kg apparently for my height and frame.

I felt quite strongly, however, that I'm not 16 any more, and I didn't think losing any more weight would give me any more health benefit. My diabetes was under control so I added a little more food, and dropped back a bit on the exercise at that point. I weigh a bit more now. But I still eat well and exercise well. My diabetes is still under control.

So yes it wasn't super easy, and not all of it was fun. But with the right attitude it can be a lot easier and a lot less torturous than it has to be. And yes…. if you can work out a way to balance the healthy eating plan to suit you and if you can find an exercise that you enjoy, you can, like me, have plenty of fun along the way.