My story & how I stay motivated.

Hey FitFam!

So these are a couple of questions that two of my beautiful followers asked me, and I'm going to answer them both together, as I think that

" I'd love to know how to keep up motivation when you're just starting out on getting fit. They say progress is slow but I just feel so un-motivated sometimes when I don't see instant results. It's hard to get over that mind set of "ok well I went for a jog so why didn't I lose 5kgs?"What keeps you motivated? How do you stop yourself from going "ok well I didn't see any drastic results after a week so I guess i'll stop trying"

AND

"What was your turning point for wanting to get fit and healthy?"

GUYS if you don't want to read about my story, please skip down to the paragraph with the title in red! 

Wow, where to start?! I guess as a child, I'd always been really healthy and fit. With a dentist for a father and a very health-conscious mother, I grew up eating only very healthy foods and playing heaps of sport - I spent a lot of time outdoors. As I grew older and puberty took place, I became lazy. When I craved bad food, I just went to the shops and got it - mum couldn't stop me! I'd always loved playing soccer, but unfortunately I severely injured my right knee in a game, and ended up needing surgery. Following this surgery, my knees continued to deteriorate, and I fell into a deep depression. I've had a couple of arthroscopies on each knee, which is a simple surgery to cut away any cartilage that has either fallen off or is hurting the joint (in plain words - it is more complicated than that!) Starting university, my knees were in a good place. It had been a couple of years since my last knee surgery, and I was looking forward to getting into more sport and exercise at university.

It was the first week of uni 'dorm games', and we were scheduled to play a game of touch football. Of course, I leaped at the opportunity of playing, and was one of the first players on the field! Within the first 30 seconds, I was down on the floor, screaming in agony. I didn't realise at the time, but I'd somehow managed to completely tear my ACL in half, as well as destroy the remaining cartilage in my knee. I had a full knee reconstruction a couple of months later on, and I'm not going to lie - it was a very painful recovery. Two weeks after my surgery, I  realised I'd put on  a lot of weight. Bad eating, heavy drinking and minimal exercise at university had turned me into a big slob. I started to watch what I ate, and I finally felt like I was back on track.

UNTIL, one night I woke up and my knee was swollen to the size of a basketball. I was in excruciating pain, so one of my friends drove me to the emergency room. Unfortunately, the doctor misdiagnosed it for 'post-swelling' after surgery, even though it had been 6 weeks! The next morning I went to see my GP, who immediately picked up that in fact, my knee was severely infected. The next day, I was in Sydney for emergency knee surgery! This completely set me back in recovery, and was one of the worst periods in my life. I remember constantly crying, and feeling like I'd hit rock bottom.

START HERE ALTERNATIVELY

This is when I knew things needed to change. I couldn't even walk up a flight of stairs without losing my breath, and I realised that most of my clothes didn't fit me any more. I had gone from a fit and healthy girl to an overweight, lazy and depressed girl. It was time for a change - and that's exactly what I did. I changed my entire life - not just my food! In order for this lifestyle to work, you really do need to embrace it as a lifestyle, rather than a diet or exercise plan. I started getting up earlier, signed up to a gym, cleared my house of junk food and tried to look at life with a positive view. So that is what prompted me to change, but the other question is, how did I cope with slow progress?

It is very true... slow progress is still progress. Although in saying this, I can completely empathise with the feeling "I just went for a run, why aren't I 5kgs lighter?!". To combat this, I repeat the mantra to myself - "All good things take time". Sure, a 'detox' or 'fad' diet may work in the short run - you could lose 5kg a week?! In the long run however, these diets are both unreliable and unachievable. If you cut out all carbs for one week, YES you will lose weight. However, as soon as you reintroduce them, you are going to gain the weight back, and not be any fitter or healthier! To keep myself motivated, I set myself mini goals. Whether it be - 'If I eat 3 days straight completely healthy, I will buy myself a new nail polish' or bigger goals - 'If I lose 5kg and 3% body fat, I will buy myself that $80 dress I have been eyeing off for a month!". You need to be realistic with yourself, and realise that change does not happen overnight. Take constant progress pictures of yourself, so you can compare them in a month! I also like taking my measurements every few weeks, because although the scales may not show change, your body shape certainly will! Drastic results would be great - but drastic results often call for drastic measures which mean they are not attainable/sustainable!! Be kind to yourself, and treat your body like a temple.

I really hope this has helped you, and I'm sorry if my story bores you at all! I figured some background information on my behalf would probably help a few of you realise WHY I do what I do :)

E xox.