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Today, I am another year older. This in itself, is not such a big deal. But what IS a big deal is how I’ve been feeling this past year. In a word: lousy. The following is quite intimate, but here goes:
For the past 10 months, I’ve been feeling lethargic, tired, exhausted, drained. Whoozy, nauseous, crabby, ratty. Energy-less, depressed, despondent, hopeless, histronic. Head-achey, bloated, crampy, weepy and my skin has gone to the dogs. I feel old old old and fat fat fat.
Admittedly, it is middle-age-spread time for me now but honestly – that should make keeping fit tougher, not impossible. And the life of a writer doesn’t help. In my job roles as blogger, freelance writer, book reviewer, author, editor and publisher, there’s one thing in common. I sit. I’m sedentary. And my thighs are like cottage cheese.
But I’m tired of making excuses. I’m just plain tired, really.
I’ve been watching that amazing show You Are What You Eat and I love it. I love it because I agree with it and I must admit I’m a bit of a food nazi where nutrition is concerned. Once thing our family does NOT lack is a high fibre, high-nutrition diet, and I make certain of that each and every day of our lives. Alas, we also top-up that fab diet with the odd sugar burst or twenty. And although the other three in my life are very active, I’m a little lazy. And obsessed with my work.
I’ve been an aerobics addict and body-builder in my time so I understand exercise and what it does to the body and how vital it is to the body. It’s just that I have so much else to do, you see, and exercise gets pushed to the back seat. And boy oh boy, am I now paying the price.
Frankly, though, I no longer have a choice. In my twenties, I totally abused my body with lots of alcohol and a lousy diet. Since then, my diet has gradually improved to brilliant, but I’m still not living my ideal lifestyle. And worse – I am paying for every single abusive action I’ve ever done now. It’s showing in my face, my skin, my hair, my nails, my body condition. But also my psyche. Put it this way – I’ve been in a really bad mood for far too long now.
To celebrate my birthday, I decided to give myself a really special gift. I decided to look after myself to a higher level. I need to step it up. I’m reaching an age where serious disease and illness could impinge on the fabulous life I’m living – and where Health is truly number one on the scale of life importance. Exercise, stress-busting and an ideal diet. I have no choice now. I have to do it or I’m going to get very sick and become even more miserable.
When you’re really ready to make changes, the Universe provides the goods. I’ve always believed this. Since making this conscious health decision (to kickstart my commitment, I booked in to a naturopath and for my first dental checkup in 2 years), the past few days have been quite miraculous. Two days ago, I dug into my groaning pile of book review copies and dug out Body Blitz Diet (Orion, A$46.99).
Most weirdly (or maybe not so weirdly) it is written by the woman who conceived You Are What You Eat. (Universe at work here.) In the book, Anna Richardson swears you’ll melt kilos and feell fabulous in just two weeks if you give up sugar, wheat, alcohol and dairy. Oh, and no carbs after 6pm.
This idea was not only tempting because I’d like to look more like the red comma on the front of Richardson’s book, but also because I SO badly want to feel healthy again. I want to feel good. Damn it, I want to feel great! No more fatigue, no more feeling ill.
So, yesterday, I started. It went better than expected. I also moved more. In fact, I did my morning exercise, but through the day (in between long periods of inertia at the keyboard), I’d frequently get up and move around, do kick boxing while waiting for the kettle to boil, do side lunges at the ironing board, do squats at the stove over dinner.
It’s only been one day of my two-week programme and after spending all day yesterday without a single gram of dairy, sugar, wheat or alcohol – I have to say – today I am feeling UNBELIEVABLE.
I feel amazing. Wonderful. Energised. Refreshed. Happy. Excited, even! I am absolutely and utterly gobsmacked. My stomach is already flatter (thighs still pudge, but let’s give that time), I have greater mental clarity and I feel incredibly invigorated. I. Am. Stunned.
If this is how I’m going to feel after ONE DAY on this thing, can you imagine how I’m going to feel in two weeks’ time?
Well, I shall tell you. Every day over the next two weeks, I will be reporting the changes (ups AND downs) I experience on this two-week journey. Check back daily and hopefully this will inspire you to take your own health by the throat and feel the reward.
You, too, could very soon feel like a comma.
I know how you feel Tania. I turned 40 last September and I too am tired of feeling tired. But I am a bit concerned about this diet you’re on – seems like a lot of deprivation to me. No sugar, no dairy, no wheat! I don’t drink alcohol so that wouldn’t worry me at all. But no dairy and no wheat? I would last about two hours on that diet. Of course if you’re happy to remain on it, I will cheer you on and support you 100%.
I’ve been making gradual changes to my diet over the last month and next week I’m going to start working out at my local Contours gym (I would have gone to Curves but there isn’t one near me). Like yourself, I spend a lot of my time writing on the computer and hours can go by without me moving a single muscle below the waist.
This regime is actually really surprising me – I don’t feel deprived at all, and you CAN have carbs before 6pm (but no wheat carbs). Also, you can have as much fruit as you want (without going crazy!). It’s basically just cutting out JUNK… sugar, fat and refined ANYTHING.
The funny thing is – I am not missing dairy or wheat AT ALL and am NOT craving it. I craved something sweet last night but dealt with it (see Day Two).
I’ve already lost a kilo in only two days on this regime (I don’t like to call it a diet because I believe this is how I should ALWAYS be eating). Keep us posted on your efforts!
While I applaud anyone’s efforts to be healthy, I personally would not be aspiring to look like the woman in the picture. She doesn’t look healthy and full of life to me. Yes she is skinny – but there is so much more to life than having a flat stomach. Feeling tired, grumpy, sluggish and irritable is something that a healthy diet and exercise can do wonders for. But if what we are actually striving for is to be genuinely healthy, what does it matter if our stomach is not as flat as it was when we were in our early twenties? The fact is we are not in our twenties and so the problem is……? I declare my bias – I am tired of hearing about the bits of women’s bodies that they find unacceptable. Can you imagine all of the fantastic things we’d have time to talk about if we banned all complaints about the size/shape/weight of our bodies! And the time wasted looking in the mirror at not so flat tummies or bulging thighs. Life’s too short! Hooray for health and vitality I say; let the thighs take care of themselves!!
Danielle – I TOTALLY agree with you… I am doing this regime to make me feel better and more healthy, rather than gain that stomach I used to have (incidentally, I was brimming with health and vitality in this photo! and was not at all too thin; I was just super fit).
The no.1 reason I’m doing this is to gain health and if losing some kilos along the way is a side bonus, then that’s also wonderful, because frankly, those extra kilos I’m carrying are purely due to lack of exercise and eating too many wrong foods.
That kind of body is not something I’m after any more – to be strong, healthy and energetic is absolutely the way to be, and I do hope readers understand I’m posting my experience with this regime because I want to share how fantastic I know I’ll feel at the end of this – not to prove how skinny I can get.
Also, I strongly believe a high percentage of us (we are now officially the fattest nation on the planet) have a lousy diet and exercise regime and if this inspires a single person to kickstart a healthier, happier life, I will be ecstatic.
🙂
Where do you get enough calcium for your bones everyday if you cut out dairy?
Sheesh. Another negative comment. Sorry, am just getting tired of these after doing something so intensely positive. I’m a little confounded by this.
Well, I get calcium from green leafy vegetables, especially spinach, cabbage, parsley, almonds, peanuts, walnuts, sunflower seeds and wholegrain cereals.
And, as mentioned in all these posts, this regime is only for two weeks so I doubt I’ll develop osteoperosis before I get back to cheese again.
Happy Birthday, Tania. You’re an inspiration!
Thanks, Susan. You made my day. 🙂
It wasn’t a negative comment Tania. I just wanted to know about the calcium as I was going to give it a go myself.