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On the right track

arletteMay 31, 2020

The weather is not so great today ….pretty cloudy. But my mood is great! On January 6 I started another attempt (the 4th?) to lose weight and get healthier and it looks like this time I will finally succeed :). As a teenager, I thought I was too fat, but looking at photos from that time, I now just see a slender girl. After my first pregnancy, which ended in a miscarriage, and quitting smoking, the pounds slowly but surely piled on. I was convinced that our move to Slovenia in 2003 would have a positive effect on my weight because we planned to do a lot of walking. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. First of all, I got pregnant right away and stayed at home for several years while the children were young. Later on, when they were more independent, I could not find a suitable job. Sitting at home is NOT beneficial for your weight. Of course we regularly walked and cycled (that was possible there) but otherwise, I did not do much.

Despite the fact that I loved living in Slovenia, I often felt sad and bored so what did I do? I ate. In retrospect, I think I was just lonely. Bine was working and I didn’t really have many friends. I ended up in the well-known visual circle. As I got heavier I got more depressed what caused me to eat more, which resulted in more weight which made walking or cycling more difficult …… etc. After a failed attempt in 2018, I let myself go completely and at the end of last year, I was heavier than I had ever been. In 2 years I will be 50 and I suddenly felt that it was really a last chance to lose weight and get healthy again. My experience was that I was able to maintain a diet and physical exercise for several months, as long as I would not miss a single day. As soon as there was a holiday or some party, that was the end of it. I just couldn’t get back on track.

This time, despite a few »bumps in the road«, it is still going well and I am still very motivated. For example, I was ill for 10 days, so I did not do any exercises or walks but I still managed to start again after my illness and got back on track. That feels really good. I currently do exercises at home, usually 3 times a week for about half an hour. In addition, I walk almost every day. I started with 20 minutes, but have now built that up to an hour, sometimes an hour and a half. And mind you: walking here is a lot tougher than in the Netherlands where everything is flat! Walking here also means climbing because it is anything but flat here. As a born and raised Dutch girl, my system just is not build for walking uphill, haha. Even after 17 years, it’s still difficult. But how I love the surroundings. Nature is great! Despite the fact that it is hard for me sometimes, I really enjoy my walks because there is so much beauty to see. I have a number of different routes in the area so I do not have to take the same tour every day. Ivy often comes along. I enjoy the beautiful wild flowers and the sweet scent of the elderberry blossom. Every now and then I see a deer or a fox. That just never gets dull.

I also try to follow the LCHF principle as much as possible. LCHF stands for Low Carb, High Fat. In short, it means that you eat as little carbohydrates as possible (bread, rice, potatoes, pasta) but rather a lot of protein and »good« fats. The advantage of this diet (it actually is not really a diet) is that there are quite a lot of substitutes for products available or you can make them yourself. And also ….. you can eat cheese :D. As a cheese-loving Dutchie, that is a very big advantage! So I am happy to report that I have lost 20 pounds so far and quite a few inches. I can fit in all my pants again and I don’t feel so bloated anymore. I also have more energy which, of course, is very beneficial. I am really looking forward to the summer and to keep on doing what I’m doing and lose even more weight. Wish me luck!