#3yearsofhardwork

I’ve struggled with body image for the longest time. I remember hating my body so much, hating every inch of it and how I looked. Trust me, I understand what it’s like to be called “fat” especially when you’re constantly compared to your sibling and friends. I was that “fat” kid, well yes some people may disagree to say that I was just chubby and not fat. Whatever it is, I was never the skinny kid and I was bullied and constantly associated with being the bigger child. 

I hope people learn that words play a huge role in developing a child’s confidence. Being called “chubby” or “fatter/bigger” than someone else by your family and “friends” constantly took a toll on my self-confidence. Thankfully, with motivation from one of the most important person in my life made me understand that beauty lies in the confidence you have. Beauty isn’t defined by sizes, colour etc. but beauty lies in how confident you are in yourself!!! 3 years ago, I started working to love myself more. Not because I wanted to look like those magazine models or fit into society’s stereotypes. It is very important to change your mindset. Remember that working to lose weight & to change your body has to be done in the right mentality. Do not lose weight because you want to fit into our society’s scope of beauty. Do not lose weight or starve yourself because you want to be “beautiful”. Many people end up suffering from dietary problems because of these goals. It’s so common that girls end up starving themselves to look like those magazine models. NO. DON’T DO THAT. I’ve been there, I’ve starved myself and ended up being miserable. I never got gastric problems till I begin going through these so called diet routines. 

So here’s a list of what I did during these 3 years to lose my weight. 

- 1 year of no fast food (It was easy for me because I never actually craved for fast food! :) You can do it!) 

- 1 year of no supper-ing (You’ll be surprised at how much weight you can cut just by NOT SUPPER-ing! Right now, yes, I do supper. However, I do it occasionally!)

- Diet Rules: 

1. DO NOT STARVE YOURSELF. (starving yourself causes your stomach to shrink. Yes, you will lose weight fast for a short period of time, but eventually, you’ll realise that your rapid weight loss eventually ends with you gaining more weight. When your stomach shrinks because you start skipping meals, as you begin to eat again... your stomach would be forced to stretch due to the sudden consumption of solids. With the sudden stretch, your stomach is then forced to expand thus resulting in you gaining more weight than what you lost. SO NEVER EVER STARVE YOURSELF. 

2. SNACKING. (I know it isn’t easy to stop snacking. I totally get it because I have such a bad sweet tooth! Find Alternatives! What I did was to feed my craving for sweets by using fruits! Fruits are a natural source of sugar, so they’ll make you full and also satisfy your sweet tooth! For example, if you’re craving for ice cream, try frozen yoghurt instead! Find alternatives to satisfy your sweet tooth craving :) One of my favourite snacks is Muesli covered banana popsicle! - simply coat your banana with honey or yoghurt and coat it with muesli, chia seeds, dried fruits, raisins etc. and pop them into the freezer! Not only is it pretty filling, it’s healthy and delicious! So youtube it! Youtube healthy snacks you can make! IT WORKS. 

3. BE HAPPY. (Eat what you love! I’m such a foodie, so there is no way I’ll ever forgo food. Though I cut down on snacking on sweet foods like doughnuts and ice cream, I still eat what I love during my 3 meals. When you satisfy yourself with proper food *no fast food* during your Lunch and dinners, you’ll tend to have lesser snack cravings! Don’t make yourself miserable by following diets that you find tough to handle! However, of course, eat happily but also consciously find things that can satisfy you but don’t opt for burgers and pizzas too much!) 

4. DRINKS. (opt for fruit juices and healthy smoothies! Well, water is the best! However, if you’re like me, a person who doesn’t really like to drink water. Try fruit infused water :) Thankfully, I’m good with not consuming carbonated sodas! Which plays a HUGE role! So try to opt for healthier drinks that aren’t sodas! Also, if you’re a huge alcoholic drinker, try not to drink alcohol too much because alcohol contains a lot of calories!) 

5. EXPLORE. (do not limit yourself to the foods you’ve not tried. I know so many people that refuse to try salads just because they have the stereotypes of “Healthy food = bland and tasteless”. I was not a huge fan of salads, however, once I begin to explore by trying to make my own salad dressings etc. You’ll be surprised at how yummy they can be! I also opt to make my own smoothies and play around with making yoghurt concoctions! Filling some of my lunch meals with a bowl of yoghurt covered with muesli, chia seeds, loads of fruits and it can be surprisingly FILLING.) 

- Exercise. (If you are a potato like me, you just got to push yourself! Not compromising your delicious meal times = having to push yourself a little bit more to workout so you can eat! I took 3 years because I did not compromise my joy of eating food, but it doesn’t work when you’re constantly being a potato! I’m still working on loving to workout my body but just try! I went through so many kinds of different workout routines it’s crazy! 

#6 months of Volleyball (school cca but I stopped due to workload). 

#during the months I did not workout a lot, I looked more into cutting down on fatty foods! So you gotta compromise! 

#Workout at home 3 times a week (though yes there were cheat weeks haha) #Joining different kinds of running events to make myself move more! For example: going to electric run and colour run with your friends and actually make yourself run! I even tried Muay Thai, zumba too haha! 

#6 months of constant running (once or twice a week) 

#around 6 months of Gymming (once or twice a week) for at least an hour #and now I am taking dance and I just realised how many muscles you use for dancing!!!! 

Overall, I was never consistent on my workout routines, but I tried many different things. At the same time, remembering to stay to my few diet rules :) On the months I exercised more, I did not put too much concentration of the kinds of food I ate (this does not include fast food because I don’t like fast food that much anyway). But on months that I do not exercise that much, I do make sure I do not snack or supper. So it’s about remembering to balance out :) 

I am no fitness or dietary guru but this is just what I chose to do because I could never commit to a fix schedule or diet routine. I am not very fit, and I have a horrible stamina because I hate running haha. I die a little every time I attempt to run or do cardio but I am working on improving and trying to push myself despite my horrible fitness level. 

RIGHT NOW, even though I do have parts of my body that I still want to work on. I still have fat rolls (which of course you can’t see in the photo because it’s all about the angle haha) but I am happy with my body. I’m definitely so much more confident as compared to myself 3 years back. I’ve lost a total of nearly 8kg from being 54kg to 45/46kg! (my weight fluctuates! During the months of me working out more, I actually weigh 47/48kg because I had more muscle mass than when I’m not working out!)