‘Tis the season to eat, feast and be merry!

At the moment I’m having a bit of a relapse but I think it’s a deliberate choice. Sometimes I just get sick of being healthy and eating the right thing all the time.

At the moment I’m really pigging out and treating myself a lot more than once in a while. I think it’s a mixture of the wintertime blues and just feeling a bit rebellious against my usual eating plan.

The weather is really not helping the situation. Being snowed in means I can’t get to the gym to compensate for eating all this rich food.

We went out for an Indian meal for our staff Christmas party. Normally I would try and make small, healthy choices like a tomato rather than cream-based curry and rice or naan, not both. But this time I had such a spread: rice, naan, curry, loads of poppadoms, bhaji, samosa. I literally couldn’t stop myself!

The worst thing is I’m so busy preparing for Christmas that I’m getting quite good at justifying it to myself. I’m so tired at the moment that I almost feel like I deserve to eat and drink what I want.

If I’m being really honest though I’m not trying too hard to be healthier. It is Christmas after all! 

Losing weight can really affect your whole life.

Now I have lost the weight I needed to lose and I am a happy, healthy size 10. I’m finally confident about my body. I love being able to just forget about how I look and concentrate on enjoying my life. Aside from the physical change in my body shape, the main thing I’ve noticed is the huge increase in my energy levels.

When I was bigger, I felt so tired all the time and everything was an effort for me. I felt this especially because I have two young boys (Dylan, 7 and Jude, 4) who have boundless energy and are excited all the time!
 

Since I’ve lost the weight, I have so much more energy to play with them even though I’ve taken up work recently as well. I feel much less stressed about keeping the work-life balance and confident about facing the world.

I work three days a week now but seem to do even more stuff with the boys now. We went to Chessington World of Adventures in the summer and I organised a great party for Jude’s fourth birthday. I took Jude and all his friends to see Toy Story 3D which is his absolute favourite. I was busy with lots of excited 4-year-olds in tow but I actually really enjoyed it.

By far the biggest effect losing weight has had on my life is this energy boost. I have so much more energy than I had before and I now have a really positive outlook on life. 

Keeping the good habits up…

As I’ve said before, I really believe that my healthy lifestyle relies on balance. Not denying myself when my body is craving something stops me from bingeing on rubbish food later. It becomes a way of life after a while.

Now it is instinctive for me to not over-eat. Most of the time I hate the feeling of being too full. But obviously there is the odd lapse when I eat too much and then regret it. For these times I keep have a spare Cho Yung Tea in my handbag. It helps me compensate a bit by detoxifying my body.

The tea has become as much a part of my routine as going to the gym twice a week. Like exercise, it is the perfect way to counteract any little food binges I have along the way. It is my go-to when I’m feeling a bit low to perk me up. My husband calls these my ‘Face-pack days’ because I have a bath, put on a Facemask and put my feet up with a cup of Cho Yung Tea.

Cho Yung Tea has not only helped me to lose weight. It’s also great for my skin – I think it has the same effect as a good holiday but without the sunburn!

I ran out of the tea for a while and I noticed a huge drop in how healthy I felt. My skin was spottier and I was less motivated to eat healthily and exercise.

I’ve only told my closest friends about my weight loss secret but the ones I have told tried it straight away and loved it. I would find it difficult to maintain a consistent healthy lifestyle without Cho Yung Tea to perk me up on my off-days.

Getting a new job and my life back

After losing the weight I quickly got my confidence back but the change in me to really sink in. The real turning point for me was when I landed a new job. I’d stopped working after having my kids and just never really had the confidence to look for work again.

But after losing the excess weight I felt like a different person and I was so keen to get out there in the world again. Before stopping work a hairdresser and a guy that used to work for me offered me a job as a receptionist at his salon. So now he’s my boss!

It was so good for my self-esteem and gave me a great outlet for my new-found confidence. Everyday I am meeting new people and this has helped my confidence even more.

I’m one of the oldest at the salon and everyone jokes about it calling me ‘nan’. It’s a really young, funky environment but I don’t feel out of place at all. I’m so confident with my body now that I’ve regained my love of fashion. I’m always experimenting with my hair and wearing trendy new clothes.

From where I was a few years ago, it has been a complete transformation. I show the girls at the salon pictures of me before I lost the weight and they just can’t believe it. It wasn’t just about being bigger, it was the clothes I wore, my haircut and how I held myself. I love feeling like I fit in so I can just be myself without worrying. I’m back to my old, happy self again.