Where it all began...

Well it's about time I get on with posting something relevant to the point of this blog! So I'll begin by explaining some key points I had going on in my life before I made this lifestyle change.

I had never been sporty as a child and absolutely loved to eat sweeties, cakes and crisps, just like any other kid! However, these treats came at a price as I never really took to exercise and the weight seemed to go on a lot easier on me in comparison to my slim friends with those damned fast metabolisms! Anyway, fast forward a few years and there comes the time of turning 18. Of course, this is a complete milestone, being able to go out and get drunk legally in a pub or club was pretty much going to be a feature of our weekends until we settled down. Naturally, I went out a lot with different groups of friends and, yes, ordered the large chips and cheese at the end of the night...

An important part to remember here is yes, I was extremely uncomfortable with how I looked but when you're young and experiencing these new things all at once you want to do it the same way as all of your friends did. This was until I met Thomas, my boyfriend of 2 years and I went on the Nexplanon Implant. This is a tiny wee bit of plastic fashioned by the devil in his little firey office in hell, that releases hormones in your system over 3 years to stop you from getting pregnant. Yay. NOT. This was probably the worst decision I had ever made. Getting the implant, personally, ruined me for 6 months. I gained an obscene amount of weight on top of my already chubby proportions, turned Anaemic, lost hair, and turned into an emotional, hormonal wreck over the tiniest scenarios. Again, I'd like to point out that the implant only effected me, personally, in this way. To other people, its fantastic, I was just the unlucky 1 in 4 who it affected in a bad way!

Back to my story (told you I ramble), I had tried numerous diets over the years and could probably count more bits of crumpled paper with, 'diet plans' scattered around my room than I have fingers and toes. I'm not sure if that made much sense but, you get the idea. I'd been round this block multiple times and always gave up because I was never focused. This was until February 2012. I was in the doctors clinic getting a regular check up of my blood count and iron. It was when the doctor told me I needed to be measured in height and weight that my heart skipped a beat. Scales. Something that I had always ran away from screaming, with my hands flailing in the air. This was the moment my life changed forever. As dramatic as it sounds, its so true. I was told I was border-line obese and that I needed to go on a diet or I would be too overweight to use the normal pill as a contraception, I would need a different type of pill because, well lets face it, I was too fat. KAPOW, the words that slapped me into action!

From then life changed dramatically. My mother and I decided to loose weight together which is something I cannot recommend enough. Having a partner to work with, to motivate, to inspire really does help. This is one of the reasons I'm making this blog so that I can help you all who don't have anyone else! Anyway, my first real, 'workout', was the next morning at- wait for it- 6am. We were pretty determined! From there, I never looked back. As horrible as being told those words off of a doctor was, I would never take them back. They were the push I needed to becoming healthier and better yet, loving working out.

This is where you need to look at your life. Have you ever avoided mirrors? Have you ever been upset in a changing room that your normal size just wont fit anymore? Have you ever bought loose fitting clothes in attempts to hide fat? Have you ever looked at someone and thought, 'I wish I looked like them' and doing absolutely nothing about it? Have you ever avoided getting full length photographs being taken? Has anyone ever called you fat...?

I felt all of these. I was a professional at covering my tummy with a giant bag in photographs, hiding behind friends in attempts of concealing my size in photographs and just generally avoiding anything which meant I had to look at myself. Another thing that I complained copiously to myself about was heat, especially when I went on holiday to Spain with my friends in 2011. The sand and sweat joining menacing forces all day, every day, creating stinging chaffing and unsightly red blotches all over my skin was nothing to be happy about. Having to wear minimal clothing to try and keep cool during the day proved difficult as nothing I wore made me confident, just fat fat fat.

Things like this in life shouldn't happen, you should be able to enjoy every moment of life and being proud of the person you are.

These are the things that you should swear will never happen again, and instead have a goal. My goal, and still is, was to wear a bikini on holiday when I went in June 2012. Which I did! I wasn't 100% comfortable of course, but I still wore one, and I wore it with pride. My goal today is to get down to a smaller percentage of body fat and tone my tummy up, which I'm afraid is still pretty jiggly.

Whats your goal? Whats your story? Please please please be sure to let me know. I would love feedback on this blog and I'm not 100% sure how subscribers work. If anyone knows, advice would be great! Anyway, leave a comment and tomorrow I shall be posting away again, letting you all know how I exercised, how I currently exercise and my food do-s and don'ts!

As always, thanks for the support and keep checking back for updates :)

Emily xx

                                                          B  E  L  I  E  V  E