Soup and squash
Neill O'Neill
TWENTY days into the Motivation Programme challenge I accepted at the beginning of October when I write this, and earlier today (Wednesday, October 22) I had my third visit to Imelda in the Motivation Clinic in Market Lane. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that I had lost five pounds of fat since the last visit, meaning that in one day shy of three weeks on Motivation I have lost one stone!
This is very satisfying progress, but there is a very simple reality and explanation behind it: I stuck to the programme. You can cheat all you want, but the scales don’t lie. I had intended, and duly failed, to up my exercise levels last week, so I wasn’t expecting such a positive reading, but I have started weighing my food portions (something I had been guessing for the first two weeks) and upping the water intake. The relevance and importance of consuming water to losing weight and healthy living cannot be overstated, that is one certain life lesson I have acquired so far.
So all in all I am on the right track, and to be very honest, three weeks in and the cravings are gone, the weight going with them, and I feel well up for the challenge of tackling into the next stone.
I’m still making soup though; can’t live without that now. It is nourishing, tasty, handy, practically calorie free and has been such a success for me that I’m considering it for a pitch on Dragon’s Den!
I’m not naturally fit. I play squash, I’m rubbish at it, but I enjoy it none the less. My regular sparring partner Tony McCabe cannot get over my new attitude, energy and enthusiasm, and I can’t fathom how easily I’ve been beating him of late! The loss of the belly has made me more mobile on the court for sure though! I am also spending more time at work, at fulfilling my Chamber of Commerce duties and sorting out other items and problems that have been on the long finger for far too long. I’ve even taken to gardening.
Instead of looking at things now, I’m sorting them. More so than the actual weight loss, this is what is satisfying me most about the last three weeks, and it is undoubtedly all down to the Motivation Programme.
I said originally that dieting is like studying, nobody likes it. Well, I never did anyway, but I now realise that when you study, you probably start getting good results and progressing in a positive fashion, and are therefore more inclined to keep studying. Same applies here. The first week is the hardest, overcome that and the limit for success is up to you.
I’m stubborn, resolute and up for a challenge. The last three weeks have not been unduly tough. I don’t lack energy or motivation, and the results, both in terms of weight loss and other aspects, have been a revelation. If I can continue to lose some weight for another few weeks I will be happy, and if I can maintain this renewed outlook and productivity, then I look forward to meeting the new me.
