My 2014 Plan

I have written before about how I have managed to finally accept my body for what it is, and even to embrace it. It has taken me 27 years to feel good about myself, and acknowledge that I am fat, overweight, obese, however you want to say it, but that doesn't mean I need to hide every bump, curve, bulge or part of me that may offend people. I am me, and that is that.

Along with the confidence I have gained, is also more of an awareness about how unfit I am. I don't really do exercise, I could never see how people got enjoyment out of it, or find the time. I am currently a housewife/stay-at-home mum/unemployed lady, with two kids both in full time education, so I can't use the excuse of having no time to do anything. I hate the idea of going to the gym, paying £50 a month to have all the already fit people looking down their nose at me and wondering why I am bothering. But I have seemed to reach a point in my life where I have realised that, although I will always be a big girl, I need to start thinking long term, and start thinking about my health.

Both of our children aren't biologically mine, and the thought of being a mum fills me with joy. I have learnt so much for my parents throughout the years, and knew that my purpose in life was to be a mum. For now, that is to two amazing children that I love so much, and one day I hope that we can have a third child. But to do this, I feel I need to change my lifestyle.

I know that being overweight is seen as a big problem when it comes to conceiving and having a baby, and I don't doubt that it can cause complications for some people. But I have know quite a few ladies that are overweight and gone on to have beautiful babies with no extra complications than any 'normal' sized lady.

Anyway, apart from that, I just want to be able to run around with the kids, feel like I can do things without getting out of breathe and not being able to fit into seats in cinemas without being reminded I am 'that big'. I just wanted to explain to you that I am comfortable with my body, but I am going to try and make it fitter, and possibly smaller, on my quest for 2014.

The first step to a healthier me in 2014 is juicing!

A few months ago, I saw a video on YouTube where these people were doing a 5 day juice detox. The idea of a juice detox confused me a little, and so I began my search on what this involved, and was pleasantly surprised. I found a lot of videos on or by Jason Vale or 'The Juice Master' as he is known, and started to understand the point of juicing as a way to detox, get healthy and lose weight. Only after a few days, I realised that this was something that I should try as I have found it hard in the past to eat well. There are different types of juicing, and I see the best option for me to be juice fasting, which is basically where I have nothing but juice and water for a set number of days.

I am bad at eating. Well, I am technically good at eating, as you can tell by my size.....but I mean I am bad at eating the RIGHT things. I rarely would eat my 5 a day, not because I don't like fruit and vegetables, but because it was easier to eat chips than boiled potatoes, or a chocolate bar rather than an apple. When I had decided this was something I wanted to do, I told some friends about it and who were a bit sceptical. One said why not just eat better, but I told her that with me, it's all or nothing. If I am eating normally, I can just as easily think, I can't be bothered to cook some veg, I'll just have a jacket potato, with butter, and cheese.......and defeat the point of eating vegetables. So, once I had read up about juice fasting, I knew it was something I should at least give a go. I told Mike what my plan was, and he was up for giving it a go too, as he is keen to loose some weight too. We then started looking at juicers to buy, and after a few discussions, we opted for the Philips HR1861. At the time, it was £74.99 on Amazon, and I had a £25 gift voucher I had left over from my birthday, so we used that and got it as our Christmas present.

And I love it! I have used it everyday since Christmas, trying new things all the time. I have bought fruit and vegetables nearly everyday, and I am loving it! I've told people that we got one, and the main response is 'oh that will only be used for 2 months'. But it's not. I am loving the taste of the juices and feel so good when I drink them, knowing I am feeling my body with all their nutrients and goodness :)

I also went out on 28th December and bought myself a bike. I haven't been on one properly since I was about 15.....but I used to love going round to my friend's house on it, and just love the feeling of freedom whilst riding. So I used a voucher I got from my parent's and got myself a hybrid bike, helmet, nice seat and some gloves. I went for the Apollo Code Men's Hybrid Bike as I needed a 21" frame, and all the ladie's ones went up to 20" and were either pink or purple.... and I like the black look. It was quite weird trying it out for the first time, it was very wobbly! But I got the hang of it and loved it! Now that we all have a bike, Mike and I plan to take the kids out at weekends for some nice nice bike rides. Can't wait!

I will be keeping a Vlog diary on my YouTube channel, and will be updating each week. I hope you will join me on this quest to find my healthy side!