ANNALISA
ANNALISA SAID GOODBYE TO 9.5KG & SHE IS NEVER LOOKING BACK! #174
Weight loss is a highly emotional journey. In my case, it has impacted my whole life. I have yo-yo dieted since I can remember. Always told as a child I was chubby more so by family than anyone else. As I became a teen, now I was round figured or voluptuous, like it was meant to be a compliment. Or it would be, “don’t worry, you are not made to be thin”. I have taken extreme measures to lose weight including starving myself with drastic diets, taking pills or injecting myself with hormones that trigger weight loss.
I have never truly felt comfortable in my own skin. I haven’t been “big” as what others may term “big” but for my small stature at 1.5m tall, gradually getting to 69.5kg was impacting everything – my confidence, my yearn to be outdoors and my ability to keep up with my boys who are super active and literally don’t sit still for a second. December last year was my turning point. My before photo’s left me in tears as I was so disappointed with where I had gotten to. Then my after photos were taken 6 months later in June.
“I NEEDED TO RESET EVERYTHING”
The triggers to start Kim Beach are numerous but mainly that:
I had lost confidence in myself and that’s just not me. I’m a bubbly outgoing person.
I love the outdoors and exploring new places yet nothing in my wardrobe looked good on me anymore and I hated the idea of going out.
It bothered me that although my husband loved me, I didn’t love me. I would always question him on his compliments and push him away yet he was doing nothing wrong. He saw in me what I could not.
I was tired and didn’t feel like being active with my boys. They are so energetic and demanding but in a good way – walks, playing soccer with me, bike riding, going to the beach (gosh I’d rather not thanks). Sadly they noticed I was larger and as kids do they say what they see. What kind of example was I setting for them?
Before I proceed, I will take a step back on how I got to my highest weight.
I went through an extremely stressful emigration and having to regain in my career what I had set aside to move. I could not be bothered to eat well. I never ate large volumes but ate badly – like nothing all day and then all the worst food at night. My life is manic – stressful job, 2 boys, no support structure, cleaning house, weekend activities. Never a moment for me NEVER. I came last in my own life – that’s how it felt.
Late last year, Kim launched the app on android phones. By now I was 69.5kg and had even gone for blood tests because I was feeling awful. Exhausted really and was hoping, sadly, that the doctor would find something wrong with my thyroid so that I could just take meds and move on. Well no. I was normal and so that was it, I had to change something. That something was my brain. I needed to reset everything.
So I joined the app in early January this year. I implemented a strategy to gain my confidence back and lose 10 – 15 kilos. In order to take control, I needed to set some rules and commit to some goals. More on this later! One goal, weight loss… was not enough. And finally I needed to have the courage to step out of my comfort zone with the training as this is not something I ever enjoyed.
First I needed to set some rules so that I stopped using my job and family as excuses.
Get at least 7 hours of sleep. Shut the laptop down at 10.30pm most nights.
Diarise my wellness time into my diary, during the week and on the weekend. Maybe it’s a workout, maybe its food prepping. I committed to it like I would any other priority. I had to be a little more selfish. I told my family what my new routine was going to be and what my “me” time was about.
Do all the workouts and finish them. I knew the food alone wasn’t enough for my body to make the change as I lose weight very slowly. I knew I had to push myself out my comfort zone.
I put the scales away for first 8 weeks…no self-sabotage.
I stuck to principles for all meals at first and slowly they became a bit more 80/20 but never damaging to reverse the weeks hard efforts.
Goals!
I soon realised one goal wasn’t enough. I needed my “WHY” to keep me focused. Why was I doing this? To be a healthy, confident woman and an energetic role model for my kids.
When it came to the goals, I needed something almost daily and weekly. My first week on the app was about being regimental with the food. I stuck to it 100% including weekend. Remember this was my downfall which I had to overcome. I posted almost daily about my exercise – it became my journal. It was an effort to wake up and fit exercise in every morning but when I was done I felt great and had no intention to override it with bad food choices. I committed to do activities that scared me, like running. I hated running. 6 months later I love it.
In 8 weeks something changed. My brain had reset. The food swaps on the App made me feel like the flexibility gave me permission to not be perfect but still be on point. By now the training bug had bitten, so much so that I needed it as much as the water or my meals. The App has been a real game changer for me.
As I went along beautiful things started to happen. Friendships! This amazing community closed its arms around me. I bore my soul on the Facebook group – my successful days and my bad ones. These connections with women I’d never met started to blossom. Some of their stories struck a chord with me deeply because of similar life events or emotions. Then thanks to Kim’s new concept, Kim’s Crew, I met these ladies and friendships kept growing. The friendships have become real, something that the immigration took away. So in many ways Kim Beach has made me lose weight but gain so much more! And soon it wasn’t about me and my goals anymore. It was about all of us and how we inspire each other as well.
I also decided for a long term lifestyle I needed to immerse myself more and I asked to become an Ambassador.
Weight loss and even maintenance for us that somehow have had a poor relationship with food is really tough but we need to rewire our brain’s, not once but constantly. Since I began I have lost 9,5kg and 54cm. My journey has been slow compared to many others but I knew it would be from day 1, and so I have tried to dig deep when I hit walls. I am not where I want to be yet but this time when I close my eyes and imagine myself lean and toned, it is not that unrealistic anymore. And now when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror the first word that comes to mind is no longer chubby.
Kim Beach has made me strong! Physically but more importantly mentally. We can all become the best versions of ourselves. Thanks to Kim Beach and the community of women that encourage me daily, I can’t go back to the old me…I won’t!