Where do i begin? My name is Fierdous, and I began my journey around October 2015, when I started my first Sleekgeek 8-Week Ultimate You Challenge.
An apparent lack of understanding of what I needed to do to change my health was my ultimate excuse until that point. For the past 6 years, my identity as a student, mother and “grass widow” with a military husband had caused me to gain weight and develop bad eating habits as a means of coping.
I have always been very good at managing my stress but there was a shift in my ability to do so after registering at university with a 2 week old baby. The dietary habits of a university student is one of fast food, quick snacks and “study food” (fats, carbs, sugar, carbs, fats). This food culture absorbed me and I soon became addicted to biscuits with my tea, gummy sweets, big bags of chips, doughnuts… the list is endless!
It didn’t help that I had given birth to another baby after my first turned 3. At this point my husband was on deployment and I was still in the military wife struggle with studies and juggling motherhood. I succumbed to food once again, as my saving grace, to get me through the years.
As I gained more weight, I made excuses as to why it was OK and that I could change my body at any time. How wrong I was!
From May 2014, to June 2015, my husband was on another deployment, and I had yet again adjusted my university courses so that I could manage with the stress I faced personally and academically. At this point, I had seen many friends graduate before me. With a low self-esteem, this was a concern and I kept doubting my abilities.
Throughout the deployment I kept telling myself, “you have so much time to lose the weight so you can look good”. But I never did anything. At one point i contemplated doing the Sleekgeek 8-Week Ultimate You Challenge, but kept thinking I will mess up and not have any result.
In October 2015, my mother gave me an entry to the Challenge. I was nervous. I did not have gym membership and beleived my lungs would bail on me with minimal exercise plus I had this idea that I just had TOO MUCH to lose and it was hopeless.
I was so wrong!I pushed on and used my free time to work out and joined any free workouts I could and with a small budget, tried to buy more nutritional food and less bad food that made me binge.
After the challenge I had lost 9,3kg and was in the top 50 of weight-loss.
This was so encouraging and I was finally having faith in myself again. The December holidays, and new year came and went. I was so much more mindful of what I consumed and how I used my body, and my body shape was constantly changing as a result.
In January 2016, an anonymous person sponsored an entry for me once again into the Sleekgeek 8-Week Ultimate You Challenge. While i was still focused on doing things that would help me maintain my healthy habits, being part of the challenge really helped me to give me that edge. It helps to keep you aware of your responsibility for your own health and the fact that you have control over your mind. I started my second challenge at a weight that was more than my previous challenge result, but I was determined to beat it.
At this point in time, I am around the same weight i was at the end of my first challenge, but with consistency, my body is still changing. I have vowed not to base my happiness on a scale reading, but rather on my ability to live my life fully!
I enjoy working out now. My lungs are in a better condition and I am becoming more and more aware that I have the potential to be the Ultimate ME.
I hope my story inspired you.
Fierdous.
