My new challenge starts today… on this 8th of November! It’s something that I have been struggling with for the past two months, but I can’t do it by myself… I need help and making it into a challenge, will certainly be an extra motivation for me! I already noticed with my first two challenges that blogging about it really makes me do more of an effort as I don’t want to loose face…

Now, my new challenge has everything to do with… my weight! I already told you about me being a jo-jo in a previous post… I joined Weight Watchers nearly two years ago and I reached my target weight in the summer of 2014. Since then I stopped going to the meetings, but I have been quite good you know… my weight fluctuating between two kilos above and below my target weight. Last year in winter I had a rough couple of months maintaining my weight, but I got back on track, going back to my Weight Watchers routine and also keeping in mind all the things I read in some books by Sonja Kimpen, a Belgian health coach.

Unfortunately I have to keep fighting the kilos. These last couple of months have been really delicious… sweet (chocolates, pancakes, icecreams,…), but also savoury (cheese, crisps,…) and then of course all washed down with a nice Shiraz or a hot cocoa… but all that of course gets stuck on the hips!

Lately I just can’t find the motivation to watch what I’m eating and drinking so today I seek refuge in my blog.

I want to loose the kilos that I am over my target weight plus 1 extra (as a reserve!), which means that I want to loose 5 kilos… preferably before the festive season!!! So from today onwards I will be returning to my Weight Watchers meets Sonja Kimpen routine… that way I should be able to loose those kilos in a healthy, responsible way!

And sorry guys… you’ll have to be my sounding board as I know that sharing this challenge, will help me loose those 5 kilos. In return I will share with you some helpful tips.

Tip 1 : don’t look on a diet as something evil, look upon it as a new, healthy way of eating

A diet, or better ‘a healthy way of eating’, is not something evil… It’s not that when you are on a diet you should live on a couple of salad leaves a day! No one could keep this up. Sooner or later you will fall into your bad habits again and as a result gain more kilos than you have lost!

There are heaps of good, tasty things you can eat and still lose those kilos! A healthy way of eating can be perfectly integrated into your family life…

You certainly don’t have to sip on some “potion” that promises miracles while the rest of your family is eating a warm, tasteful meal.

And of course you can treat yourself to a glass of wine, a piece of cake, some chocolate or some crispy french fries with a dollop of mayonnaise…  you just have to balance that well into your eating habits, especially when you are still in the ‘loosing weight’ fase. But do treat yourself regularly! Your weight loss may be slightly slower perhaps, but you will be able te persevere so much longer!

Tip 2 : any time is a good time to start living and eating in a healthy, responsible way

There will never be a perfect time to start dieting… there will always be parties and diner dates on the agenda. You can’t put off the day to start dieting forever. OK, so perhaps it won’t be a good idea to start on December 24th, but remember…

the day you decide to do something about your weight or way of eating/living, is a good day!

For me that day is today. It doesn’t have to be a Monday… or the first day of new month… or the day after that party… Your life should not depend on your diet you know… you should integrate a healthy way of eating into your life, that way it will become a natural thing to do and that way you won’t look upon it as a diet, but just as a new, healthy way of living.

And there will be moments when you’ll have difficulties sticking to that healthy way of eating, moments when you will eat a whole packet of biscuits, evenings when you will drink and snack more than is good for you… the best advise I can give you then is to get yourself back on track as soon as possible. Instead of thinking “oh well, this week-end is completely wrecked, bring on some more chocolate/wine/snacks” think “ok… I’ve lost it there for a bit, but I will return to my healthy way of eating NOW!” That way the damage will be limited.

Do you want to join me?

Phew, writing all this is already motivating me 🙂  Perhaps you also want to loose just a couple of kilos before Christmas or you just want to start living a bit healthier? Why don’t we learn from eachother, motivate eachother, share tips and keep eachother informed. Feel free to comment below this post and perhaps we can help eachother!

Love, Kathleen

Beware : I am not a health coach, dietician, nutritionist… I am just sharing tips that I have read and heard, tips that are helpful to me to watch my weight and to live a healthier life. If you want expert advice on how to lose weight, I advise you to seek professional help!

Here you can read all about my first challenge…