Sundresses and cellulite

Woohoo! A bit of sun over the last couple of days in London makes the place look chirpier.

However, this means that I'm shrugging myself out of my Winter layers and contemplating the lighter items in my wardrobe. On doing so, I discover 2 things:

1) Half of it doesn't fit.

2) The other half will not look good on my pasty, lumpy and wobbly body.

Hmmm. Time for serious action, I think. I am lucky enough to have a little sun-deck where I live, however it's quite public, and I don't want my first foray out there in summer-wear to be greeted by hoots of laughter and jeers of derision from the assembled masses!


So, I have implemented a 3 stage programme:

Step one - sort out my mind.

Step two - sort out my body.

Step three - sort out my wardrobe!

Step one - sort out my mind.

I firmly believe that the most important part of any process is having the right attitude to start with. If you don't have that, you're not going to get anywhere. So, I did some research (okay, I talked to my Mum, who's a professional hypnotherapist), and discovered that hypnotherapy is a really simple way of adjusting your attitude and can work wonders if you're trying to lose weight.

Being a normal woman, I didn't want my mother messing with my head (sorry, Mum!), so I decided to buy Paul McKenna's 'I Can Make You Thin'. This is a paperback book that comes with a CD. The idea is that you listen to the CD every day (it's just 25 minutes long) and follow his four golden rules (eat when you're hungry; stop when you're full; eat exactly what you want; enjoy every mouthful). It sounds very simple, and it is, but the book and CD help you to actually achieve it.

I've been moderately successful with it, especially as I don't obsess about food all the time any more, but it wasn't moving me on quite enough. So, I bought his '90-Day Success Journal' as well. I still wasn't doing brilliantly, but the journal helped me to realise why - it was because I wasn't doing the CD every day. Doh!

I quickly rectified the situation, and have had the bonus side-effect that the CD leaves me feeling all fluffy and nice every time I use it. Ahhhhhh...

Both books are available online from The Country Bookshop

There's also a free email support forum available for people following 'I Can Make You Thin', which you can find here.

Step two - sort out my body.

I have had to acknowledge that my sedentary job and lifestyle have combined to mean that I do NO exercise. Even if I lived on cabbage and air for the rest of my life, doing no exercise would mean that I had no body tone either. Muscle tone is as important as size and shape in making you look your best. So, it was time for dramatic steps, I felt - I joined the gym up the road from me (it's a Courtney's).

I like my gym because:

- Normal people go there (i.e. not all muscle-bound hunks and super-models)

- It's all inclusive. I get to use the gym, pool and attend exercise classes for my subscription, with no hidden charges on top.

- There's no long term contract. Last time I was a member of a gym, I had to sign up for a whole year, so when I moved house 6-months into my subscription I still had to pay for the next 6-months even though I couldn't use the facilities. Cheek! At my gym you only have to give a month's notice, which I think is fair enough.

- It doesn't cost a fortune. I pay £45 for EVERYTHING. There's no joining fee or anything.

- It is almost next door. So, if I can't even get my butt to this gym, there really is no hope for me!

Now, you might think this means that I've signed up with a personal trainer and am suddenly running 5 miles every day on the treadmill, before breakfast. You'd be wrong. I have come to the conclusion that baby steps are the way to go, and that given my natural ditheriness (yes, it is a real word!), I need to focus on making the gym a habit. So, I go every day (just about) for only half an hour each time. All I do when I'm there is light cardio work (great for burning fat), but it's the fact that I'm doing more exercise that I was before that's important - it's all going to add up and I won't have killed myself on the way!

Step three - sort out my wardrobe.

This has been the easiest thing, and has also provided me with the fastest noticeable change. Here's what I did:

- I took everything out of my wardrobe.

- Sorted all the items into piles of: throw away; give away; too small; and it fits.

- Anything I didn't actually like or didn't suit me had to go, whether it fitted me or not.

- I put together all evening wear, popped it in a suit cover and labelled it. I then hung this up at the back of my wardrobe.

- I did the same for all other categories of clothing, apart from the things that were in season and actually fitted me.

- If it fitted and I could wear it in this weather, I put it in the front main part of my wardrobe and grouped items together by type (smart skirts, casual tops, etc).

This sounds easy (and it is) but it's made a huge difference to me. I can now find my clothes easily, I can put outfits together much more quickly, and I no longer have to flick through loads of stuff that makes me feel fat or ugly in order to get to things that I know will fit and look good. Instant confidence!

I've also gotten into the habit of picking out my outfit for the next day before I go to bed at night (even to shoes and undies). This has made getting up in the morning a whole lot quicker and less arduous.

I'm hoping that these three things together will have me looking like Rachel Weiss in no time. Unfortunately, that's highly unlikely as I'm too squeamish to go through the plastic surgery that would be required, so I'll settle for looking more toned and fitting into some of the clothes that I know make me look good. I'm sure it's just a matter of time...

...and effort!

;)

Take care,

Tam

Tam @ Joint Equity Owner Team

Joint Equity Blogger

www.jointequity.co.uk