What I have lost so far!

Oh my goodness guys,
 I am just so happy right now! I weighed myself today and I lost 3 more kilos! Now my starting weight was 89 kilos and my new weight is 66 kilos, so that makes it a whopping 22 kilos!
I am so proud of myself, I can't believe how far I have come. I'm not trying to brag or anything just to say that I am proud of myself for not only losing the weight but for never giving up and really sticking with it. But remember guys, if I can do it you can do it too. My plan from the start was to lose 30 kilos so now I have about 8 more kilos to go.

I am now going to sign off. I know this is a very short post but all it is, is an update and there's really not much for me to say. Most of these types of entries are gonna be short and sweet anyway so bye for now! hope you reach your goals too.

Love
Alice

April Favorites

Well now That April has come to an end, I will now share what kinds of products I've used that has helped me in my journey so far.


The first product I'll share with you is this XBOX kinect game I am playing which is the Zumba fitness core. This has pretty much been the only exercise I've been doing this whole month. Now I really love Zumba. Its not just this zumba game that I own I also have another xbox game, one from the wii and I have the first DVD set they released which comes with the toning sticks and the free timer watch. This one has been my "go to" exercise for this month but I will be switching to another exercise next month which I will share later. I've really been enjoying this one. At first I found some of the moves difficult but as I played more I got better at the moves and started to really enjoy using this video game more. I pretty much had the same thing when I first used the DVD I'd be all "urg! this is so difficult" but the more I did it I got better and it became more fun. The zumba core though has been the one I've been doing the most. The dance routines are really awesome. I already have some favorite routines and its just so fun. It is so true what they say about it feeling like you are not working out. It is so different from weight lifting and all the other tough exercises. I find that doing Zumba has been one of my life savors in my journey because there will be times where I've burnt over 900 calories which is really amazing because compared to other workouts I'll burn like over 200 or 300 calories that's still a lot though but to burn over 900 is INSANE! awesomely insane!

The next favorite of mine is this cookbook I've been using called "The eat clean vegetarian cookbook" by Tosca Reno. I have been really enjoying some of the recipes. I think I've tried more than 3 recipes already. Before I bought this book I was looking at reviews on amazon and some people didn't like it because it had a chapter on fish recipes. But it is only a very small chapter. I love the recipes though I recently made the maple pecan granola which i find so much better than store bought granola. And one of my favorites is her Peanut butter chocolate chip backpack kisses I find that recipe very yummy because I am just such a sucker for peanut butter and chocolate, it reminds me a bit of the Hershey Peanut butter cups, so delicious! I'm sorry but if you hate peanut butter you are not normal, you don't know how to live! just kidding! Anyway I tried Yaki Soba, "The souper cleanse"Soup,"Broccoli "Cheddar" Soup" and caprese quinoa Salad.

The next thing is something my big bro gave me for my birthday this year which was April of this year. And that is my ipod nano which comes with a sensor that you use for running or walking that will count your calories as well as play music while you exercise. What you do is you put the sensor somewhere in your shoe or sock then you go to the calorie counter, press start and then as you walk/run it counts the calories. I've really been finding it useful. I've been using it each time I walk the dog. I used it once for running too.

So this is the ipod nano

And this is the sensor, that you put in your  shoe or  sock

Well that is it for my April favorites. Those were all the products I've been going to mostly this month. Hope you guys had a great day/evening/night and enjoyed this post.

Love 

Alice

Excuses, excuses and more excuses.

In this new post I am going to be addressing some issues that have just hit my mind a lot. To make things clear I'm going to be talking about why I disagree with constant excuses I've heard time and time again. I will also talk about how you can avoid these excuses. I will then give the main reason why I think people are overweight/obese.

1. The main reason people get obese/overweight is because of their genes.

This may be partially true, but in my opinion it isn't the main reason. Why? because genes only play a minor role, but that doesn't mean you cannot lose weight. You may not be blessed with a fast metabolism where you can eat as much as you want without gaining the access pounds or kilos, but there are things you can do to get your metabolism to work faster. Here is a few things I did that I think helped speed mine up:

I drank green tea

This tea has certain stuff in that helps speed your metabolism. Just google it and you will find many sources talking about how it gives that benefit. I found that drinking it really helped along with eating a balanced diet and exercise.

I never skipped any meals especially breakfast!
when you skip meals and let yourself starve you are putting your body into starvation mode and so your metabolism shuts down, because when you eat again it will just store energy very slowing because it was put to sleep. Believe me I used to skip meals in the past and I think that upset my metabolism.

I exercised
This also helps get the metabolism going as your energy won't get stored as fat. But it also has other benefits as well check out this article http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise/HQ01676

Another important thing to mention, The problem for some people might not be just genetics, but some things people do to their bodies can upset their metabolism. For example there are diets out there that can really hamper the metabolism such as yo yo dieting. This is when you go on a strict diet then lose the weight you lose, then you stop then you gain it back then you do it again and so on.

Here is a quote from a website that explains how it upsets the metabolism.

It's not only your waistline that suffers from yo-yoing. "Repeated crash dieting increases metabolic hormones, such as insulin, and elevates levels of sex hormones, including estrogen," says Andrea Pennington, MD, author of The Pennington Plan for Weight Success. "These changes cause you to start putting on weight around your middle, which research has linked to insulin resistance, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease."

http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/weight-loss/tips/diet-tips/end-the-yo-yo-diet-cycle/

It can slow your metabolism but not permanently. Here's another article that talks about yo yo dieting and how it can effect your metabolism. It also brings up really important info about why its not a good option.

http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/weight-loss/weight-loss-myth-yo-yo-dieting-will-wreck-your-metabolism.html#b

Just because because you were not blessed with a fast metabolism doesn't mean you have to stay that big forever.

I strongly advise this. Never allow your genes as your excuse. Your genes are not the main reason you are overweight or obese. Also if someone tells you things like "This is going to be hard because of your genes" or "You were born like this" Please don't listen to that! I'm sorry but if someone is telling you this stuff then they are not giving you advice! So don't take it at heart or take it seriously. Never take at all. REMEMBER IT CAN BE DONE. YOU CAN'T LET ANYTHING DISCOURAGE YOU! YOUR GENES ARE NOT AN EXCUSE PERIOD!

Believe me I don't have a naturally fast metabolism but I've lost so much weight and I know I will reach my goal I have come this far. And I am not the only one, there are people who have gone further then I have. Like take this YouTuber called Nancy Valentino for example she came from a family of overweight people and she became overweight herself until one day she changed her ways and lost ALL her weight and now she is a model! Please watch this video about her story. It will open your mind.

This video proved to me that genes really play a tiny, tiny role and that I CAN do this, I CAN lose this weight no matter what my genes are made of ANYONE can lose weight. In other words this video gave me more hope.

also my aunt who is on my mother's side of the family managed to keep her weight down and that is the side of my family where my slow metabolism got inherited from.

 2.Modern day technology is the main reason people are overweight.
I personally don't agree with this. Because you can actually lose weight without exercising. You just have to eat the right amount of calories. Plus when you sit down at the computer your're not consuming any calories nor are you burning any. But if you are eating and at the computer the whole day eating heaps of high calorie junk everyday, then yes of course you will gain weight. No I'm not saying that it doesn't play a role at all with gaining weight, I just don't think it plays that big of a role.


3.People think losing weight is impossible, they also think they are meant to be that way.
I'm sorry but that is just nonsense! I mean come on there is only so much you can do!

Go to the gym
Count your calories
Eat healthier foods(that taste good!)
Drink 8 glasses of water a day
meditate
walk your dog
play with your kids
cycling

The list goes on! Don't get me wrong I'm not saying its easy but all these things I listed proves that its possible.

4.People think that going to the gym is the only way to exercise.
Again MORE RUBBISH! You don't have to go to the gym to work out, There are cheaper options. You can even buy your own exercise equipment. You don't have to buy a big elliptical, or a treadmill. You can get cheap equipment too. but not all exercise requires equipment like for example walking and running doesn't require equipment. You can also use work out DVD's or if you are one of those game junkies who owns a wii or an xbox360 kinect you can buy fitness games. I personally don't go to the gym as I mainly stick to walking my dog and I also used fitness DVD's and I also use the xbox360 kinect. I also used the wii. You can even go on YouTube and you'll find workout videos there.

5.People feel that food is everywhere, therefore they are forced to eat it.
Well yes food can be very tempting. I used to be a victim of this excuse. For example I used to go off my plans because of Easter and Christmas. This may be another thing that is partially true but there are ways it can be avoided. You just have to remember that no one or anything is shoving stuff down your throat. It is not that you are getting forced, your're just getting tempted and there are ways to keep you from getting that way like for example don't go grocery shopping when you are hungry and keep drinking your liquids as that can help stop that problem. What worked for me the most was not going shopping while I was hungry. There are also these hypnotizing audio CDs you can buy that can wean you off getting tempted in the past I used Paul Mckenna's "I will make you thin" audio and that worked for me at 16 when I did my detox diet which I don't recommend. But if your're the type of person that gets tempted easily this might work for you.

6.Festive holidays where food is the big thing.

There are ways you can avoid gaining the access pounds, Like having smaller portions. You can still enjoy a Christmas pudding at your family's Christmas gathering or a chocolate egg in Easter, You just have to have small quantities. For example it's someones birthday, ask the person cutting cake if you can have a smaller piece. If its Christmas Dinner, avoid pilling your plate up and just take limited amounts of food. At Easter don't splurge on your chocolate, just save it, you can have a small piece and you can savor it for more days, you can also share your chocolate with your friends or family.

7.No time to exercise or cook healthy meals.

People complain that they have no time. well if you haven't got time it doesn't mean you can't lose the weight as you don't have to exercise. You can still consume smaller portions, just make sure you eat the right amount of calories, As for having no time to cook healthy meals and fast food is the only option, then pick healthier options choose a small meal don't ask for a large burger with a large soda and if you don't mind eating salads try asking for a salad instead of fries when you go to Mc.Donalds or Hungry Jacks, ask for a six inch sub instead of having a footlong sub at Subway or you can have salad. Try to find ways you can cook quick meals for example you can make healthy stir fries with vegetables with chicken or tofu they are very quick. You can use wholewheat Lebanese bread to make pizza(This is a recipe I will be sharing with you sometimes I will have this if I am too tired to cook or if I have no time) Please check out this video of this girl who managed to lose weight without exercise or even dieting.

8. Its too expensive.

Oh dear (rolls eyes) Ok look as I mentioned earlier pick healthier options at fast food chains. But of course there are cheap options. For example, frozen vegetables are cheaper than fresh ones, they are low in calories and they last longer then fresh ones. Try and find stuff on special. Check the nutrition facts on the packaging on cheaper items and you might get lucky. But then again keep sticking to smaller portions if you are having trouble.

And this is a very famous one....

9. ITS TOO HAAAAAAAARD!!!!!!!!!! I CAN'T DO IT!!!! ;(
YES YOU CAN DO IT! I understand that it may not be easy but this is still an excuse. Not only is it an excuse, it is also negative fuel meaning you are using this excuse to sabotage your plans. Also if you say something is too hard than you are making it more harder than what is. weight loss includes positive mentality. If you drown yourself with negative thinking then, you will not succeed. Repeating the negative mantra "Its too hard, its too, hard, I can't do it I can't do it" will tear you down. If this is what you have been doing all this time then please go the opposite way by believing in yourself and instead of telling yourself "its too hard." repeat to yourself this mantra "This may be hard I can do this, I am strong, I can pull through, I am worthy, I'm a fighter" anything positive. Do this everyday and you will be on the road to success with your journey. A positive mind will help make things easier for you. Trust me it made things easier for me.

OKAY WELL, WHAT IS THE MAIN PROBLEM?
EXCUSES! and possibly LACK OF KNOWLEDGE.

SO WHY ARE EXCUSES MAKING ME FAT!
Because, making excuses is like feeding your mind too much junk food. The more you make excuses the more you discourage yourself. You will also end up going to your old ways. I have seen this happen in real life and it has happened to me too. In my past I always failed because I made excuses, I blamed the holidays(mainly the Easter holidays) and other things. But when I became successful I ditched all of those excuses.

LACK OF KNOWLEDGE?
Yup! of course because you don't realize that its those excuses plus you probably don't know how to lose the weight properly hence crash dieting. You are not aware of how much or how little food your having, You probably think that loosing weight means you have to eat salad all the time or you have to eat dust and you don't realize that you can still enjoy food even if you are trying to lose weight. That is NOT true you just have to drop some old habits such as splurging, drinking, yo yo dieting etc. You just have to keep things balanced. Because Honey diets don't work, to lose weight you need to make new lifestyle changes that will help keep your weight off permanently.

Basically its ALL in the MIND if you stop your excuses and do your homework on how to eat right you WILL succeed. The main element to a successful weight loss is a strong, positive mind.

Well this brings me to the end of this post. I really hope that you have found this to be helpful, as a lot of these tips  that I have shared really helped me personally.

Stay healthy, stay positive and stay strong.

Love

Alice

My story and how I got started

Hello again,
Here's my next post. this will be a long post so brace yourself  lol

My Story
I was never really overweight my whole life as a kid I was quite skinny however when I hit puberty I started to gain a little bit of weight. I wasn't overweight in my early to mid teens but at 13 years old I was just a little bit chubby and a little bit skinny but I was not fat, yet back in those days I thought I was fat. I would also have friends tell me that I was fat and looking back I never understood why they thought that.  I mean no I was not skinny but I was not fat either! As you can tell I dealt with peer pressure as well just from being told that. But sadly even before I was told that I thought I was too. So my self-esteem was very low  like I hated what I saw. I became very self conscious about my body especially my tummy. I would also always feel uncomfortable around my classmates whenever we had swimming lessons/pool parties because everyone was slim and looked good in there swim suits and I can just remember feeling like such an oddball, it just felt like I didn't fit in and I felt really disconnected. I would tell some other girls in my class this but they told me that I was not fat yet the friends that I hung out with told me I was. I also remember one swimming lesson I had, my crush was there and I felt so embarrassed wearing my swim suit because of my chubby thighs, like I just didn't want him to see me. My teenage years were very tough on me I just grew up feeling very unattractive. I never had an eating disorder like anorexia bulimia  or anything but there was this one time where my friend was really getting at me telling me "Alice you ARE fat" even her dad was horrid telling me the same thing one time at lunch I had pizza and she was all "You're eating pizza!" I remember getting really furious at her. Every time she told me I was fat I would just lose my temper and I would just get so upset. Like one time I had pizza with a lemon Pepsi and one guy in my class asked me if he could have the Pepsi and I just sadly said yeah take it so I figured "Why should I care you know I'm so fat I can't have it". I was also told by my tennis teacher that I was fat. I do however forgive my friends as this was such a long time ago so please don't write any ill comments about them what they did was wrong but I am still in contact with them plus this was a long time ago. So anyway I would go on this crash diet where I would only eat a really small salad a day and I would skip so many meals to a point where I felt really ill like I lost my energy and got really bad headaches. At that point my mum got really concerned and told me to eat properly again, so I went back to eating normally again. I would eat normally again however the constant insecurities that I had never ended, they kept on going to a point where I just became this shy, aloof, insecure person even to this day.

As you can see this is what I looked like back then, I was about 13 years old in these photos and at this age I was told I was fat by friends and other people. 

As life went on I became a vegetarian a few days before I turned 14(It was not for weight loss purposes I just got emotionally put off meat) and I moved countries that school I went was in Bali and my dad got a new job and me and my family moved to Malaysia so I changed schools. At 16 I began to obsess again about dieting so I would go on this detox diet where I would only have liquids as in fruit smoothies for a week, I lost weight but when I got back to eating I just regained it. I also tried this tea that was designed for weight loss and it had a laxative in it and it just made things uncomfortable having to use the bathroom all the time, therefore it didn't work. I did exercise and stuff so that kept me from becoming overweight at that time. A year or two later when I was 17 we were preparing to move to Australia and I stopped worrying about what I ate for a bit. Once I moved to Sydney I started to binge on chocolate which was my biggest weakness. In Australia chocolate is everywhere in the supermarkets! I kept eating a lot of it. every time we went grocery shopping I would always go to the confectionery aisle and just grab a chocolate bar be it a Cadbury or lindt or something else. In my last three years of high school I became very overweight. There was a newsagents near my high school where I would go sometimes to buy candy or chocolate. there was also a coles nearby and I would go and buy a bag of Dove chocolate or those mars bar pods. I also remember before or after piano lessons I would roam around in the Westfeild mall and there used be this confectionery stall(its not there anymore) that sold Hershey chocolate and other brands from different countries mainly candy from the UK and America. So I would go there and buy a Reeses Peanut Butter cup of which I found so Scrumptious seriously guys peanut butter and chocolate are best friends! I would also buy Hershey Chocolate blocks or kisses. Gosh I was such a chocoholic it was CRAZY! It was not only the chocolate though there were other food criminals such as potato chips, cookies, ice cream, veggie burgers from fast food chains and food any other food that was easy to get addicted to. I ate and ate and ate that food eating way too many calories. I gained some weight before I moved to Sydney I was around 60 something kgs then after I moved to Sydney I checked my weight I was 78kgs and I was very distraught but continued my horrible eating and soon I began to weigh 86kg. After I saw that hit the 80s on the scale I tried to lose the weight but I kept going on and off trying to lose it. One time I was successfull I went from 86 to 79, I didn't go on a crash diet, I did a proper diet and I would use the Nintendo wii fitness games as part of exercise but sadly I didn't stick to it because of the Easter Holidays. I would try and eat healthy but then when Christmas or Easter would come by I'd end up abandoning my plans as I would always make an excuse. 

Me at 18 

My 18th Birthday

My holiday in LA posing at my beloved Idol's star .
I miss MJ so much! RIP <3

me at 18 again

Basically I became overweight in my late teens and I stayed overweight in my early 20s. I kept on going on and off trying to lose weight like one month I'd be all "I need to start losing weight!" the next month "uh.. I'll enjoy this now and worry about it next week" that pattern would just continue as I became more miserable. I kept going down the deep end. I remember when I first saw my year 10 formal pictures I was very upset I could not believe how big I became I would think horrible things like "Why do I look so fat!", "I look like an ogre!" "I look like a hippo wearing red dress!" etc the same issue with looking at other photos. My self-esteem just shot down and my mind was just full of constant negativity. There were also a lot of things that made things worse for me I remember there was this one time I think it was a year ago like last year or something, I just got back from my job agency appointment and went to the art supply store I don't remember whether it was after I left the store or before I went in I think it was after so anyway this lady came up to me she was doing this survey she was not trying to be rude, she just came up to me and said "hi I'm doing a survey just asking do you plan on losing any weight?" My heart just sank and I just said "oh I have to go" and she said "ok" and just left. But boy that really made me feel even worse I just felt like crap after that incident like I could not believe that such a thing happened at that point it became really official to me that I truly was fat. People thought I was okay I carried my self out calmly like nothing was wrong but deep inside I was very emotionally distraught. I was very good at hiding my feelings now I'd be happy but at times I 'd go in my room and just cry I had many moments where I would just brake down but at home no one would notice. But this is something I would always do if something upset me I'd just go in my room and just cry because I hate to cry in front of people as it find very embarrassing I just kept things hidden because sometimes people tell you things that you don't like or say things that make you feel worse. At times I'd go shopping for clothes I would go to Target and in Target they have these mirrors that surround the changing rooms where you can see your whole figure. I would go in and have such a shock. As I finished I would just leave on the verge of tears. It was not only moments like that though I remember going to target with a close high school friend of mine as we sometimes meet in the mall and check out stores I went to this store with her and she would be the only one finding stuff and I would just stand around look at the clothes, at one point I spotted this pretty looking leopard print top and I said "If I were pretty I would wear this" and she said "But you are pretty you just don't have a normal figure" I would disagree later on telling her " I'm fat, I hate the way I look, I'm not sexy because I am just too fat" and she said "You don't have to be thin to look sexy" and I just continuously said "Oh I don't care what people tell me, they may say, oh you look fine, you look pretty. It just doesn't work, I really don't care" My friend didn't know what else to say but she wasn't keen on how I felt about myself heck a lot people who care about me didn't feel keen on how I felt about myself. I hated shopping for clothes I would always feel very uncomfortable walking into a cute clothing store seeing all those super small dresses, tops, skirts etc. my worst experience was when I went shopping for my Yr 10 formal dress and I went to this store, looked and would ask the sales people if they had anything in a size 16 and they said "No, sorry we only sell sizes 6 to 14"  That was horrible.

Me looking kind of bored 

My year 12 formal dress which is now too big for me.

Yeah I know it sounds like a very boring depressing story. And I know I'm sounding like a very melancholy person well I am melancholy I'll admit just kidding!Thankfully though life did not continue that way back in 2012 late of August last year I had my breakthrough but it was a very painful start but I am thankful to god that I managed to pull through beware though as I am going to mention more depressing stuff but it gets better. 

How it all started 

I would start out how I normally would but at times cheat. One time I caught the flu and I went to the doctor to get checked and get antibiotics. My doctor asked how I was doing and stuff and I was all "Yeah I'm fine, I'm trying to lose weight...." his reply: "Oh Alice that's going to be very hard , your mother's genes, you'll have to go to the gym, or get a physical job. its very hard with all this technology sitting at computers... " and he rambled on and pretty much gave the same advice anyone would give. What really bothered and upset me though was the part about the "Genes" I got really emotionally drained after that appointment. So I just went home and acted like nothing happened but I was really dying inside. I felt really depressed at what I was told. I personally don't like when people tell me oh its just your genes. It makes me feel 10 times worse when I get told these things. Because that is NOT advice I just see that as negative fuel based on the research I have done Genes only play a minor role when it comes to weight loss there are many reasons why people are overweight or obese but this will be a topic I'll be going on about in another entry. Anyway I just sulked after that. I felt really down so the next day after I came back from TAFE I checked my weight and my weight was 89kg I went crazy and my mind immediately got filled with self-destructive thoughts NOT suicidal thoughts I was never really suicidal thank god! but I just went crazy drowning myself in negativity and acting crazy like giving the scale the middle finger(yeah I know get pretty isane sometimes your're allowed to laugh at me!), after I checked my weight I took the dog for his daily walk and my negative thoughts just swarmed my mind. "your're pathetic why can't you just stick to your plans" "You just can't stop can you eating that s****t coloured stuff we call chocolate" then I would do crazy things like pinch myself several times and I'd think thoughts like this: "I don't deserve good tasting food, I was not made to eat these tasty meals" "I'm not blessed with anything" "I'm such a loser" "I can never do anything right" "I'm not worthy of anything at all". Even though I had a negative mindset  I managed to start successfully and my self destructive thoughts slowly vanished as I got into my journey. I really don't recommend anyone to have this mindset though, it is not a good start. If You fill your mind with positive things then things will go to plan, never tell yourself that you are not worthy of anything or don't deserve good tasting food because that is just not true at all. I just pretty much needed to calm down, I thankfully don't have that form of negative thinking anymore as today I have a positive mind set and that has kept me going and prevented me from gaining weight as well as well as also helping to lose it. At that time I was just going through a phase like anyone would about any not so good day. Things just got better and I moved on. I started to eat healthy avoiding chocolate for a while like I even avoided it during Christmas and just ate small bits of the other unhealthy food like refined white bread, I didn't count my calories but I just ate a lot of healthy food, such as vegetable dishes/salads, oatmeal, weetbix, tofu, legumes, nuts etc. Slowly the weight began to fall off as I continued. My clothes began to loosen, I began loosing inches around my waist. I went from 89kgs till the beginning of last month 69kgs which was a whopping 19kgs lost. I haven't checked my recent weight as I weigh myself once monthly. So anyway I would eat healthy then I found out about this website from my brother called FitnessPal which is a website where you log in what you ate and it show how much calories you consumed in a day. I lost my last 5kgs after using it. The thing I really like about is that you can count how many calories is in your favorite piece of junk food and how much you can have of it in a day. I found this website useful during the Easter holidays this year when I was given this big chocolate Cadbury's 100g egg and this 400g aldi chocolate rabbit. I asked my mum not to buy me chocolate for Easter but I got some anyway and at first I decided I don't want to eat it but got thinking and decided that since I have this website that has helped me eat pizza sparingly I should eat it sparingly too so I did that and it worked! Because I still lost one more inch off my waist and my old clothes I had from my mid teens years fit me again! Eating sparingly and counting calories really helped and to think of all these years making excuses, the culprit really was having too much, I always thought that you eat this you get fat. You CAN enjoy a bad meal once in a while. I knew that before but it didn't stick with me because I figured "Oh if I do it that way it won't work because I will just splurge and go back to my old ways" But I proved my self wrong that I can have things moderately by using this website. It has really helped me not only count calories but helped me to enjoy a piece of chocolate once in a while, it kept me grounded too. However I still personally think it is important to eat healthy and not eat too much chocolate everyday as well as other not so healthy food. 

I went from an Australian size 18 to a size 14 as you can see below.

At a family outing

My 21st birthday

My 23rd Birthday
note: I am wearing the same cardigan  that I wore in the  first photo above

Well that is pretty much my story and how it started which is bringing me close to the end of this entry finally! But before I sign I off I just want to share something with those who are on a weight loss journey. Never give up! Losing weight may not be easy but it is NEVER impossible. Don't fill your mind with negativity. But most importantly don't make excuses! because if you do so you will not lose weight. The main key to weight loss is to keep a positive mind! So many people go through life thinking "Oh I was not blessed with good genes" or "I'm destined to be this way" or " I can't give up my splurging!" If these are the type of thoughts you are having then please STOP! I'm asking you the reader to turn that little voice in your head off . If you really think you are destined to be this way, then you ARE destined to be that way think about it, that is just gonna lead you to nothing. YOU WILL FAIL if you think this way. By not being blessed with genes as in a fast metabolism where you can eat as much as you want well guess what, I was not blessed either but did I let that stop me? NO I didn't allow it. You NEED to take your initiative and stop blaming your genes. Because my friend, they are not the main reason why you may be overweight the main thing is whats in your head. The constant "I can't do this" issue is what is keeping you from reaching your goals. Please remember though it is not just like this with weight loss its like this with everything you want to achieve in life. As not everything that looks impossible is impossible and weight loss is one of those things along with other things like learning how to drive for the first time or learning how to snowboard.

I hope this has been inspirational to you all. Keep your  head up and never give up on your dreams!

Love 

Alice

An introduction to this blog

Hi Everyone,
As you can see this is a new blog that I've created and I just thought I'd introduce it to you all.

first things first why exactly have I created a blog to do with weight loss.

Well the answer to this question, I created this blog because my journey has been successful and its been such an issue in my life plus being overweight has always had a negative impact on me as it destroyed my confidence and I felt really unhealthy (I will get more into my story on another post) as you can see its been such a big issue for me and I know that there are a lot of people out there who are suffering from the same problems of which I have suffered. I thought about making a blog for quite awhile, I was hesitant but recently I decided I'll go ahead and do it so I did!

What will my blog include.

well since this is a blog about weight loss I will be talking about a lot of things like products that I'm enjoying for example an exercise DVD/game or a type of food or cookbooks and recipes I'll  also be doing stuff like monthly favorites etc.

Just to let you all know though I am a vegetarian so all of my food recipe ideas will be all be meatless dishes so I apologize to all meat eaters but I can however give tips on how to make some meals non-vegetarian. I can also give tips on how to make a dish vegan.

I will also talk about certain topics that hit mind or stuff that bothers me when it comes to weight loss. like for example lets say there's this new weight loss pill and I will talk about why I detest it. some issues will be controversial sometimes, so please calm down if it bothers you I understand that everyone has different views on things and  that's fine I mean feel free to comment if you agree/disagree with anything I've said but please be respectful as I am also learning as I go through my journey and maybe you have something to add like if its something I never thought of before or what have you. feel free to comment if you disagree as I like to keep and open mind.

I'll also talk about some of my life struggles as I've been through a lot of that.

Updates on how my journey is doing I will be posting before and after shots of myself.

I will also share some motivational tips as well as advice however bare in mind I am not an expert, what I share is basically stuff that has worked for me personally as well as stuff that has not worked for me. But please if you have have taken any advice and it did not work out for you than please don't complain to me about it or leave rude comments as they will be deleted! I will accept constructive criticism but please be respectful even if something I shared didn't work for you. Remember everyone is different and certain tips might not work for everybody. I'm still happy to give advise and hopefully my blog can help you a little but remember I'm not a doctor and all that. Again the advice I share is based on what has worked out for me but I do hope that it will work for you too. I will also talk about stuff that didn't work for me and who knows maybe what didn't work for me might have worked for you so feel free to comment on that if you'd like.

So yeah this is what will be included in this blog. I hope you enjoy reading my posts and hope it helps motivate anyone else who is on a weight loss journey.