Project Rebecca: Update

Name Rebecca Weymouth
Age 28
Occupation Media sales executive
Relationship Single
Goals To lose weight, without dieting and exercise becoming a chore – and to boost her confidence in her body

Friday, January 18

So much has happened since starting this journey in December, everyday seems like a whole new adventure.

I’ll start on the highest of notes to gee up anyone reading this who is also currently reassessing their relationship with themselves, their diet and their lifestyle – drum roll please – I have lost 7lbs! Woo hoo! I have dropped a dress size! Yippee! I feel wonderful (high fives herself).

It most definitely hasn’t been an easy ride, though, but neither has it been painstakingly tough. The hardest events to date have been digging deep into my psychology and opening up properly to close friends, family and to Simon, my personal trainer at Virgin Active.

The first step was to tackle my diet, or lack of it. A big part of me went into its usual distress mode the minute Simon mentioned the dreaded ‘D’ word, but we worked each other out pretty quickly and soon turned the ‘D’ word into the term ‘lifestyle change’.

We didn’t even discuss my required ‘lifestyle changes’ until our second training session at which I produced a food diary from the previous week. This time I was going to lose weight without succumbing to the likes of Weight Watchers, or worse still, Natalie Cassidy’s new fitness DVD.

No, this time I decided to use the clever brain I’ve been blessed with which knows all about healthy eating. I’m putting a stop to the extreme cycle of dieting, failing, comfort eating and then denial. I’ve been on Weight Watchers, I’ve suffered Atkins, I’ve even sampled SlimScents – a selection of magic food-scented pens that supposedly curb your appetite when you sniff them. (Look, I was 17 and desperate, OK?). This time, however, my approach is to chill out, devour the professional advice and stick to it.

So far, so good. If I want some Maltesers, I have them, however, somehow I’ve found my natural ‘off’ button, and it’s massively liberating. Simon has a very honest, frank, encouraging and kind training style and I give all credit to him. I am no easy ride – there have been tears and tantrums on the treadmill; through exhaustion, frustration and sheer agony as underused muscles are roused from a deep hibernation.

I am also aghast to realise just how much booze I have been consuming and the detrimental effect it was having on my body. I always knew my limits (the fifth sambuca shot), but seriously, forgoing my usual lunchtime glass of wine took some getting used to. Today, for example is my day off from the gym and I have rewarded myself with a crisp cold glass of sav blanc – but how delicious it was.

Simon and I have negotiated on how I should approach and deal with the alcohol in my life, as it’s not going to go away. I won back Thursdays (the new Friday) as long as I’ve had a four-day dry stretch at the start of the week, so now I’m only drinking alcohol once or twice a week.

This really has been the major catalyst to my weight-loss success alongside the challenging physical workouts. My overall well-being, positive attitude and acceptance to address my esteem issues are definitely a result of regular endorphin rushes and ability to now have deep succulent nights of sleep sans hangover. And it’s the results that are now spurring me on, with improved posture, muscle tone, strength, energy levels and scales moving in the right direction.

I couldn’t be doing this without the great support and motivation from all around me which is coming in droves, friends, family, colleagues, housemates as well as unusual and slightly surprising individuals. It being the depths of darkest January, and a media frenzy for the latest and greatest health and fitness fad, we’re helping to keep each other in the gym and on the wagon. We just need to keep it up.

Next stop: My second session with life coach Ros. It’s been six weeks since we first met and raring to see her again. An inspirational and vivacious lady, I have a feeling we’re going to work well together and there’s much I can learn and adopt to keep this journey going. I’ll keep you posted on the progress..

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