(Above-mumma and I doing lots of walking in the beautiful Devon Countryside)
*If you do struggle with eating disorders, this may not be the chapter for you. Equally, I am NOT a professional- this is just something I chose to do, so please do not take my word as law. Lifeworkscommunity provide round the clock free support for eating disorders- so if you feel this triggers you, please go and get some advice (link is below) X
Something I potentially should have mentioned earlier is previous to starting my running, I decided that I had to deal with my weight. It was getting to the point where I just didn't recognise myself in the mirror and felt that I'd slightly lost my identity a bit. I therefore decided to diet- starting primarily by eating 1000 calories a day, for 2 weeks. Was this hard-yes. Did I notice changes-most definitely. Would I recommend it to someone wanting to lose weight-It completely depends on the unique case.
This was perfect for me because I love a challenge, and due to my renowned stubbornness I generally will not give one up. It was also perfect for me because I weighed enough that this dangerously low amount of calories was safe for me, for a short period of time, which is an element of this that I cannot emphasise enough. 1000 calories a day is extremely little, and is not recommended as a diet plan. It simply is used by those who are trying to lose weight to kick start a diet plan OR only lose a few pounds. If you keep it up for too long, your body will enter starvation mode, and your vital internal organs will begin to shut down. That’s why health professionals recommend aiming for a weight loss of 1 to 2 pounds a week, and remaining active whilst on a diet.[1]
However, if you ARE looking to lose a few pounds or trigger a diet plan, as I was, then this technique may be perfect for you. (Again, I am not recommending this professionally)
And so I began the challenge of eating 1000 calories a day for 2 weeks.
Whilst each day what I ate varied- staples included bread, eggs and baked beans, as well as hefty salads and lots of cups of tea. I also avoided anything like crisps, chocolate, chips ect- as they are extremely high in calories and have next to no nutritional value. What I should point out here is whilst I cut down on alcohol, I did not cut it out of my diet, despite attempts to.
And like I said before it was a struggle, especially as I was used to eating around 3-4000 calories a day and lived with 3 fully grown family members who devoured a lot of yummy food. However, I completed it, and lost almost half a stone in the process. It was this initial weightloss that made me realise that I could do this. My relationship with food began to improve, with considerably less binging days.
After these couple of weeks on 1000 calories, I began to slightly up my calorie intake, to around 1200-1500 a day, still trying to stay healthy, and walking and doing HIIT sessions as much as possible. My walks particularly helped my mental health, as I would get up really early with my Mumma, go on a long walk, and clear my head. It really helped with everything. However, my HIIT sessions, despite helping, were not giving me the results I needed in regards to muscle growth, toning, and general strength building. Additionally whilst it had got better I still had a negative relationship with food, and whenever I had a bad day, I rewarded myself with a cheat day, which would always set back my progress. As gyms and pools were closed due to Covid, they were obviously not an option.
Now there were obviously some negative elements to this challenge. Firstly I would say my energy levels were pretty low so I struggled to do more than a walk a day exercise wise. Secondly, I found it hard to build the calories back up once I'd finished the challenge, largely because my stomach shrunk and my appetite therefore reduced. [1]
Additionally what may be a more obvious negative element is that eating 1000 calories a day and even counting calories generally can be quite a slippery slope. This is something I will get into more in a later blog. Furthermore I was working at the time in an office and it was sometimes quite hard to plan my exact calories for that day and take them with me so as to not be tempted to snack- as many people around me were.
However, as I've said before there were many positive effects to this method for me- I really benefitted from it.
Now to be completely honest, I have a slight gap in my memory at this point. I believe that I did the 1000 calories a day, upped my calories, and then began to start running a few weeks later, when I realised that HIIT sessions alone would not give me the results I wanted and then began to research the army. However this fitness journey was a long one so there is a chance that the timeline is a tad skewif! Nevertheless one way or another I arrived at the next part of my story. The 75 Hard Challenge.
[1] https://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/calories/calorie_counting/1000_diet_menu.htm
[2} https://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/a19931458/can-eating-less-make-your-stomach-shrink/
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