Photo above is me in 2007 compared to 2017. I’ve always been active. I used to play Volleyball for the school and continued to actively go to the gym or swimming pool to exercise. And I’ve bounced back from 3 pregnancies. However, I’m stumped this time – could it be my age finally slowing down my body?
I’ve been following countless fitness instagram influencers and using their workouts long before they came up with their exercise apps. Names like Kayla Itsines, Kelsey Wells, Krissy Cela, Lisafiitt, Chontel Duncan, you name it. But for the longest time, I have been telling myself that my diet’s just fine so long I keep it balanced, relatively healthy and eat intuitively (which is to eat when I’m hungry and stop when I’m full).
This kind of worked during pre-COVID days when…
- I had travel to and fro the office
- Enjoyed dressing up for work
- Didn’t want to stop working halfway (or was too lazy) to grab a glass of water or eat unless I had a lunch appointment
- But will leave the desk during lunch hour to exercise, shower and get back to work
- Was rushing home all the time to fetch the kids
Once COVID hit, my family was home all the time and I rekindled with my love for cooking and baking. My hubby and kids don’t enjoy sweets as much as I did at the time (the littlest has now become my partner in crime when it comes to cakes) so most of it was consumed by me. Soon enough, I grew… and grew… I probably gained about 5-6kg over a period of about 4-5 months and still had a very bad habit of not drinking enough water.
I was the COVID-baker, the COVID-gardener, and hubby and I also did some home improvement during the time.
Right about the end of 2020, I wasn’t feeling good about my body. I was already slightly insecure to start with. And in early 2021, I attended a couple of gatherings with friends and a wedding. That was when I realised, I didn’t have much in my wardrobe that I felt good in and I didn’t feel like buying anything new just to feel uncomfortable in it later on.
So I decided to do something about it.
In June 2021, I started to workout more seriously and took out the biggest water bottle we had at home to track my water intake too. Besides, I was telling my kids to drink more water all the time but I wasn’t walking the talk.
12 June, I started being accountable about it by setting up an Instagram account to keep track of my progress.
18 June, I did my first 2-week online workout program only to stop to take the COVID vaccine.
That 2-week program was much acclaimed – many people posted their before and after on YouTube and shared about their results. So I was quite keen to see and feel my results too. However, after the 2-week program, I felt as though nothing much had changed. It’s not to say that the program wasn’t good – I felt fitter and I could do most of the moves after the 2 weeks, but I felt the same when I looked in the mirror.
So during that 1-week break after the taking the 1st dose of the vaccine, I researched. Perhaps my diet was the key.
Many fitness influencers, including doctors, always share about the 3 key factors to lose fat:
- Calorie deficit
- Regular exercise
- Lots of water
I was fulfilling 2 out of the 3 but I never counted calories and dreaded having to count everything I eat.
So in early July, I saw a really simple recipe – Banana Oat Pancakes. It’s just 3 ingredients, plus, it’s pancakes! So there’s really no excuse not to give it a shot. And I’ve started my journey down the rabbit hole since then. I’ll share more in my next post! 🙂