My Not So Perfect Life

 It has been a while since I have posted on here, and the world has changed somewhat since then. Without going into too much detail, I have had a series of not-so-great events which has led to me gaining about 90lbs.  It is not an ideal situation, but things have finally calmed down, and I am now in a place where I can do something about it. I will be writing this blog primarily as a way to keep myself accountable as I try to shed the weight and make myself healthy.  I will be trying to check in at least once a week to share my progress, along with any challenges that I am facing along the way.  I have already been eating better for about a month, and so far I have managed to lose a total of 10 lbs. Hopefully, with a little support I will be able to shed the remaining 90 lbs over the course of the next year. 

In the UK we have been in lockdown for a few weeks now and it is starting to feel a lot more normal now. This means that some parts of this are starting to feel a bit easier, like working from home all of the time and not having to worry about what I am wearing at all (I am pretty much living in yoga pants and t-shirts). However there are other parts of this that I am still finding difficult. It is hard not being able to catch up with my family in person. I am not really that fussed about seeing lots of people all of the time but it is nice seeing my family every week or so and I am missing that side of things. The second thing that I am struggling is not being able to go for a walk more than once a day. I living on the outskirts of my city because I enjoy getting out into nature for walks and even more so when I am stressed about something. This means that being stuck in the house most of the day is quite difficult for me. I am lucky to have access to a small garden (I know that t...

I have noticed that most diet plans, such as those that you seen in the media as well as the recommended calorie levels in apps sets a calorie goal for women at about 1,200 calories. With some diets (such as those that you would classify as crash diets) set the goals at closer to 800 calories. I think that this is a dangerous trend for a number of reasons. Firstly, it doesn't take into account the differences between people. The diet apps tend to do a bit better on this front as you input your details at the start of the process but this isn't something which is considered for a lot of other diets (this includes the NHS which suggests all women need 1,400kcal to lose weight). Having a low calorie goal is fine if you are small and sedentary but this in not the case for everyone. I am tall for a women and I am generally active (before even factoring in exercise) so if I was to try to stick to such a low limit I would feel really bad and miserable which would probably make me qu...