Secrets behind Tary’s turnaround Ten tier series

Losing weight is a mental, psychological and emotional battle as much as it is a physical one. It is therefore imperative to feed one’s mind, soul, emotions and spirit with so much positivity in order to achieve resounding success. I always say this to people that make enquiries of how I have managed to lose 37kgs so far, that Losing weight ISN’T EASY but it CAN BE DONE.

Despite my son calling me ‘duff dhunda’, ‘fatty boom boom’, probably he had heard it from others. Regardless of the fact that I had collapsed whilst attending a meeting and I was advised that my sugar levels were high I had not taken weight loss seriously. I remember my Doctor actually saying to me that he would not give me any medication for high sugar levels but advised me to lose weight and I thought it really was not serious. At one point my dream was to own a clothing line called, ‘Big is Beautiful’, inspired by the fact that it was difficult to get nice, fashionable clothes for my size. Although I was comfortable in my size the huffing and puffing that happened when doing some physical work annoyed me. I knew I was not at all healthy but took comfort in the fact that I rocked an African body, ‘proudly african’, I would say.

One day in August 2013 whilst coming from work, I see my clothes hanging on the washing line next to my young sister’s clothes. I could barely believe my eyes, ‘Was it really me that fit into those clothes?’. The clothes looked so huge and honestly I could not stomach that I was the one fitting into those clothes. Funny thing happened, I asked my helper to give me one of the skirts which was hanging on the line and I struggled to fit into it and there and then I knew the time had come for me to do something about my weight. This was my wakeup call and turnaround point. It was the beginning of the journey I am still travelling, a journey that has been filled with so much joy, pain, tears, laughter, failures and success. It’s been a worthwhile journey in which I have reaped more than what I bargained for. My success has gone beyond the physical. And I have decided to share my story as authentic as possible in the hope that someone out there can also be inspired and motivated to start their own journey.

This ten tier series which will be coming out every week is a reflection of what has worked on my journey, the down falls and more importantly looking at the 10 GOLDEN RULES that I attribute my success to. I am hoping it will be as interactive as it can be so that we can keep learning from each other. I would want to also state that I am no GURU but this is my story as raw as it can be and it will always be my hope that someone finds it beneficial. Today I talk about the first thing that I strongly believe is important to keep one going on the weight loss journey.

1.Know what you want and why you want it It’s always important to ask the question, ‘Why do I want to lose weight?’. Knowing why you want to lose weight will keep you focused. The journey is not easy at all and so when you know why you are on the journey and are sure about what you want to achieve the journey somewhat becomes easier. So many people will discourage you, say hurtful and nasty things like I have been told several times, ‘This is enough, if you go beyond this people will think that you are sick,’ but that has not stopped me. Surprisingly when I see the same people and I have lost a bit more they will say, ‘You are looking amazing’. If I had not set my goals and know that I am losing weight to be healthy and ultimately to feel good about me I would have veered off the road a long time ago. Only you , understand the journey you are travelling and that will keep you focused on the ball.

Never want to lose weight for other people, do it for yourself so that it becomes easier for the journey is painful. When your goals are clearly set nothing will stall your progress, you will know that even when you have fallen, you will rise up , dust yourself and move forward.

I tried several times to lose weight before embarking on this defining journey and I always failed. Looking back I realize I used to want to lose weight because someone else had talked about losing weight or because someone had said a nasty comment regarding my weight. When the going would get tough it was so easy for me to give up because I did not really know why I wanted to lose weight so the deprivations would not make sense and they were so painful. I remember one time a guy friend of mine sad to me that his friends were asking him if my weight was not as a result of me taking Anti-Retroviral drugs. I pretended that I had not been affected by it but the next thing is I purchased a 300 dollar worth product to help me with weight loss. I took it for 7 days, lost 8 kgs but after the 7 day program I went back to my bad eating habits and the weight piled back. It was because I did not know what I wanted, I did not know why I was losing weight besides the fact that I had heard a nasty comment.

Find that which drives you so that even when you seem pressed of time you will make time for you to exercise and prepare healthy food. Even in the midst of so much chaos you will remember to stick to your dietary and exercise schedule because you know what you want and why you want it. Now more than ever I am conscious of why I want to lose weight and I am doing it for myself.