Shannon Thomson continues her 12-week healthy-eating challenge put together by fitness and nutrition coach Amy Ede
Almost four weeks ago I embarked on a — very public — healthy eating challenge and I figured it was time for a progress update.
I am following a 12-week programme put together by fitness and nutrition coach Amy Ede.
Part of the reason I decided to take up this challenge was to try to create some healthy habits and bring some balance in to my life.
Like many people I face a range of challenges, some of them genuine barriers, some of them others may refer to as, ahem, excuses.
There is something about living out of suitcases between two places and regularly working 14-hour days that are not exactly conducive to living a healthy lifestyle with good habits — Ihaven’t quite figured out how to plan for chasing twisters on the semi-regular as part of my work.
I met with Amy for a consultation and to go through the programme and meal plan.
Left to my own devices, I gave myself a couple of days toget my life in order before Istarted.
I realised pretty quickly I was going to need to be prepared in order to have any chance of being able tostick to, well anything.
The first two weeks went pretty well — I am enjoying the meals and am finding Iam anything but hungry. One of my concerns was how much the food was going to cost. I understand you can’t really put aprice on health butwhen I am spending the bulk of my time away from myfamily and we have todo separate grocery shops I was worried.
Not slipping out to grab food on the run has done wonders for the budget.
Amy regularly checks in with me to see how I am doing with food, mindset, and exercise and I quickly learnt there would be no mucking about.
I mentioned work was going to be hectic for acouple of days (hello deadline day) and I would focus on incorporating exercise after that.
Much to my indignation —and my workmates’ entertainment
— Amy was straight up and suggested maybe that was an excuse and I needed to look at readjusting my priorities. Ouch.
She was right, and that is something that is still a work in progress.
The first two weeks went reasonably smoothly —I started to develop a rhythm and was feeling pretty good.
I was down 4.5kg and 13cm already and could feel the difference.
Week three,well the wheels fell off.
My first mistake was not doing a food shop and prep at the start of the week, meaning Iwas not prepared for meals.
I completely got into my own head, doubting this would work for me.
I believed it would work for everyone else not me.
I travelled to Dunedin for work and it was all over —the training Iwas attending included lunch, which included no clean options; I had two nights out catching up with friends and then dinner on the road after the Football Ferns game on Sunday night consisted of a pie from the service station.
I had well and truly fallen off the wagon — and could really feel the difference.
But the great thing about Mondays is it is the start of a new week and chance to reset.
So that’s what I have done — I’ve gone back to the basics and starting over, and once again it’s going well — apart from when the ladies at Senior Citizens across the road drop off meringues to the office — I’m pretty sure it’s a direct act of sabotage.
