My whole life I have been struggling with my weight. As a dancer for many years I had been daily infront of a mirror and that definately didn’t help my selfesteem. I was told I had to lose weight if I wanted to carry on dancing. I had no choice and I needed to lose weight fast. What didn’t I try? Laxitives, magic weight loss teas, the cabbage soup diet and many more written methods. I did lose weight but it never stuck. And so the saga carried on and on and on. Because I know first hand how difficult it can be to live with excess fat, I have decided to share what I’ve learnt over the years with others. I was always hiding my body and ashamed of myself. I starved myself and took stuff that today I know could have harmed me.

I ate lots of liquorice after being told it’s an excellant laxative. It didn’t help and I don’t perticularly like it, so that wasn’t great. I was told chocolate is an excellant laxative, so I ate chocolate for breakfast, lunch and dinner. All I got was a stomach ache and I think an extra filling or two in my teeth. I drank some tea that was perscribed for my mother who was having trouble going to the toilet. I had horrible dieria for a week and at the end I felt sick and I didn’t have much of a difference in my weight. I went for hours to the gym, took long walks and although this is a great way to get fit, it was very hard to keep up.

Apart from the physical dangers of trying all sorts of stuff there is the emotional side to this social expectation of a “perfect body”. The hours I would look at myself in the mirror and hate what I was looking at. I would pinch different parts of my body to see how much fat I had. I cried alot and wished to be someone different. I hated getting dressed and I hated when people looked in my direction thinking they are staring at my fat spots. I hid from boys afraid they would laugh at me or tell me how hidius I look. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t huge. Just a few kilos over my natural weight. But still it was a huge issue for me.

In the last year I came apon a diet that has changed my life. It doesn’t include fasting or eating wierd stuff. It is made up of understanding what your body needs, with the idea that everyones body is different. This way you kick start your natural fat burning system and you also give your body exactly what it needs. I feel 20 years younger. I’m full of energy and I look good in skiny jeans, something I was terrified of in highschool. For the first time in my life I am happy with what I see in the mirror and I love myself. You don’t have to stop eating to lose weight. In actual fact I’m eating more than I have ever eaten in my life. I don’t count calories like Weight watchers and I am never hungry. If you are going through something similar you’ve got to give this a try. It’s a new life style, not just another diet plan. Try it: http://bit.ly/enoughdieting

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

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