Help me find my 'fit and thin' person identity.

[coodawoodashooda]

After 10 years, divorce and significant upheaval I'm finally in the zone to improve my health. I currently wear size 22 clothes and am feeling fitter, although not actually exercising. The thing is I can't envisage me in any other way than being fat. I want to build my identity as someone slender so its easier to sustain my commitment to my new attitude. Does anyone have any tips on how I do this?

I think exercise is the best way to do this. Not for weight loss, but to help yourself believe that you are strong and capable. It’s hugely empowering to see results in terms of what you are able to do, not how you look.

I highly recommend something called Slimpod. It uses something called unconscious persuasion to help you make positive changes in your life. I've been doing it since May last year and I have lost almost all the weight I needed to lose but FAR more than that I've really improved my health, positivity etc. It's not a diet, it's about only eating when you're hungry, choosing better and moving more (increasing your basic activity levels and introducing more actual exercise that suits you). It has really helped me. I was sceptical before I tried it. You can do a free trial. Definitely worth a go.

That sounds interesting

Check out Bodyslims. It is a 10 week diet, run by a guy who sends weekly and daily videos via an app. The videos are all about building up confidence and lots on visualising slim version of yourself. Its hard to explain exactly but is working for me both from a weight loss and getting my head in the right place.

It is Irish based but people do it from all over the world.

Commit to doing some form of exercise on a regular basis, you will quickly see yourself as someone who exercises. There's a podcast called 'a thorough examination' about how an exercise phobe who changes

And fit and strong is a better goal than fit and thin

Can you start by trying to do 10000 steps a day? You could work up to it steadily. That should help you start to improve your fitness. From there, I'd find some kind of exercise where the focus is on getting strong, not losing weight. Something like pole fitness or weight lifting.

I did pole fitness for a while and the focus was very much on women empowering women to get stronger.

If you can find some exercise that you genuinely enjoy, you're more likely to stick to it. When you're exercising regularly, you're less likely to stuff your face or eat crap food all the time.

Changing your attitude towards yourself is a day by day thing - the challenge is consistency. Making new habits that start the day off right is a good place to start. Rewards like getting your hair done, a facial or buying something (clothes or something) rather than food is also good. Exercise is great but I know at my heaviest I didn’t have the motivation for that yet. Looking at organised fridges and wardrobes is also great as a good environment is so powerful.