I made a commitment to myself to improve my lifestyle.
Midway through this year, I was fat, unfit, uncreative, unimaginative, and I felt old fat and ugly. Surrounded by skinny French and exotic Kanaks, I am every bit the fat kid who nobody would pick for the football team.
So, I decided to do something about it.
At the end of July, I started running to work, cutting down on the quantity I eat, changing the content of what I eat and putting in more casual exercise in my day through walking everywhere.
I keep track of my daily weight and running times to walk and walking times home each night the long way. I walk just under 6 kilometres each day.
Breakfast is an apple and coffee, lunch a salad with cheese and tuna, dinner a slow cooked stew without added fats or oils, or a tuna wrap fille with avocado and tomatoes.
I’ve lost almost 10 kgs of weight, but I just can’t get past that magic 100kg milestone.
Rebecca brought me BBC Maestro which has made an extraordinary difference in my life.
Evy Poumpouras has helped me interact with people better and engage with others. She’s taught me how to see myself through the influence I have (good and bad) on others and consciously shape that experience.
Chef Pierre Macro White has taught me how to make three-star Michelin scrambled eggs and high-end potatoes four different ways. I’ve made Eggs Benedict with homemade bread and Hollandaise sauce learned from Chef Pierre Koffmann teachings.
Professor Tim Spector has taught me to eat the rainbow for better weight loss and gut microbial health.
I’m now listening from Alan Moore on the power of words and written expression. And from Richard Greene how to speak with power, conviction, authenticity and persuasion.
And as I sit on this beach, having made time for mindfulness in my day, putting in weight training exercises from Dr Rangan Chatterjee’s Blueprint for Healthy Living, I’m listening to the gentle ebb and flow of the waves against the beach. The coconut trees beside me have their leaf tips browned and harden from the sun. The wind rustles them gently as I exercise and enjoy the moment.
With no meetings or appointments this morning I couldn’t give a damn about getting to the office on time.
And as the ends of the coconut bang and clatter together against each other in the wind, it feels like nature herself is giving a round of applause and in her way saying, “well done 🙂”