Recently I had a friend, let me call her Ruby, who shared with me something I found very inspiring which I just had to share with you all. Ruby has recently turned her life around. Over the past year she has lost 50 kilos! When Ruby had a health scare and decided enough is enough, it’s time to change once and for all, she didn’t take the gradual, gentle approach to changing her lifestyle. No. she took the way-out-of-her-comfort-zone, make some dramatic and hard changes approach. A lot of trainers (myself included) don’t often recommend this approach to weight loss, because it can be too drastic for the person and not sustainable. They give up after a short time because they tried to change too much at once, can’t do it, feel like failures and give up. Not Ruby. She has a fire in her belly level of motivation and and it sure as anything is working for her!

So here is her message she would like to share with anyone who is wanting to finally lose weight, get fit and become healthy.

What I wish I could have told myself 20 years ago:
1. Just because you are overweight, you will not be judged at the gym by the other gym goers. You will experience respect because you are trying to become fitter.
2. Doing something now is better than tomorrow.
3. You already know what to do so just do it.
4. It is hard work becoming healthier and fitter but FAR easier than you think! Doing nothing is wrong.
5. Plan out what you will eat and get a workout routine.
6. You will inspire people to get healthier and that means something! You will be surprised how much one person can make a difference.
7. On a superficial level: you will be able to wear clothes that you have only dreamt about.
8. It will take months or longer to reach your goals, but everything in life takes time.
9. Just do it.. stop with the excuses. You don’t need to eat fast food. You are choosing to!
10. My family is worth my improved health and so am I!

Ruby recommends you stop thinking about dieting as a ‘diet’ and instead regard it as a change of lifestyle. I 100% agree. The word ‘diet’ implies you are doing something temporarily. Why would you want to lose weight and then put it all back on again?  Diets rarely work in the long term, but changing the way you eat every single day does.