[Guest Blog] Gina’s TFR Diary*

Gina’s TFR Diary

 *Results may vary. This is not a guarantee.

My name is Gina Lawlor; I started the New You plan in March 2014. I came across the site on Facebook.  I thought first of all this looks very inviting with the nice colours and positivity. I checked it out and thought I will give this a go.  But first let me tell you how I got to this stage through my interview and the blog below.

My reasons for choosing TFR:

I have for years struggled with my weight. I ‘used’ food as a drug to self medicate. I used food like an addict does to get a good feeling from it, although short term as it was it was a good feeling none the less. Every day challenges and issues would send me to the kitchen.  This it seems was my way of coping for years and I never really looked at it before. I just blindly put food in my mouth when a stressful situation arose. I was living by default.  Then sadly these last two years gave me major challenges, when my only sibling Clare took her life.  It sent me into the worst state of depression I have ever experienced.  My parents are also gone, so I was left ‘alone’ even as an adult in my 40’s I felt the pain of being alone. I ate and ate and as I did, I felt worse, and my body ached and I could not walk properly with the excess weight, (I have arthritis) and I felt more down and depressed. The food was making me ill. Then a year ago my best friend was killed in a car accident and I was plunged again into the depths. I can’t tell you how I felt. I was at rock bottom.

The only way is up!

Then one day I was in a book store and I saw a Buddhist book on teachings, and I started to read it, this changed my life.  I realised that we all have challenges and sadness all the time. And in order to be able to deal with these challenges we need to be able to take care of ourselves. We don’t have to settle for our ‘lot’ and we can choose our lives and not live in default! So I said’ right’ I will make the decision to make myself better. I tried to meditate, and sleep better and read more. I was learning to heal myself. The next step was to finally tackle my weight. And why I eat. I wanted to change my story of my life. I wanted to embark on a new me. Amazingly that is when I saw the Facebook advert for the ‘New You’ and wow I realised that the whole universe comes together to show you when you look out and are ready to deal with your life, and so it produced the New You plan!!!

And so this is where I started, I signed up first off around February but I  had to go off  the plan  due to a health problem, but in March 2014 I started it again  and stuck to the plan and decided 2014 would be my year to tackle this weight and once and for all end this problem.  From March to Sept 2014 I lost 5.5 stone. So I went from a 17.5 stone ( size 22) 5 foot tall,  to a 12 stone person in 6 months.   This was my phase 1. I had booked a holiday to Nepal and India in October and this holiday was my goal to keep me on track. I got there!! I reached my goal to get to Nepal and my weight loss goal also. May I point out that I could not have gone on such a holiday had I not lost the weight with the long treks, and gruelling temperatures and of course I could not have enjoyed the elephant rides, and tuk tuk trips and boat rides. Watching the inches go and the increased energy kept me going each week and it only got better and better. Having the New You team and plan and the on-going support on the New You forum gave me the daily encouragement to keep going and with all this back up and support along with my determination and commitment it proved a success.

This brings me to what comes next….

I am now embarking on my phase 2 of this journey on January 1^st.  I will be updating daily and weekly my journey and challenges along the way. So would you like to join me in this journey?  If it is your first time on this plan or a re-visit to the plan, all are welcome to join me.   I am aiming to lose the last 4 stone and will do this from January 1^st to end of April.

I look forward to hearing from you all. So let’s make 2015 a year that allows you to ‘choose’ your life’s dreams and don’t settle for the same old ways and do things like you always did and live in default.  You can make a difference in your own life. Let’s make that change.

‘If you always do what you always did – then you will always get what you always got’  By Von Goeth.

Lots of love Gina

Gina

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