Yay…2.5 mile mark!

For anyone that’s been keeping up with the blog, you will know that in March 2005 I weighed 22 stones which equates to 308lbs, I was in extremely bad health and just a few days earlier me and my soul mate had consciously and mutually decided to part ways. Let’s just put it this way…things couldn’t have been that much worse! (By the way that’s me in the picture!) 😉

Even though it was a difficult time, especially splitting with someone that I had been with for over 2 and a 1/2 years, for some reason I felt a change in me. It was the 21st of March 2005. That was the day that something clicked inside of me. I woke up feeling an incredible sense of positivity. To this day I’m not sure what it was but all I know is that day was pivotal in my life being the way it is today.

That was the day that I completely changed my diet. I went from eating 4 -5 chocolate bars a day, 4 – 5 bags of crisps, a litre of fizzy drink and so on and so fourth to someone who knew how to choose the right foods and spend time preparing them to keep me completely healthy. The transformation was amazing. I remember my joints becoming more supple, my eyesight improving, my fitness increasing, my overall wellbeing taking a huge jump!

In addition to that I made a conscious choice to start exercising more. Even though I was a regular badminton player, I was only playing once a week and wasn’t very committed to it. I then decided that I was going to commit to myself to improve my overall play. Since then I now play up to 4 times a week and get regular coaching. I eventually got asked to play for a few of our club league games and for next season I’ve been picked as one of the main players of the team.

Also, I joined the gym at work, only £16 a month and the best thing is that it’s open 24 hours so I can go whenever I like! 🙂 I also go to the gym as often as I can. For the most part, it only ends up being once or twice a week but coupled with my badminton it means that I’m getting more than enough exercise to empower my body. Just to illustrate to people how energetic badminton is: If you were to run for an hour at a steady pace you would burn approximately 100 calories. A 1 hour session of badminton burns approximately 400 calories!! And I play for 2 – 3 hours at a time!!!! :-O The reason that it’s so intensive is because it uses practically ever muscle in the body and because of its fast/slow nature it naturally burns more fat and energy than a constant exercise.

I even go running now and again and I am participating in the JPMorgan Charity on the 6th of July in Battersea Park, London. It’s only 3.5 miles but for me that’s a long distance! Considering I never ever used to run in my life and up until recently the most I had ever done was at school which was a cross country run of a 1 mile. Bharat, my best friend, and I recently decided to start running together, 1) to prepare me for the run and 2) for both of us to increase our well being and become more fit and to motivate each other. Just over a month ago I reported that we managed to run 2 miles fairly easily.

Last Sunday we intended to run 3.5 miles. We managed to get to near the 2.5 mile mark when my legs could carry me no further. The route was a tough one, there were a couple of long uphill stretches and I pushed myself a little to hard over the hills and when we got to the bottom of the final one my legs almost gave in. Even though we didn’t make the full distance I was still incredibly proud of how far I’ve come in such a short space of time. We’re going to attempt to run the same route again this weekend so watch this space to see if we’re successful!! 😉

Since 21/3/05 my entire outlook on life changed. Even though, I had already begun developing and living the power of choice philosophy from several years earlier, it was and extreme rollercoaster!! I didn’t have any sort of consistency. My ex partner would be able to confirm that. 😉 Even though she loved the philosophy it used to frustrate her so much when she saw that I wasn’t living it.

Choosing your path is incredibly empowering. Just look at what it has done for me. Had it not been for that one simple word “CHOICE” I would not be here sitting and writing this blog. “CHOICE” for me is one of the most powerful words in the English language because for me, it encompasses the essence of self empowerment and moment to moment creation.

I had a debate recently with a friend called Sapna at work. Her remit was that everything is pre-planned and nothing is within our control. Although I agree to a certain degree, I know for me personally, living life from the stand point of “choice” is about a billion times more empowering then living a life of submission to pre-destiny. I know as I’ve tried both! Having the attitude of pre-destiny and living my life within that construct was the reason for me feeling suicidal 6 years ago.

The process that I’ve been going through to empower myself over the last 18 months (something that I will elaborate on later) has meant that I’ve been going on an upwards spiral. I feel so much more alive then ever before! There are even times when I almost feel like there’s electricity running through my body and that there is absolutely nothing that I cannot do! There are many other areas of my life that I’m still working on but slowly and surely it’s all coming together to work in unity and with fluidity. Don’t get me wrong, I have my days when I feel like shit and feel depressed. But the most important thing is that those days are becoming fewer and further between!

The reason I’m sharing this is because I want to show you how once simple word can change your entire life. All it is, is a shift in perception! Taking a different view of life and putting myself in the driving seat of life!! Go on, I know you can do it too! If there is anything you would like to change for your life right now, what would it be? What would you CHOOSE to do differently? What CHOICE can you make right now? 🙂

The power of choice is yours!