Todays guest blog is from Keil Nelson who has lost weight in real life.  Keil is sharing his journey to fitness and giving his 7 top tips that helped him change his life and loose over 5 stones (over 70 pounds).  As well as keeping fit and staying healthy he owns his own health and wellness business.

Keil’s Story

My journey to fitness started when I was around 22 years old, my unhealthy lifestyle finally caught up with me and after too many late nights drinking and eating takeaways my weight ballooned to over 18 stone.  I’m only 5 feet 10 inches so I didn’t “carry” this weight well at all. My overall health was in a bad way, physical activity of any sort was a challenge and even sitting in the heat of the sun would lead to excess sweating leaving me feeling very uncomfortable.

My “lightbulb” moment, when I realised something had to change actually came in an Indian takeaway! I spent lots of time here after a night of drinking.  I was on first name terms with the waiter and I wouldn’t have been surprised if they were thinking of giving me my own parking space.  After yet another superb tikka masala I happened to catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror near the cashiers desk…I was mortified!  Even through my drink fuelled gaze I was disgusted with the reflection that was staring back at me.  It was this exact moment that I made a promise to myself, a promise to take back my identity and get myself fit and healthy. Making the decision to get fit and healthy can be daunting and scary but I’m here to tell you that you can do it, and it will be so worth it when you do.  Your life will change forever and you will feel incredible. Here are my top tips that helped me get from over 18 stone to my current healthy weight of 13 stone.  I hope you can take something from this that can help you on your journey to fitness.

Tip 1 – Slow and Steady Wins the Race

My weight loss journey has taken a number of years, I personally don’t believe there is a sustainable quick fix.  As they say “good things come to those who wait” if you make the decision to get healthy and combine that with dedication to your goal you will be successful.

Tip 2 – Finding the Right Balance

I’m a big believer that a consistent balance of healthy eating and exercise is the best way to get sustainable results.  I don’t think you can achieve a healthy lifestyle without both of these factors. To me they are of equal importance, they form the nucleus to leading a life of health and happiness.

Tip 3 – Scales Can Lie!

If I had paid close attention to the numbers on the weighing scale throughout my journey and let those numbers affect me I could have easily given up.  I can’t tell you the number of times I have had a fantastic week both with my eating and my exercise and I have been left devastated after my weekly weigh in.  It can be soul destroying if you give too much credence to the number on the scale, trust me it’s not that important! My advice is to take pictures of your body and take measurements of the important areas such as waist, hips, thighs, chest etc.

Tip 4 – Everything in Moderation

I live by a general 80-20 rule, this means I try to be “healthy” 80% of the time which then allows me 20% to cover those times when I might not be quite so good. I love to eat out, have a drink and treat myself just as much as the next person but I make my healthy lifestyle my “habit” so that I can enjoy the times I’m not so good.  You need to have a healthy relationship with food and not beat yourself up if you make a bad choice.  Just don’t let those bad choices take over more than 20% of your day/week.

Tip 5 – Stay Hydrated

Drinking water is a huge part of my healthy lifestyle, I aim to drink at least 2-3 litres a day.  This can help keep you feeling full so you don’t snack, will make you more alert and energised, will improve your skin and so much more.  It’s an easy habit to incorporate into your everyday life and will make a huge difference.

Tip 6 – Buddy Up

If you can find a friend to join you on your journey to fitness it can be a huge advantage. Having someone beside you to keep you motivated is a real asset. You can share eating tips, encourage each other to exercise, motivate and inspire each other and push each other in the gym.   Accountability is great because you don’t want to let your partner down.  You can always find groups on social media (twitter/Instagram etc) if you can’t find someone close to home.

Tip 7 – Get Competitive

I find setting myself a goal is a massive inspiration and motivation for me to keep me focused on my journey.  Sometimes it’s easy to let yourself slip and plateau a little so I like to enter a competition to keep my focus razor sharp. Throughout my journey I have entered 10k charity races, completed a half marathon and am currently training for a Tough Mudder event later this year.  These are fun events that make training exciting and keep your mind focused. I hope this post has helped you in some way, I will be a happy man knowing I have inspired or motivated you to start your journey to fitness and I wish you every success.  I will be cheering you on from afar! Let’s do this guys!

Keil

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