Meet Ngarita - Feeling healthier than ever

Tell us a little about yourself

Weight has been something that I have struggled with since I was about 8 years old. I never considered myself heavily over weight or very unhealthy, but I was never happy with my fitness and the way I ate. I was never much for snacking or even eating breakfast, but my problem was eating way too massive lunch and dinner portions heavy in carbs and drinking way too many sugary drinks. I had tried multiple times (more than I could count) to try going on a new diet and working out at the gym, but I always got disheartened when I would see no results after weeks of doing so. Whatever I seemed to try didn't work for me and I always disliked the foods I were eating, leading me to give up easily.

It was after I had been on a weekend away that I was looking through photos of the weekend, and I really wasn't happy with the way I looked. I had never appeared so big before and I knew something had to change (both for my physical and mental well being). 

What was your inspiration to make a change?

My dad had lost about 10kg a while ago through the Atkins diet which was essentially cutting out sugar and carbs and focusing on protein. While I didn't want to go crazy with that diet I decided to try loosely apply it to my eating by heavily reducing my sugar intake and keeping my carbs to a minimum. Not only that but I would also start having breakfast and making sure to snack on protein filled snacks during the day. This made my meals about a third of the size of how much I used to eat as I was no longer starving by the time it came to lunch and dinner, and I never felt gross and heavy after my meals now. Plus I was enjoying what I was eating! All of this was made so much easier by the fact that my husband, Tim, was also keen to jump on board with this life style change, rather than me doing this alone.

Plus I was enjoying what I was eating!

Ngarita before changing her lifestyle.

What does your diet look like?

A typical day in my first 3 months looked like this : Fruit and unsweetened yoghurt for breakfast or scrambled egg on a piece of Burgen toast. Homemade beef pattie in a wheat roll with salad and cheese, or a chicken salad wrap for lunch. Grilled seasoned chicken with roasted vegetables (no potato) or salad OR a curry of some sort with no rice for dinner. Snacks for a day could be homemade low carb protein bars, cold shredded chicken, and a homemade protein chocolate 'mousse' made with cottage cheese. While the hardest part was cutting down on carbs as I really love my potato, bread and pasta, I had discovered many ideas for food that I genuinely enjoyed and I was making a conscious effort to drink more water too (my husband and I stopped buying juice and sugary fizzy drinks but still allowed ourselves to have a little sugar free Pepsi). After 3 months I eased up a tiny amount by allowing myself to have a treat a few times a week (I was too scared to before due to lack of will power) and to bring potato back in to my weekly eating in small amounts.

What exercise did you do?

While I considered food to be an incredibly important part of my weight loss journey, I also really valued my exercise. As I struggle with a bit of a busy schedule I knew that I wasn't going to have time to go to the gym, so instead I settled for going for 20-30 min walks near the beach 5-6 times a week and I loved it! I felt so good and refreshed after my walks and surprisingly I found it hard to go a day without going for my walk. If I had time I would also do some basic exercise around home like squats, sit ups, tricep dips etc.

I felt so good and refreshed after my walks and surprisingly I found it hard to go a day without going for my walk.

Do you have a motto or mantra that you live by?

While I don't have a motto or anything as such that I live by, the idea that our bodies are temples for Christ is something that stuck in my mind. That we were created for far more than just our image, but our bodies are something that we definitely need to take care of (and we only get one!) This balance of making the effort to take care of myself and all the while learning more about what God created me for (and why) ultimately is what would make me my happiest. Not only that , my husband and I found we felt so much more positive and energized with our life style change.

That we were created for far more than just our image, but our bodies are something that we definitely need to take care of

What was the hardest thing for you?

While one of the hardest things I had to overcome was not being so obsessed with the number on the scale, this also stemmed an important lesson to me that the lower the number is does not necessarily mean the healthier I am. I could have had a week where despite my efforts that number on the scale just seemed to creep up a little, but to save myself from discouragement and forming unhealthy habits I had to just learn that it was okay, that no one else was paying attention to my number on the scale and so I shouldn't obsess over it either!

What was the best decision you made?

Through out this journey I can definitely say that cutting down drastically on the sugar was actually probably the best decision I made. I didn't realise the effects that sugar had been having on me until I cut it down (nearly out) and I loved the results I got from it. This was particularly a beneficial decision for me as I work in a cake shop and constantly have the temptation to snack on cake scraps!

What is the best piece of advice you have been given?

The best advice I was given was to just enjoy life including the little things (like the odd little bit of cake ) but to just keep everything in moderation. Luckily enough I'm not the hugest sweet tooth anyway, so my idea of indulging would be more along the lines of a gooey cheesey pizza or good ol' pasta bake. But I can appreciate having these things now as an occasional indulgence rather than on a regular basis! And I guess that's what happiness looks like to me now, ultimately understanding my relationship with the one who made me in the first place and has blessed me richly with amazing people in my life, beautiful surroundings, hobbies, and access to great and healthy food, but also learning how to have a life that enjoys the benefits of all these blessings.

Enjoy life including the little things but just keep everything in moderation

What is your advice for someone wanting to make a lifestyle change?

My advice to anyone wanting to make a life style change would be to make sure that whatever path you choose that at the end of the day you are still enjoying life and not focusing so heavily on just your image! Choose foods that are good for you, but also that you actually enjoy enough to eat on a regular basis. And as far as exercise goes, make sure that it is something that gives you energy and life rather than something that you dread everyday - and everyone is different! For some that is hitting the gym, others it is dancing or swimming, and for some like me it is just casual walks!