Over the past 5 years, my has been tumultuous, to say the least.
“Heidi” was definitely not a priority. 5 years ago my middle child had an accident that he was lucky to survive. I had quit my job to focus on his rehabilitation. This was all-consuming. 1 year after this, my husband was diagnosed with stage 4 testicular cancer which had spread throughout 5 lymph nodes within his body. With 3 children to look after and now a husband with an illness that we didn’t know he could survive, everything was focused on others. After a year battling chemotherapy, operations, intensive care visits and a myriad of doctor’s appointments and treatments, he did survive. However, it did take a toll on me. I was exhausted. I was trying to be a parent to 3 young children, hold the family together and also be a full-time nurse to my husband as he required 24/7 attention. In order to cope, I ate. Consequently, gaining approximately 30kg of weight. It was a time of survival.
I had tried everything to lose weight, however, it wasn’t until I followed the 1:1 Diet that I was successful. The difference for me is that whilst following the Plan, I am not hungry. When I eat all of the meals, I feel full. Usually when ‘dieting’ you stay on the diet until you just cannot sustain the hunger any longer. Whilst on Cambridge, I don’t feel hungry. Following the 1:1 Diet, I have been able to lose weight and finally, I have been able to get back to running. I actually love running, it is my meditation and now I am so happy to just go off for a run, even if only half an hour.
I am able to go to the beach and swim with my kids. The ocean is my happy place and I love feeling confident enough to go swimming again.
My journey is constant – having time for myself is infrequent and it is a constant struggle to make myself a priority, however following the 1:1 Diet has enabled me to still lead a very busy life, however, I have also been able to lose weight. I just love the ease of taking the meals with me to work each day and not having to plan my food.
Even though of the “Heidi” is still not a priority, I feel a lot happier within myself and able to give more to my family.