Whilst 2020 was a very strange year in most ways it has been a year where I have really been able tackle and focus on one thing I have wanted to for a while... my weight loss and fitness journey. 2020 has been the year where I have managed to really focus in my journey along with being able sit back and evaluate what is working for me and what isn't, which has been great. 

One thing I was worried about in January when I started working out was how I was going to keep it up and fit workouts in whilst also working full time. I guess going into lockdown was definitely a positive for me as I worked out more or less daily thanks to being all out of routine which was fantastic as I started to see a lot of changes in my body, my fitness and my mental state. I honestly think that working out actually got me through the lockdown we were put in as it was my focus. I even managed to go walking more in 2020 which is funny as in 2019 if you would have asked if I wanted to go for a walk I would have laughed and told you no chance but with how things changed I loved just heading out for a walk and I would often do 5k which was great as it gave me the chance to get out of the house and get some fresh air. I think this is definitely something I want to carry on doing through 2021 and maybe try different routes. 

What I didn't expect to do whilst on my journey was cancel my gym membership, to some it may seem crazy to do that but for me the gym just wasn't working out so I got some weights, resistance bands and an exercise bike and now all my workouts are done from the comfort of my own home and it is fantastic as it definitely makes sure I get my workouts in. It also helped me save a little more money over the year too which is definitely an added bonus. 

I won a months worth of online training with a personal trainer which definitely taught me a lot and I saw some great results from this but due to the cost it wasn't something I could continue with so I ended up creating my own little challenges which I will be doing into 2021. One big challenge I did for myself was a 90 day challenge which went well and I stuck to some parts of it really well but I didn't get the results I wanted so I have restarted this to finish in February, no doubt I will end up doing this at another stage too as it is great and helps me get in the correct mindset. Documenting my journey has definitely helped me out a lot too as it has held me accountable and I think that is what has helped me do as well as I have done. 

In January I was an XL in menswear and a size 20 in women's clothing but by mid year that had changed and I was in large in menswear and an 18 in women's clothing which has been fantastic. In the summer I tried on a pair of shorts I bought in 2019 that were a size 22 however, when I put them on they fell straight down which was a big surprise but the bigger surprise was when my size 20's did the same so to fit in an 18 was absolutely amazing. With my clothing size changing it definitely helped my confidence boost which is something that I have wanted to happen for so long as my confidence was at an all time low. 

In terms of food I have had a much better relationship with food and have cut back on portion sizes and started eating a lot better. I have had less takeaway and honestly I have felt better than ever for it as just eating better has helped me clear up my skin, sort out health issues and also just get me feeling happier without all the junk food going into my body all the time like it used to. I actually ended up having 1 vegan meal a day for a few months and I noticed a huge difference on the scales, in my measurements and my stomach issue. Having at least 1 vegan/vegetarian  meal a day is something I want to carry into 2021 too as it helped me try new foods and certainly benefited me in a great way, I think I could actually go a full year doing this if I really put my mind to it and could find some great new meal ideas. 

I wont be putting my finally measurements and weight in this post as I have a December round up post coming in January where I will be going over my final stats for how the year started and ending, I am really looking forward to seeing that as I definitely think I have made progress and in my mind I now know exactly how I want progress next year. 2020 being as weird as it has definitely worked in my favour for this journey and I am proud of how well I have done over the course of the 12 months and I only hope to keep building on this so bring on 2021 and lets hope I see even more results and progress.