My name is Louise. Keeping fit and healthy is something I’ve thought would be a good idea but haven’t always kept on top of. I live enabled and supported by ubu because I want to have more independence in my life. I’d like to be healthier but it isn’t always easy to make the best choices when I’m out buying my food for the week.
I used to buy takeaway’s nearly every night and when I didn’t, I would usually be eating the kind of food other people might think was ‘unhealthy’ . My diet didn’t make me feel really happy because, working with my ubu enabling team I realized that I was getting a bit over-weight. It wasn’t how I wanted to be and I started to look at some ideas to lose unwanted weight I had gained over the last few years and find healthier foods I liked to eat that would help to keep me healthy and strong.
I began going to my local pool for swimming and to get some much needed exercise. It felt pretty good once I got into the routine of going. Each week, with advice and support from my enabling team I started finding foods that I enjoyed eating that were healthier for me. I started to make sure that I had a much wider choice of foods for my meals and I learnt that this is healthier too.
I decided that because of the healthy changes I’d chosen to make it would be a good idea to weigh myself weekly. So I began to monitor my weight with a card that I designed where I could record my ‘wins’ every time I weighed myself and found that I’d lost a bit of weight.
It was pleasantly surprising to find that losing weight and feeling good wasn’t that hard to do. Once I had figured out that eating well and getting some exercise, which I actually enjoyed doing, could really help.
Before I knew it I had lost nearly 4 stone which was incredible and it felt amazing. With all the money I was saving because I’d ditched all the take-aways and junk food, I soon had enough money to achieve a long-time ambition of mine. I saved up and went to see ‘Disney on Ice’. It was a brilliant show. I also decided to have a makeover to go with it. It was a treat and I truly felt like a million dollars when it was done and it made my trip out to see the show even better.
My next goal in life is to continue with improving on the way I look after myself. My new and healthy lifestyle has made a huge difference to how I feel as a person. Now I’m beginning to make a plan to take a holiday in September. Already I feel more confident in my swimwear and if my plan gets organized and I save up for it, I’ll be walking along the sunny beaches in Lanzarote in September!
