I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling 32 (i.e, old).

Trying to get motivated to work out in some shape or form these days is tough, partly because of ‘mom life’ and being busy with work, but also because I’m just downright lazy. And it’s hot in Dubai… Any excuse really.

Last year, I turned a corner in terms of weight and exercise, and I wanted to talk about it in a blog post.

I went on a diet, and for the first time in my life, I stuck to it rigidly. I didn’t starve myself and I didn’t work out, I just counted calories (for every meal, every day).

As a result, over a six month period I dropped 10 kilos. The diet in question isn’t actually a diet as such, it’s an app called My Fitness Pal that I’m sure everyone has heard of. It not only helped me lose weight through simple calorie counting, it taught me about portion size and showed me that while I wasn’t eating particularly bad food, I was just eating too much food.

I continued to use the app after I’d lost the first bulk of weight and dropped a further three kilos, going from 73 kilos to 60 kilos in just under 8 months. To say I was thrilled with myself was an understatement – all the compliments! All the shocked looks! All the clothes that wouldn’t fit me anymore! Brilliant, I thought. And in a way it was, but in another way, it wasn’t.

The thing no one tells you about dropping a shit ton of weight and reaching your perceived ‘goal weight’ is that unless you do it with a fair whack of exercise thrown in along the way, your body is going to look the same – only thinner. Those bingo wings will still be there, you’ll still feel a bit flabby and most importantly – you’ll still feel unfit.

I had this horrifying realisation a couple of months before Christmas, and in my shocked state I figured I would just hit the gym and that would solve everything. Hot bod, here I come!… But we hit a problem – I hate the gym. I really, really hate it. I tried working out with a friend of mine who happens to be a PT, and while he was great – I just couldn’t stick to it. After a handful of sessions I bailed.

It’s taken me a solid six months to figure out what kind of exerciser I am (a lazy one ha ha) but honestly, I’ve got a legit little routine going now (that’s still quite lazy), and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve realised that I like doing different types of workouts, and I like them to really kick my ass so I feel like the time I put aside for it was really worth it. I also really, really want to watch Game of Thrones when the repeat is on Sky Atlantic, so the workout can’t take too long or be too far away.

So here’s my winning formula that is very slowly starting to banish my bingo wings and overall, make me feel better about myself. I do a quick 20 minute workout at home 3-4 times a week, usually following The Body Coach on YouTube (this workout and this one are my faves) – they’re super fast, super effective (and free!) and no equipment or gym setting is needed. I literally walk upstairs, do the workout and approximately 22 minutes later I’m on the couch watching Game of Thrones (or Peaky Blinders… because Cillian Murphy).

I still use My Fitness Pal a couple of times of week to keep my eating on track, and I’ll either go to the gym with Adrian once a week for a 45 minute session on the treadmill, or walk my dogs for 20 minutes or I’ll throw in a whole new thing like Bikram Yoga, which I did early this morning for 90 minutes.

All are low-ish commitment (except Bikram), they don’t take up much time – and coupled with a little bit of My Fitness Pal action, I feel like I may have actually figured out what works for me, for the first time ever. And with that, I’m now off to eat Mexican food and drink Whispering Angel, because life is all about balance, right? 🙂

If you have any recommendations for workout videos on YouTube I’d love to hear them. Thank you for reading this long-winded post, I hope it might be helpful in some teeny way (even if it just makes you consider downloading the wonder that is My Fitness Pal)… and talk to you again soon! 🙂