YO U R I NVE STI N G
A Better Version of Me Simple changes, and a policy of progress, not perfection, help Brenda Ward make lasting lifestyle changes.
I’m pretty health-conscious and I read widely, so I was sceptical that Resolution Retreats’ four-day refresher could teach me anything I didn’t already know. But I thought, well, I need a relaxing break, and some tennis, swimming, saunas, yoga, and mindfulness in luxury near Karapiro sounded divine. And if I picked up some tips along the way, all the better. I knew all the things I should be doing. In fact, I have no idea why I wasn’t doing them already. I soon found out that even the things I thought I was doing right were undermining my best efforts – and some of the simplest lessons were a complete surprise to me. Let’s look at some of them. Meals Oh no! Like most women who arrive at this wellness and weight loss retreat, it turns out I wasn’t eating enough. That’s right, not enough. Energy in should equal energy out. It’s maths, right? No. Eat less and you’ll lose weight? No, again. Trying to cut down on food and overexercising was doing me no good at all. In fact, my body was stuck in starvation mode and compensating by laying down a lovely layer of fat around my middle. Within four days I’d learned that I needed to eat more meals a day. Even though I wasn’t hungry, I obediently munched chocolate bliss balls at morning tea and had a protein smoothie for afternoon tea as well as a sizeable healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner. WI NTE R 2 0 2 2 | I N F O R M E D I NVESTO R 9 8
