55 Bali - It's a Wrap!!

Soooo.. the impetus for my trip I guess.. a health and wellness reset. And what a ride so far! Although this blog post is personal - I'm sharing for 2 reasons.. 1/ I'm bloody proud of myself and want to celebrate how far I'm come (but still working on it!) and 2/ I'd love to share what I learned along the way and if I can inspire even one other person to take some positive action towards their own wellness, that would be awesome 💕

So.. the story behind what I've called '55 BALI' - in a nutshell, it was the name I gave the personal challenge I set myself, for the 55 days I was in Bali - as it was where my travel all started.

I actually kicked into gear on this, at the start of the work year - Jan 2023. In the first instance, I almost completely cut out alcohol, I stopped weighing myself, I started moving my body every day, and I stopped counting calories, and instead focused only on whether or not something was nourishing my body. Boom. Instant results.

I started sleeping better, aches and pains disappeared, weight started dropping away, and I started to feel really good. I was happy to continue as I was until I got to Bali. 5 months after making the decision to travel on my own, I had dropped 18kgs.

I'll leave you with the pictures below. I don't know what you will see when you look at them. In the befores I see someone outwardly smiling and confident - often trying to make others laugh, or to feel comfort and support, while inwardly lacking any such confidence and never feeling like I was good enough. To be honest, I think there could be many 'worse' pictures.. but I've always avoided the camera as much as possible, so these are all I could find.

In the 'nows' - I see a proper smile. One that comes from the inside. I see a new person that has realised my worth and potential and understands that I deserve all the things I thought were just for other people. I am well on the way to healing my gut and my body with the nutrient rich foods I now eat. I may never go back to drinking alcohol. I move my body every day and feel stronger and more flexible than I have in years. I feel rested from the quality and quantity of sleep I get, and from no longer playing the negative soundtrack I was listening to. But most importantly - through daily journaling, meditation, mindfulness and real gratitude - I feel like I am becoming the version of myself that is the most real.

I have no idea what my current weight is and I don't care. Like age, it's just a number. I've dropped another dress size since I left home, and I'll continue with this generally healthy lifestyle, but now I will wander the street after dinner with a gelato, or have cake with my coffee, without berating myself.

I hope this inspires anyone reading it, that has either struggled with weight, or with more inward battles, to take the time for yourself - and that doesn't mean packing up your life and becoming an 'Eat, Pray, Love' cliche. It just means being kind to yourself. Practicing gratitude. Making yourself a priority. When we are the best versions of ourselves, we can give more to others. We often say "life is short" - and there's no doubt that is tragically true for some - but for most of us - it is long!. and we all deserve real joy along the way - and we owe it to ourselves and can experience that, when we truly nourish both mind and body.

For a detailed, 7-step account of what I did to get these results, I now have an e-book at the top of my Linktr.ee in my Instagram bio - so if you're interested in starting your own journey - CLICK THE LINK IN MY INSTA BIO

The BEFORES 😬

The NOWS ...