Unfortunately, all good things (like a decently fast metabolism) come to an end. As I began work, I spent up to 20 hours at a stretch seated in front of a PC, eating the most convenient thing possible - take out. I suppose it didn't really help that the company sponsored supper to the value of R100 each night, and that most nights we were still in the office so we ended up feasting on Pasta or Curry or Pizzas 5 nights a week. When I left that job two years ago, I was at the lowest point I had ever been in terms of my fitness and getting home to realise half my clothes didn't fit - a change had to be made.

Simple changes. 

That's all it boiled down to. I needed to lose weight, and get fit and because we had a treadmill, I started running. That was all there was to it - no flashing lights, no major epiphany - just an exercise of convenience. Was I motivated? Sure, but motivation could only get me so far. To really work magic, I needed discipline. 

Small changes.

Simple changes.

I started off running 20 minutes every second day on the treadmill, challenging myself to run longer, and walk less. My first few "runs" on the treadmill were atrocious, and involved 20 minutes of walking at a leisurely pace - fitting in maybe 1.5km. A lot of people think that to lose weight requires intense cardio, and salads - but that couldn't be further from the truth. To lose weight, all you need is discipline. For me, discipline came from a thousand rand pair of shoes that my parents bought me after the first two months once I had proven this was not just some passing fad. These were my first running shoes, and the were incredible. I had not felt cushioning like this before, and to move from hard cross trainers to the Asics Gel Nimbus was like moving from a rock to a down mattress.