So a little bit of backstory about my weight loss/fitness journey. I used to be a fairly active kid in middle school and high school, but when I got to post secondary I went through quite a bit of personal stuff and things kind of snowballed for me from a stress standpoint. I also had a persistent health issue that caused me to undergo a few surgeries ( so much fun lol). Between going to class, studying, working part time, and family/friends, I kinda stopped taking care of myself for awhile and I gained a considerable amount of weight as a result. I didn’t really notice it at the time, but I think that’s maybe the case for most people? I mean, nobody ever plans on becoming overweight so it’s hard to see what’s happening to you in the moment, but looking back I can see that I was making some pretty poor decisions when it came to my overall health.
Fast forward to this past summer, where I was done school and working full time. I met someone who became a really important friend and person in my life, and she showed me a lot love and trust at a time when I really needed it. Ever since that day, July 7 2019, I’ve made a conscious effort to get back in shape. I realized that if this person was willing to show me love when I didn’t really feel like I deserved it, then I needed to show myself some self love and just begin taking care of myself more mentally and physically.
Starting off was a bit easier than I thought it would be, and the key for me was just changing my overall mindset (corny as that might sound). In one of my favourite tv shows Community, there’s a scene where one of the characters Jeff Winger. gets told his cholesterol is a little high despite being in amazing shape, and Winger cries out in shock “but I treat my body like a temple!”. I don’t know why but even though it’s partly a joke to highlight Jeff’s vanity, I started to see my body as an investment and wanted to treat it “like a temple”. I didn’t immediately turn to calorie counting, but I did focus on lowering my carb intake and eating more whole foods, especially lean protein and vegetables. I pretty much cut out rice and bread because the more research and reading I did they just seemed like empty calories to me, and I really wanted to eat calorie dense food that kept me full longer. I also started weighing myself religiously, sometimes multiple times a day, and that is something that I would not recommend. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with weighing yourself (I actually think it’s a good idea!), but I definitely got too focused on the numbers on the scale for a time when there was no need to be weighing myself that often. While the scale is an objective way of looking at things, it can still be fairly flawed and you’re more than just some numbers on a scale. After a bit, I started relying more on progress photos and seeing how my clothes were feeling more than the scale itself, although I still do weight myself about once a week, always at the same day at the same time. I also ended up getting Spotify so that I could enjoy my workouts (you’d be amazed how much you enjoy exercising when you’re jamming out to Jesse McCartney and The Fray lol). At the start I spent about 30 minutes on the elliptical 5-6 days a week and lifted some 15 lb dumbbells that I had. I also did alot of bodyweight exercises (plank, pushups, and squats being the main ones). Over time, I felt myself getting stronger and lighter on my feet. At a family dinner party on August 24, everyone was telling me how different I looked and congratulating me on my progress (I have a really supportive family that means the absolute world to me).
I put off joining an actual gym until September, partly because I thought I was doing fine as is but mostly because I was still a little self conscious. I eventually realized that if I was going to show myself some self love, it didn’t really matter what some stranger thought of me when I was running or squatting or doing lat pulldowns or any other hilarious looking thing you can do in the gym. The cool thing about the gym is that everyone in there was once a beginner too, so you shouldn’t feel like you’re being judged (and if you are, oh well 🤷♀️ :)). Anyways, the first couple weeks I spent just getting comfortable at the gym, learning how to use some of the equipment, talking to the staff and trainers, joining some drop in classes (tried yoga for the first time and fell in love) etc. Since then, I’ve ramped things up and have been focusing more on weightlifting, both with compound exercises (deadlifts, squats, bench press, etc.) and isolation work. I enjoy how much it kicks my butt lol, it’s been a blast. The biggest goal now for me is to continue treating my body well by eating right, getting stronger and building muscle, and trying to burn off some of my more stubborn fat.
I ran into one of my old highschool friends at the gym last night, and he said he didn’t recognize me at first. He suggested letting everyone know what how much progress I’ve made, and while I don’t think I’ll ever really be ready for something like that with people I know, I did just want to post this somewhat anonymously to share my progress and let anyone who is struggling right now that as long as you believe in yourself and stay patient you’ll see a difference in time. This first picture is from October only because I switched phones and lost all my previous progress photos lol. Thank you very much for reading this, I wish you all the best with your weight loss and fitness goals. Have faith in yourself, don’t get discouraged, stay positive, celebrate your victories, and please never stop loving yourself.
Nowadays, the friend who helped kickstart this change in me isn’t really a part of my life anymore, but I’ll be forever grateful for the fact that she came into my life, believed in me, and helped me find myself again. Thanks dingus, hate ya :).
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