A year ago I started on this healthy living journey of mine. I was one year out of college and I wasn't satisfied with how my weight was. Mainly I wasn't satisfied with the fact that I was continuously gaining weight and couldn't fit the majority of the clothes in my closet. I had cute items but I could no longer fit them.
So I sat myself down and had a honest conversation about my goals and what I envisioned for myself. However, I knew that whatever I decided needed to be a lifestyle change. How else was I going to keep the weight off once I got to my ideal self? I decided to start slow. I figured that if I could find a sport or athletic club to do consistently that that would jump start me, and I did. As everyone knows, I found the love of my life: Aerial.
Since then, I have tried out doing "Workout Wednesdays" with my now fiancè. That worked for a few months until it no longer served our schedules well. I then picked up doing Kickboxing and I figured out a way to make it manageable financially. With the understanding that a gym membership was not the best use of my funds I had to find classes that inspired me and motivated me to want to keep coming back — which is why I budget like crazy and realize that you have to invest in yourself. Sometimes investing in yourself doesn't look like going into business. Sometimes it's more so about investing in and taking care of yourself physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
With the added measure of working out 2-3 times a week more regularly, with the help of my amazing Apple Watch, I decided to use my resources and circle of friends and family. One of which is a great health coach. Originally he was helping my fiancè with his own goals and then I asked for help and he was glad to be of assistance. My health coach has had me set weight goals; although I hate putting a number on it it helps with a starting point. The reason why I don't like saying a specific weight I want to get to is because it's not about the number for me. Not to mention I'm gaining muscle weight. For me, it's more about the overall sculpt of my body and losing inches. I'd rather say I want to fit into a size 12 dress than to say I want to lose 25 pounds.
Once I discussed my goals we worked out done eating goals for myself. Essentially I needed to take in more protein, less carbs, and even less fat. This was a major shift for me because now I was logging everything I ate. I logged the chips, the ice cream, the Bojangles fries, EVERYTHING. And the reason why is because I wanted a realistic view of what I was putting into my body each day.
Slowly, I've been able to switch out my unhealthy snacks for more fruit. I've switched over to Chobani Greek Yogurt because I need help getting more protein in my diet. I've cut down on portion sizes and I've learned I can eat "bad food" I just have to be prepared to save calories for it or learn not to eat everything in one sitting.
I still have bad days/weekends where I slide back into old habits. It's a constant battle and it can be hard if you live with people who aren't considerate of the obstacles you're trying to overcome. I get on the scale more just to record where I'm at and to track progress. Most recently I've noted two distinct things that have reinvigorated my spirits. The first being that I saw pictures from UNCC homecoming last year and I compared them to this year's homecoming tailgate pictures. You can clearly see that I've lost a noticeable amount of weight in my face. At work, some of my co-workers have commented on how I look slimmer as well. Lastly, I got on the scale, which I hadn't done in a couple weeks, and the scale read 198.4 lbs. I haven't been below 200 lbs since 2016, my Junior year of college. Seeing all those signs of how my lifestyle changes really are working was just the motivation I needed to keep going, and it didn't matter to me that it took a year for me to get to this place.
I know there are a lot of us who want to lose weight or gain weight to get to that ideal body image in our heads, but I think it's important to note that we should be aiming to live a healthier lifestyle. One that keeps us energized and happy. When being healthy becomes a lifestyle you know that you've done all you can and that this is your body in it's truest and best form. You start to appreciate it more and it doesn't drag on you because you're trying to reach some number or you're trying the latest drop 15 pounds in one month diet. When it's over how are you going to maintain?