Probably a little confusing how something can bring me such happiness and sadness all at once, but when you're insecure and not happy with how you look, it makes sense. A little background -- I've been struggling with body confidence over the past few years. I was never super skinny but I was in shape and had (what I now consider) the perfect body type (we can thank 13 years of competitive cheerleading for that!)
I went to community college right out of high school, so I lived at home and didn't have the typical freshman 15 experience -- Instead that happened my junior year, when I transferred to a 4-year university. PS. Anyone who didn't gain the freshman 15, shout out to you! lol. I was able to loose most of the 15 before my spring break trip senior year of college (March 2013) and I was around the same weight up until I moved out on my own in November of 2014.
The mix of living on my own, stress at work/about money, and moving into the city with the most bars/restaurants per capita in the country... I started to gain weight. Fast forward to summer 2015 - I ended up signing a lease for a beach house with my friends very late in the game. I hadn't intended to be down by the beach every weekend, so I didn't treat my body that way - and I fully regretted this the entire summer.
I was so uncomfortable in my body, I hated every photo taken of me and I refused to be in my bathing suit. All of which sucks when living by the beach with all of your friends. I made it through the summer, and I did try to start going to the gym and eating healthier, but I continued to push it off for multiple reasons (Summer is over so I don't need to do this, next summer is so far away I have time etc.) I'm very good at excuses. It wasn't until December of 2015 that I finally realized I needed to make a change. It finally clicked in my head that one, I was not healthy at all and two, I was never going to be happy with myself until I did something about it.
I'm someone who needs to be coached, so I've been following Weight Watchers (a client of mine at work!) for eating and Kayla Itsines' Bikini Body Guides for work outs (I will say this is hard for me, but I'm using it as a starting point!) I'm very happy with both so far so am hoping to continue following them for the next few months.
My overall goal isn't to be a certain weight or be able to run for a certain amount of time-- it's to feel good (mentally and physically) and be happy. I'm writing the post for a few reasons, one is for myself. I want to make a monthly update post on where I'm at and how I'm doing in my efforts (for accountability.) And two, for others. I'm hoping I can help someone realize it's never too late to start a healthy lifestyle. It's certainly not easy, but the more people on the journey together the more tips, motivation and help we can have.
I'd love to hear about your health and fitness journeys! Let me know in the comments or send me links to blog posts/Instagram's etc :) Thanks so much for reading my ramble-y post; I promise the updates will be a bit more put together. <3
Good for you! Personally, I'm a natural yo-yo because my hormones are out of balance and my body type is naturally heavier and curvier than what most people would think is "healthy." I constantly struggle with body image and weight. I go between working out a few days a week to none simply because my life is so overwhelmingly busy that I find I'm mentally and physically tired. I'm also not a morning person which could help squeeze in workout time if I got up earlier.
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