The shortest distance between two points is a straight line; my fitness journey has been anything but. If I had to map out what it looked like in the beginning, it’d look like a child’s scribble – no direction whatsoever.
My first foray into fitness was with a ‘cleansing’ diet of only watermelon juice and grapefruit juice for three days. I was 16, not breathing properly and there was nothing else medically wrong with me. So my mum took me to a nutritionist and in this case, it was literally what the doctor ordered. I also got a somewhat restrictive list of what to eat and avoid. It shocked my system and I did lose some weight, but it wasn’t sustainable and I soon went back to sketchy eating habits and the weight did creep back up.
Fast-forward to college and although I was physically smaller than before, my weight still fluctuated between two dress sizes. I was a lot more active at college than ever before with dancing, aerobics classes, and karate. However, my eating habits were constrained to my student budget and whatever was quickly available (there’s only so much meal prep you can do between studying for midterms and juggling deadlines).
I met GG while I was at college and we bonded over our shared love for food and our interest in fitness. We started out without much knowledge, but we were curious and encouraged/challenged each other. We’d try out healthier recipes (read as GG cooking and me happily being a taster), share whatever fitness tips we learned, and check out interesting fitness activities – pole fitness was our thing for a minute and yoga absolutely humbled us. Fitness became less like work, and something that we could actually enjoy for ourselves.
Now, I’m on a more consistent path with my fitness journey. It’s still not a straight line and I don’t expect it to be. Instead, I see progressive growth that has been sustained for the better part of a decade. The goal is progress, not perfection. I still don’t have abs yet (story for another day), but I am fitter and more in tune with my body and eating habits. So, what am I getting at?
Your fitness journey is personal. What’s your reason for taking this step? If you’re not ready mentally for it, then it will always be a struggle. Personally, I find that approaching my eating habits from a healthy perspective as opposed to dieting has made for a more positive experience.
Your fitness journey is a commitment you make for yourself. It will be hard and sometimes you will wonder who sent you. Remember though that you’re doing this for yourself and for your wellbeing. That’s what matters the most, not your dress size (although you most likely will see that change too).
You have to make decisions about what’s best for you. Education is important and there’s a lot of information / well-meaning advice out there. However, our bodies are unique and there is no generic answer. Get informed, and try out different things to know what works for you. For example, when it comes to cardio exercise, you can’t pay me enough to run on a treadmill, but I’ll happily skip for the same amount of time. So I do that instead.
You need a community of like-minded people. It’s easy to get discouraged when you don’t get the results you want, or you might feel like giving up just because you slipped. Your fitness community will be the one to encourage you, remind you that we all have our off days, and support you as you get back on track. We’ll all do the work ourselves, but we’re on the same boat and you best believe we’ll be cheering each other on.
differentshadesofbrown 