By Jade H.
As summer is hitting in full swing but Coronavirus showing no signs of slowing down, throughout most states we are still seeing a big fat closed sign on gyms. If your gym near you has opened as part of the reopening phases, then this short blog can still be for you if you haven’t taken those steps yet to signing up for that gym membership or getting started on that home workout program.
Taking the first steps to getting your body in shape can be exciting, nerve racking, and incredibly hard. We’ve gotten too comfortable with being lazy and inactive that the thought of all this hard work when you were happy eating chicken nuggets in your yoga pants (me 😭), just doesn’t seem worth it...until you get on social media. Now, if you’re like me then it’s not the look that you want from these women that you see online, it’s the confidence. Skinny is not beautiful. Being healthy and confident in yourself is. You don’t need to lose weight to have beauty, but if you’d like to begin that journey because YOU want to, then continue reading in case you need an extra push.
My Path
3 years ago, I was 19, 195 pounds, newly single and extremely unhappy. Given that description, my future didn’t seem very bright. I wanted a quick fix. I bought a waist trainer, way too many different dietary supplements and as you can imagine none of that worked. Why? Because I didn’t put in the real work. I wasn’t eating right, I wasn’t active and my mind wasn’t in a positive head space. Looking at myself in the mirror, I hated what I saw. I wasn’t confident, I didn’t feel beautiful and those yoga pants were just a crutch because I didn’t like how my gut looked in jeans. With all of that being said, I didn’t actually start my real fitness journey until about October of 2018.
I started by getting my first gym membership and going about 3-4 times a week. I started to change my diet up at a smaller rate because that’s the hardest part. Less junk food so often, cutting heavy sugar juices and fast food. All the things I once loved but I knew I could survive without them. As time went on, I eventually began to see progress in my fitness journey. Today as of June 29th, 2020 I am 160lbs of happiness and wearing all of the crop tops and high waisted jeans I never had the confidence to wear before and it’s only getting better as I continue my journey to 145lbs. Now, you don’t have to do this, you can start smaller than that pace. It hasn’t been easy. Sometimes you’ll want to quit and sometimes you’ll fall through on consistency but just know that you’ll have to get back to it eventually. It’s all about doing what works for you.
Tips
Here are a few tips that I have learned throughout my journey that may be helpful. Feel free to do your own research and your own experiments. Remember, everyone is different.
● Figure out what you want. Be a cardio junkie, a weight master or a mix of both.
● DO YOUR RESEARCH. Draw up a fitness plan before you go to the gym so you aren’t super lost on what to do when you get there.
● Set short term goals.
● Get a workout partner or someone who will hold you accountable.
● Hold yourself accountable.
● Make sure you are mentally ready. Results don’t happen overnight.
● Invest in a waist trimmer not a waist trainer. Waist trimmers help you sweat more around your abdominal area and will show results over time if done correctly and consistently.
● If you can’t make it to the gym, try to workout in the house if you can. If you can’t, just know you’ll have to get back to it eventually.
● Eat what you want but be mindful of quantities and the overall nutrition of the product.
● Buy super cute workout clothes to make you feel good while working out. This is a big yes for me.
● Take breaks when you need them for body or mental rest, don’t over do it.
● Appreciate the progress you have made. Don’t focus on what you haven’t.
Hopefully those few tips will give you the motivation to start your journey because you’ll know that we’ve all started somewhere and struggled. Sometimes we still do. Nobody will ever judge you for wanting to better yourself so go look into that gym membership, Zumba class, SoulCycle, whatever journey you want to take whenever you’re ready. Find out what’s best for you, have patience and like Nike so famously says, just do it. ❤️
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