Being in good health is ideal for me. I gained 15 pounds since 2017. I was like really Chelle, you let the devil use you! It was Spring 2018 that I realized I sat around and gained more weight. I wasn’t exercising or maintaining a healthy diet. Other factors like getting older, married life, and a job that’s not physically demanding probably played a part too.
Let me tell you how I fell off. During the new year of 2017, my goal was to shed the 10 pounds I gained from 2016. That year started with a bang. I had an active gym membership at O2 Fitness and went faithfully at least 3 times a week. I’d do weights, Zumba, spinning, stair climber, treadmill, planks, lunges, and squats. I even had a short-term personal trainer too. My trainer advised me to increase protein intake, eat lean meats, avoid excess sugar, and record food intake in an app. I didn’t follow through completely, but I lost a few pounds and built muscle too.
Despite my efforts, it got to a point where I wasn’t losing weight any more. Certainly I knew the benefits of working out and eating well. Although the weight loss stopped, I kept going to the gym. By September 2017, I quit going to the gym. I made up my mind. There would be no membership renewal in my future. Meanwhile, my friends would invite me to walk or attend an exercise class and my response was always, “No thanks”. Does any of this sound like any of you? My goal for 2018 was to get back on track. I put that into action in June. Yep, a month ago.
My thought process changed. I made a decision to do better. My exercise regimen is consistent. You can find me in my community gym on the bicycle, treadmill, or elliptical. Generally I’m there for an hour. Most times I walk to the gym, so that gives me some time to warm up and cool down. Also, if I’m not too sluggish I’ll walk and jog in my neighborhood before I go to work. As for food, I’ve limited bread, rice, pasta, and desserts. Salads with dark green leaves, fish, and, chicken breast are major components my meals. This change is starting to pay off. As a result, I’ve lost 6 pounds already. With the intensity of the exercise I get sore occasionally, but I feel great.
Above all, sometimes we set goals to lose weight and on the journey we become discouraged. You have to make up your mind to make more changes and start again. Each day is a new opportunity to achieve that goal.