I’ve always lived a sedentary lifestyle, and exercise just wasn’t on my agenda. My diet was okay, but I ate a lot, and because I wasn’t moving my body, the weight crept up on me. Every so often, I’d go on a diet, but I wanted to shed the pounds by putting in the least amount of effort possible, and I soon realized that wasn’t going to happen. I plodded along through life insecure and unhappy, and at 231lbs, I was at my heaviest. That was just before my fortieth birthday, and I thought to myself, it’s now or never.
In August 2019, I joined a gym and signed up for ten lessons with a personal trainer. My first session was awful because it highlighted how terribly unfit I was. I didn’t think I could do it. The next day, my muscles were sore, and I was so depressed I was ready to give up and accept that I would be overweight for the rest of my life. But my work colleagues convinced me to keep going, and so I did. I had two sessions a week, and I started enjoying my workouts. I was getting stronger, and I was really excited about it. I booked another fifty sessions with my personal trainer, and my hour-long workouts focused on building strength with rows, deadlifts, and squats. For cardio, I started off with 10,000 steps a day and worked my way up to 15,000 steps a day. My diet didn’t change much, and I used a fitness app to make sure I was eating the right amount of calories.
By my 40th birthday, I’d lost 48lbs, and I was so happy. I was no longer depressed and insecure. I was confident and excited for the future. Two years after starting my fitness journey, I lost 231lbs, and I couldn’t be more proud of myself. The greatest lessons I’ve learned from this are:
- Start small so you don’t overwhelm yourself. Ten sessions were perfect for getting my momentum going. Once I saw the progress, I was motivated to continue.
- If you can afford it, hire a personal trainer. There is no way I could have done this on my own. I needed someone to guide me through it and push me to my limits. I had no idea I was so strong; it had to be pulled out of me.
- Don’t get obsessed with diet. You definitely need to make sure you’re eating healthy but don’t go overboard, it will demotivate you. I learned that many years ago when I used to go on fad diets. Healthy eating is a lifestyle, not something you do twice a year.
- Surround yourself with the right people; if it weren’t for my work colleagues, I would have given up.
You’ll never know what you’re capable of until you try. I didn’t set out to lose 231lbs, I wanted to get fit and healthy, and the weight loss was a bonus.
