I
do not consider myself one of those people who are obsessed with fitness. I
work two jobs and on the days where I only end up at one of my two work places
I hit the gym; normally about 5 times a week. I take pretty good care of myself
and watch my diet without really ever feeling like I am missing out on
anything.
At
one point I was very unhealthy and overweight, it started in my 4th
year of university and ended in halfway through my 1st year of trade
school. That year of binge eating whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted with
little to no exercise was worth the lesson it taught me about life.
Unfortunately no one really told me I was getting fat. I was 200 lbs and felt
super hot. Usually because it was because I was winded from walking up stairs
or moderate movement in general, but I never felt ugly.
I
went into radio school bigger than I had ever been in my life. I started to
realize what was going on with my body when I looked at my photos from my first
trip to Disneyland in California and finally when visited Value Village and
stepped on a scale for the first time in over a year. Late night snacks, quick
drive-thru trips and 7/11 sugar rushes were adding up... fast.
After
deciding that enough was enough I started with the smallest step possible. Something
manageable that I could do everyday, every morning I woke up with enough time
to drink a protein shake before heading off to class. This was strategic,
protein early in the morning helps you feel fuller later in the day and it was
easy to do. Waking up early in the morning really was not my jam. Doing
something quick and easy to start the day in the right day was key. I had been
starving myself for the first half of the day and then fueling myself with
something quick and easy for lunch at school. Unfortunately quick, easy and
cheap is not a good combination in a school cafeteria.
My
protein shake breakfast started during the winter months of 2012 and it is hard
to believe it has been almost 3 years! To this day I have a shake for breakfast
on mornings that I have to rush out to work and I still hate waking up before
the sun.
That
one easy step helped me drop weight quickly. The first pounds seem to be the
easiest for me. I cleared out my stock of high carb food and scheduled my first
cheat day. I have been doing this ever since.
The
weight that I lost just by keeping an eye on my diet did more for me than I
ever imagined. I had energy again. I had been napping every day since I was in
high school and struggled to stay awake every day; that ended after about a
week of smarter eating. I liked to look at myself again. Even though it never
bothered me seeing photos of myself when I was overweight once I realized what
was going on it tainted the moments a little bit.
It
took a little over a year for me to feel comfortable enough to go back to the
gym. I had been regularly going in the fall of 2010 but as I learned about
health and my body I realized that my intense cardio workout were part of my
problem staying committed to the gym. I knew as I was dropping weight from a
healthier diet that I was going to have to change the way I exercised my
muscles.
The
first time I visited a gym after dedicating myself to eating properly was in
the spring of 2013. I learned how to properly schedule my workouts and a
variety of new diverse things to do at the gym. It was very intimidating. I was
back in the gym that I had stopped going to when I started to gain weight but
using a completely different floor with new machines. I did things wrong and it
scared the shit out of me to be told that maybe I should tweak things to do
them a more effective way but I kept at it.
My
mother owns a tanning salon in a gym so growing up I spent a lot of time in a
gym. I started lifting weights when I was in 8th Grade in the weeks
between seasons when I was not playing sports. As I got older my workouts
changed into being straight-up cardio sessions. Why? It was easy, mindless (for
me) and there was little chance that someone would approach me to correct my
movements. I hated it which made me think it must be what I needed to do to
lose weight and have a kick-ass body. Cardio was all my friends wanted to do
when they went to the gym and there were rarely women downstairs on the weight
lifting floor.
It
was a big change to program workouts, track progress and lift heavy things. I
still do cardio; I just do it differently and in conjunction with lifts.
Changing
my thought process regarding working out has been the most challenging part of
my weight loss story. I do get bored with my workouts some times and my
schedule has changed multiple times since I started working out. These things
have taught me another valuable lesson about being healthy and fit; willpower
is a muscle you have to train just like any other part of your body.
In
2013 I made it about 15 weeks straight hitting the gym. I moved across the
country during this period, finished post-secondary education and internships.
When I was offered a job in British Columbia it brought me into the 9-5 fold
and I was thrown from my fit routine. It took me about 9 months to get back
into a gym after the move.
That
was 40 weeks ago today. Yes, I keep track. That is one of the key things for
me. I am a nerd who carries around a notebook at the gym so I can proudly tell
you exactly what I did the last time I was there and how many times I have
visited the gym since I started going back. It has been 40 weeks and 165 gym
sessions and I feel great. I feel better than ever actually. I would be going
to the gym today if it was open, I could write a massive rant about why the gym
should be open on New Years Day but I decided to start 2015 on a positive note.
Back
to willpower, it is a “muscle” that always can use an extra set. Even on the
days I do not feel like going to the gym (which is pretty much every weekday
after working at my desk job) I go. I put an hour on the clock and go hard. I
let myself do some mindless cardio and rock out to my music. I prove to myself
that my mind is as strong as the body I have spent so much time to build.
Now,
to be clear I do not have the perfect body. Not even close. Especially coming
out of the holiday season. That is not why I go to the gym. I go to release the
energy that I now have from eating and sleeping well, I go to get out of the
house and see people, I go because I like to binge watch television shows and I
go because I LOVE to eat. And sometimes when I make the turn to go home instead
of to the gym I think about seeing myself on the TV monitor while I was taking
Radio and Television Arts and seeing my bloated face’s headshot. I think about
how crappy it felt to not want to watch myself on TV, something I has wanted
all of life. That for me is the kicker, the thing that gets my ass into the gym
and helps my willpower kick in when it needs to at the grocery store.
We
all have motivations and things that drive us to be the person we want to be. I
like to think I had a kick ass 2014, I hope you did too! As great as the past
year was, lets make 2015 even better!
This
year I am not setting New Years Resolutions. Not one. There are things I would
like to keep up on, but I will not be beating myself up to get them done. I
would like to continue to learn; so I have gifted myself Lynda.com access. I
would like to continue to be fit and healthy, so Santa has brought me 40lbs of
protein powder and 4 boxes of Quest bars to go with my year gym membership. I
have also gifted myself a new gym outfit from Fabletics. Nothing feels as good
as slipping into new workout gear after a day in heels and business attire!
The
most challenging thing I would like to do in 2015 is to continue to create.
Working two jobs I find I have no time to write a blog or something witty for
radio and that is the big thing I would like to exercise my willpower on this
year.
So
I’m going to sum up how I would like to see 2015 in my mission statement right
here:
“2015
a year of learning, exercising and creating”
What
would you like to happen in 2015?
All
the best and Happy New Year!
Kate
PS
A
BIG THANKS to CanadianProtein.com for all of the awesome deals on my Christmas
gifts. Yes, I know where Santa shops. It is my favourite place to order
pre-workout, protein powder and protein bars. Click here to check out CanadianProtein.com.
One
more shutout, this one goes to Fabletics. I am obsessed! I used to be all about
Lululemon and saving up to treat myself to a new piece of workout clothing. Now
I shop at Fabletics.ca and get an entire outfit for the price on one of the
Lulu shirts I bought at a Lulu Outlet! Check out Fabletics here.
PS. This is my new outfit! I love it! At 50% it was $56.00 with shipping and taxes.
