Recap of Why I Started This Journey

Almost two years ago I reached out to a fitness coach via Instagram and started my plan to get healthier. The overall goal behind the plan was to be able to fit into a bridesmaid dress for my best friends wedding. The dress was two big and I had two options; either get the dress taken in or gain the weight. That is when I decided to gain the weight. This was after their wedding was postponed again due to COVID. The journey was absolutely painful and I struggled a lot with meeting my daily macros and I felt like I wasn’t gain weight. The comparison mindset is so toxic that I felt trapped by the number on the scale.

The Full Journey

In order to understand where I’ve come I must recap of where I began. I began with zero knowledge of weight training and working out. I weight about 115 and am 5ft 7in. I would occasionally run to relieve stress but that was the extent of my exercising. I was anemic and ran into multiple health problems due to my poor diet. A common misconception was that I was healthy because I was small. That was false. I constantly had people approach me and tell me that it must be nice to stay small and eat what I wanted. I had a toxic relationship with food and I wanted to heal and be healthy. I went to therapy, joined a few bible studies, hiked more, and exercised. Getting healthy involves working on yourself mentally, physically, and emotionally.

I got the coach and started working out 4 days a week and then we switched to 5. I started tracking my macros and learned how to properly shop for food. The journey was brutal. The first month it hurt to move and sit. I would practice proper technique at home before working out at the gym. I made a lot of mistakes and my workouts took two hours each day to complete. Learning a new skill is hard and it takes a lot of time and practice. You constantly have to watch yourself to ensure you do not injure yourself. I had to learn to listen to my body fully. I cried a lot and hit rock bottom essentially. It was all worth it in the end.

Where Am I Now?

Let me answer some questions about what I’ve been up to:

1. Did you meet your goal weight?
   • Yes. My goal weight milestone 1 was 135. I hit that last year. My goal weight milestone 2 was 145. I hit that at the beginning of this year. My next milestone is 155.
2. How is your diet?
   • I no longer track my macros using an app. I learned what my body needed and became more conscience about what I purchase. I eat a bit more food. I typically eat a high carb breakfast: peanut butter toast, yogurt, and a banana. Then I eat a high protein lunch and high protein dinner. I snack throughout the day with nuts, chips, vegetables, protein bars, protein shakes, and I have a low sugar treat after dinner. I am currently maintaining my current weight.
3. Do you still go to the gym?
   • No. I cancelled my gym membership due to my schedule and me wanting to spend more time with family. I took a 6 month break from exercising to work on my mental health. I work out at home 2-3 times a week. I have a yoga mat, two 15 pound dumbbells, resistance bands, and a weighted ball. I typically with do a split workout or I use MadFit workouts on YouTube. Right now this works for me.
4. Anything you’ve learned along the way so far?
   • Who you surround yourself with is important. You are who you hang around with.
   • You can’t expect others to love you if you won’t love you first. Take care of yourself.
   • Listen to your body and take a break if you need to. No you aren’t a failure if you rest.
   • If you are serious about weight training, hire a coach. A coach is not a baby sitter and will not coddle you. They are vital.
   • You have to sleep. Understand that getting a good nights rest is important to muscle growth and recovery.
   • You can’t just skip meals and expect to see results. Follow a meal plan when you get started and eat. Your body needs fuel.
   • Take care of yourself. Get an annual physical, go to the dentist, and go to therapy. I struggled with stomach issues and an iron deficiency for the first three months of training.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding the trainer I used or any of the information listed above. Here was my coach https://www.instagram.com/dianagfitness/?hl=en . She does offer online training which is what I did. She is absolutely amazing at her job! She even had a free macro book https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LAFDr0ANYvYs38R3jknjdAEmBQsXyG-3/view

Thanks for reading and check out above for my before and after photos!