The story I want to tell you is about a 45 years old woman (me) – a busy kindergarten educator, a busy mom raising two teenagers, and a wife; who decided that she’d had enough. It’s a story that encompasses fun, mystery, struggle, adventure, and eventually triumph. It’s a story that has it all though I guess a story can’t help but have it all when it spans ten years of a person’s life.
Once upon a time, between the years of 2009 and 2019, I found myself in a horrible rut. A lot of it was due to the circumstances in my life at the time. Of course, it didn’t help that my lifestyle was incredibly unhealthy, and I didn’t move much at all. My relationship with food was a point of concern, too. I basically self-medicated with food and watched as the number on the scale went up and up and up and I weighed 93 kgs. I ate more processed food and I didn’t consider any foods or drinks off-limits. I endured such debilitating joint pain that I couldn’t walk without wincing.
Despite honest efforts to embrace my new size (XXL), I still felt like I was walking around in someone else’s body. I decided that enough was enough. After almost 10 years of emotional, bodily, and dietary turmoil, I put my foot down. I was done accepting the pain and exhaustion. I was done throwing myself into possibly well-meaning but ultimately ineffective diets. I was done with my goals and my priorities. Something needed to change – something deeper than my vanity; deeper than my emotions, and deeper than my belief about what is or isn’t possible.
My turning point came when I realized I’d hit the lowest point of my life – and I wasn’t doing anything to pick myself back up. I knew I needed to lose weight when I realized I was tired, unhappy, and most importantly, out of love with myself. At the end of 2019, I constantly felt lethargic, struggled with my breathing, and had trouble sleeping.
When the pandemic hit, out of impulse, I signed up under a fitness coach on the Fittr platform. The major difference for me this time around was that I started tracking the calories I was consuming rather than cutting out my favorite foods. I swallowed my fear of free weights and took to weight training.
Accepting “the new me” felt like settling. I put healing and happiness before weight loss. In other words, I got to work on my attitude. Fitness is a beautiful thing that changed every aspect of my life positively. I made small, incremental changes that transformed my lifestyle – and my mental health.
I now stand before you a healthy, happy woman who finally feels like she’s in the right body. I’ve managed to maintain my results with relative ease. Slow, intentional, and healthy, my transformation spanned a full one and half years. While I did lose a whopping 35 kgs., I value my new attitude above all.
My life completely changed. Things I thought were out of reach suddenly became possible. I took life by the horns, chased goals that used to intimidate me, and realized that I’m worthy of all my wildest dreams. I stopped settling and started living the example of a person who works hard, takes responsibilities, enjoys silly fun, and believes that anything is attainable.
I am living healthily and happily in my skin, I’m well-nourished and active, with abundant energy. So, this is my “enough is enough” moment to a lasting healthy lifestyle that I really love living.
Author: Reetu Verma
References:
- Paluska SA, Schwenk TL. Physical activity and mental health: current concepts. Sports Med. 2000 Mar;29(3):167-80. doi: 10.2165/00007256-200029030-00003. PMID: 10739267.
- Westcott WL. Resistance training is medicine: effects of strength training on health. Curr Sports Med Rep. 2012 Jul-Aug;11(4):209-16. doi: 10.1249/JSR.0b013e31825dabb8. PMID: 2277733
