How the Change All Began

I'm finding it a little hard to put all of my thoughts into words, because it's honestly a little hard to remember exactly where the change began. I guess I've always had it in me - the passion for exercising and eating good things because I know how beneficial these things can be for me. But the biggest change I've made recently is not just applying these things to my lifestyle once or twice -- it's a COMPLETE lifestyle change. 

To be fair, I'd like to tell you a little bit about myself from before (more details in the next blog post). I was a very active girl in high school. My friends all knew me for loving to play sports and get rough and break a sweat. I took phys-ed all three years of high school, and there wasn't one thing I regretted about it. 

The transition from high school to university was one of the few things that hit me the hardest, in regards to my health, my fitness level, my lifestyle, my relationships, and my mental health. 

With my grades going downhill, so did my health and my fitness level. I no longer had the time or the will to go to the gym because I would rather be sitting on my butt surfing the web. When I finally started getting my shit together and studying harder, I felt that I had to study and totally neglected working out and my eating habits. This did not result in me gaining the "freshmen 15", but I definitely noticed a change in the build of my body (more fat and less lean muscle), and resulted in a decline in my mental health state. 

In between that point and today, many many things have happened, but I'll save that for another day :) 

I remember taking time out of my studying to go to the gym at least once a week, or go for a run on the treadmill. But of course, as the semester progressed and the midterms and assignments came rolling in, my plan started to deviate. Until I met my current boyfriend :) 

Through him, we have somehow slowly started to motivate each other to be a better person - to be each other's better half. This past April, I decided that I was going to make a big change. I made the commitment to myself that I would workout EVERY day. Nothing on the huge scale. All the little things that I could do every day that would show progress in the long run - squats, lunges, baby bicep curls, 15 minutes jogs, exc. 

Another big thing that I changed was my diet and eating habits. I no longer waited until I was starving and stuffed my face -- I made sure I always had snacks/food on me and had smaller meals throughout the day. I stopped going to the SUB building and buying EDO, donairs, and subs and packed my own lunches. It was hard at first, because some of the food my mom ate was stuff I was trying to steer clear of. 

From there, my boyfriend and I started making our weekly grocery trips. He would buy the things he needs for his lunches (which I have influenced him to do :D ), and I would buy what I needed. This has allowed me more freedom to cook the things I like to eat :) 

REALITY CHECK>> A couple months have gone by now, and my workouts have gone from the little things I do at home to lifting weights at the gym. I spent almost 2 months "cutting" - measuring all the calories I was intaking, and making sure that I was meeting my daily caloric intake in order to lose weight. As a result, I have lost 10 pounds !! :) Now it's time to hit the gym and build all that lean muscle back :D 

I have a set of dumbbells and ankle weights at home, in case I can't make it to the gym or want to those few extra sets when I get home. 

We still do our grocery trips together. In gives us time to ourselves, and we make sure the things we purchase are in check with our goals and diet. My boyfriend and I often cook meals for each other too. 

The reason this is a "lifelong journey" is because this isn't going to stop once I reach my goal weight or body type. This is lifestyle change. It's only been a few months, but I have already learned so much. And there is still so much more out there that I want to learn about. This change is what's making me happier, and I'm going to keep doing it because of that exact reason -- happiness :)