I came to Canada as a skinny little girl at age 4. Then, I became a chubby kid at some point. I remember being teased somewhat but not too much. They called me “sea elephant” for a while in grade 6, but you gotta put an accent Francais to it. Kinda like sea el-e-phant. I was never really very active ’cause I just never felt I was good at any sport. I’m more into arts and crafts and writing (see?) but I do enjoy solo sports like swimming, skiing, skating, and now yoga. I think the weight got out of control during university, so I’m just one of those Freshman 15 statistics, but mine was more like Freshman 50.
This is the story of my weight loss. I thought I’d write about it, to not only document it for myself, but to maybe give someone out there the motivation they need to begin their story.
I thought I was fine until I went to a yoga class. That is, I thought I was fine weight and size wise, but apparently that wasn’t the case. Now that I think back on it, I think I saw myself differently in the mirror than what I actually looked like in person. Yoga teaches you an awareness of your body, how your body moves and works, and how flexible you are. I personally think it also teaches you how to respect your body because that’s what I find myself thinking about during meditation. Yoga brought to my attention the fact that shitty food makes me feel crappy. So, with that, and the grueling fact that I could only fit into stuff from Addition-Elle and Reitman’s Plus sizes, I somehow decided to make a change, and I quickly learned my first lesson to success: No one but YOU can motivate YOU. It’s the truth. So many people tried to get me to do something, and the more they probed, the more I resisted it seemed. People don’t really like to be told what to do. At least I don’t.
So I went to go see my esthetician’s son, who happens to be a personal trainer. She’d been telling me about him for like a year, but I kept putting it off. You know how it is. Anyway, he did an assessment with me back in July 2008 I believe, and I was soooo unfit. So, to put it simply without all the details, I began to train twice a week with him, and watching what I ate. After the first hard core session I couldn’t move. I remember going to Wonderland the day, or even 2 days after, and everything hurt. I couldn’t even walk up the little grass hill without feeling all the muscles in my legs. I discovered muscles I never knew I had! It was a good kind of pain though. A pain of starting something, doing something, and feeling better about me.
Little by little, but not to forget, consistently, the pounds kept coming off. And that was motivation in itself. You know, along with all the compliments. Especially from people like my dentist who obviously see more of a change because they don’t see you as often as everyone else. I think I started off at a weight of 222lbs at a height of 5’8. That is a lot of extra pounds, even though it hides well on a tall person!
Of course there were and continue to be many obstacles and even road blocks along the way; plateaus were reached, cravings were had, but I kept on trudging through. You’ve gotta leave room for error, otherwise you will never succeed. Having one bad meal does not mean giving the plan up completely and going back to your old ways. Remember that.
I went to Cuba in December of 2008 and felt fantastic, already 30 lbs lighter. I don’t think I’d ever go to the tropics at the starting weight I was at, care about buying nice clothes, or even think about getting married, and not because I don’t have someone who loves me, which I do, but because I felt awful about myself, and felt disgusting. When I look back at photos of myself when I was heavier, it was like being in a prison of my own making. The bigger you are, the smaller you feel, because you get embarrassed that you let yourself get that way.
For some reason it seems to me that some people are comfortable at that weight, learn to live with it because they feel they can’t do anything about it, or learn to hide it well.
I am not one of them.
I still am not at my goal weight, but I’m on a mission to be healthy. I am a food lover and there’s almost nothing that I don’t try and like, but I’m also addicted to the gym now. I know I’m hooked because I feel shitty when I don’t go. Like now, during the holidays, I got lazy for 10 days and it really took a toll. All the junk food and the overeating took a toll not only on my waistline (up and down 2lbs), but also on my skin, and worst of all, made me feel sluggish. So it’s moments like these that I realize that being active is like taking your medicine when you’re sick. You wouldn’t skip your medicine to feel better would you? It’s just a part of what I do now. It’s about losing the extra pounds, but more importantly it’s about health and strength!
Starting tomorrow I will begin to post a series of tips & things I’ve learned from experience for the next little while. Be sure to come back!
In the meantime, I put this together to show myself just how much of a difference I’ve made in my life. The fact that I have sweets in both photos is just a coincidence 
The After photo is me with my latest B-Day cake. Happy 25th B-Day to me indeed.
