THE COMEBACK: 70 LBS LOST

It has been a while since I have spoken to y'all. A lot of life changes have happened to me and the world... the pandemic. New ways of living, working and even socializing have greatly affected the world, ESPECIALLY myself.

I have found my own apartment and I must say, living by yourself is great. When I moved into my own place, I must admit, I developed pretty poor habits. I ordered a lot of delivery and the times I cooked I would eat full meals such as a 1 lb of beef for Taco nights or cook 5 eggs for breakfast along with 5 pancakes with my plate drenched in syrup. Poor eating habits along with doing little to no exercises, led me to gaining 40 lbs easily. When you gain weight, you really don't realize how you look until one day you step on that scale. Then you realize how unhealthy you look. The one moment that I always remember was on New Year's Day 2022 where I ate 3 cinnabons. After forcing myself to eat that third cinnabon, I felt like I wanted to throw up or like the Cinnabon was stuck in my stomach. Sadly, that was not the day I decided to change my life, instead I continued my poor diet and once again doing little to no movement.

During late August 2022, I remember talking to this girl and she told me how she tore her ACL, running down the block. For some reason that story stuck with me, because for the first time I decided to go for a walk at my park. I remember that day vividly as I was wearing black sneakers, black shorts and a black hoodie, YES, in summer heat. I walked around the track of my local park and made sure I got in 10,000 steps for the day. Afterwards, I was tired as hell, and drenched in sweat but I felt good about myself. My feet also hurt like hell. After that I started to take walks at least 2 times a week. It felt good after walking as well as it being therapeutic.

 

However, my diet was still poor. I still ate until I was full, instead of eating what was needed. Another month went by of my poor diet and walking very few times. In the beginning of October I weighed myself and I was 327.9 lbs, THE heaviest I ever weighed my entire life. For some reason I was petrified of reaching 330, like it was the weight of no return. I then decided to research gyms near me. I found out there was one just right down the street from me. Oddly enough, I used to walk by it all the time, but whenever I walked by it, it was closed. So I decided to walk by it on a Saturday Morning, looking to see if I would get to meet the owner. I was lucky that day as the owner, Leon, was training someone. I talked with him and took down his contact information. A week went by and I hit him up on Instagram. We talked for a minute and found out he is a member of my Fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha. We bonded over that and he booked a personal training session with one of his trainers later that week. The session was about an hour long and it was mostly weight lifting. I was never really into weight lifting but for some reason after this session I really liked it. Afterwards my shoulders were shot but I wanted to continue. I later tried out a couple of his group classes which kicked my ass and I was sold. I was now a member of In and Out Fitness.

I also started to walk every day in the morning. These 10000+ steps (5.5 miles) walks were only 1 and 40 minutes long and since I have been working from home, they're easy to do in the morning without having to worry about time. I was starting to get into a groove, and was making smart diet decisions. I was actually starting to plan out how this weight loss journey would go now. Then in mid November, I went down to North Carolina to visit my family for Thanksgiving. When I tell you I fell off, I FELL OFF. There is nothing like home cooking from yo mama. Also not working out either didn't help. Oddly enough I did not gain any weight during this time but I for sure as hell didn't lose any either.

When December came around I was back in NJ, and working out but I started to slack and only work out once a week. I was also barely walking in the mornings as that was when it was negative degrees outside. My diet was getting better but I saw myself falling back into the same bad habits. When the end of December came around I saw no change in weight and realized I needed to take this much seriously. I made a promise to myself that for 2023 I would not use Uber Eats or DoorDash. If I were to get fast food, I would have to walk to the restaurant near me and fast food could only be eaten on the weekends. I also made a promise to stay away from pork. I knew I had to hold myself accountable.

When January came around, I committed to the routine of walking in the morning at least 5 times a week. At the gym, I was given a personal trainer and we had sessions 2 times a week. At first, I often fought with myself to walk in the morning, but after a while it started to become second nature for me. A lot of my workouts at the gym were weight lifting to gain muscle and cardio to burn fat. I often ate the same, for breakfast I ate low to no fat greek yogurt and for dinner I would eat a turkey sandwich on whole grain bread or salad with grilled chicken. As time went by I also found myself not even thinking about fast food. I was just focused on my diet and working out. When I started I was a 2XL and now I'm down to a XL, and I have a feeling I am going to be a L in no time. I have now hit a groove where I am losing 10 lbs every 2 weeks. I know that this will most likely not continue but, it is a great boost of confidence to look at the scale and see that number decrease each time.

I believe the difference between this time and my past attempts is that I am attacking every part of losing weight correctly. Proper Diet, Working Out correctly, and a completely different mindset. I am in a worker's mindset now. I want to work for everything I have and I am willing to go through the slow and painful process to get it. Another thing I have developed is Self-Discipline. I know that I provide motivational content but sometimes a motivational video or quote won't help, it simply has to start with you. MOTIVATION will help you to start whatever you are looking to accomplish but DISCIPLINE is what will keep you going even when you want to quit.

I also believe my support system helps me greatly as well. All the messages on instagram truly inspire me to keep going and I appreciate each and everyone of y'all that are in my corner. Me and my trainer have a goal and I plan to reach that goal very soon, but even after that I want to continue. I have truly found a love in working out and eating clean. I am looking forward to getting the body I always wanted and also showing y'all when and how I get there.

There is A LOT more work to be done but I'm proud to have y'all continue to Witness my Journey into Fitness (contemplating a new name... any suggestions)