Hello, all! It’s been a few days, but I wanted to see if this thing would actually go somewhere. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I have two followers, yes two! Haha, although it may not seem like a lot, that’s two more than I anticipated. Woo!
Anyways, what shall I talk about today… hmm…
Well, I’m feeling really good about myself today, why not talk about my recent weight loss? I want to not come off as bragging because I don’t ever feel that good about myself, but I want to motivate people who don’t think it’s possible for them to lose weight. I never did, so I never tried. Now, one can argue that I began my weight loss journey for all the wrong reasons. I started when I met my boyfriend. I was a lot bigger when I met him. In a sense, I guess it was good that he fell in love with me when I was heavier.
I began dating my boyfriend in April of 2013, we fell in love in May (a bit soon, but it happened and we both knew it was the real deal). The semester ended on the 17th of May, so we had a long summer ahead of us, 3 and a half months, to be exact. It was tough for a new relationship, to be apart that long. Having a relationship over text messages and the occasional phone call sucks. Things get terribly misconstrued and it’s just hell. Well, things did, in fact, get misconstrued…
Everything was going very well until about the last week of June. We were texting about working out. He was going to start going to the gym. Now, at this point, I wasn’t close with his parents and my biggest fear was that his parents wouldn’t think I was good enough or pretty enough for him because I was heavier. I was scared. Then, I decided to ask a question I knew could have a terrible answer: “Would you like me better thinner?” His response: “Yes.” I remember the terrible, heart-dropping-into-your-stomach feeling and the insta-sob that happened immediately after reading that text. To make things worse, he texted back saying “That wasn’t supposed to sound that bad. I mean, wouldn’t anyone like their significant other to be?” My response, “No… I fell in love with you for you, not for who I thought you could become.” We talked until 9:00 am that morning. We mended things, but I still had unsettling feeling, and so began my weight loss journey.
I started by downloading a weight loss app on my phone called Noom. It was probably the best thing I could have done. You log your current weight and your goal weight. Noom will ask you approximately how many pounds you’d like to lose a week (the maximum is 2/week) and then how long it will take you to achieve your goal. It also tells you how many calories you should consume to get the pounds off in your preferred amount of time. You log in your meals and exercises and keep almost like a food and exercise journal. Trust me, it works wonders to keep a log!
Once I got in the swing of things and logged all my meals and learned to eat healthier and learn to exercise effectively, the pounds started melting off. I did about 30 minutes to an hour of cardio a day, plus the 30-day squat challenge (which is f-ing awesome!), and 200-400 crunches for toning. It was hard work, but totally worth it! Within 2 months, I lost 30 pounds.
Prior to this, I had an under active thyroid, which made me gain weight very easily and it gave me problems with my nervous system, such as producing too much cortisol in my blood stream, which made me basically to nervous and anxious to function. After those 30 pounds came off, I no longer had this problem! I went to the doctor to get blood work done and my doctor said all of my numbers were extremely good for my age and I was very healthy. I was so shocked!
Since the summer, I have managed to lose 20 more pounds, making my grand total 50 pounds lost and down 2 dress sizes. I’d still like to lose about 15 more, which would put me at my goal weight and the weight that fits the BMI for my height.
I’ve come a long way and I’m never giving up hope! True, my motivation wasn’t the greatest, but my progress-motivation was great! I now know that I can do anything I put time and effort into. I truly believe ANYONE can do what I did. I was not very healthy when I began this and now I really am. YOU can do it. Believe in yourself and don’t give up, even if it gets too hard… push yourself. The end result will make you smile.
Until next time,
Ms Ari Marie
Welcome to my life as Ms Ari Marie 