My Fitness Journey: Starting Is The Hardest Part

So if I could go back and do it all over again, I would. I mean, who wouldn’t want to have a healthier lifestyle sooner than later I their lives?! I truly believe that everything happens for a reason though, so I have to believe that this all happened for a reason too.

The Inspiration

In late 2016 I was so thrilled: I had gone through a really tough breakup awhile back and as a result, I lost a TON of weight really quickly. I mean like 25 lbs in less than 6 weeks. It was what I thought would finally give me motivation to keep on going and truly change my habits. To be 100% honest, I was such a mess up until then when it came to eating healthy, drinking less, and working out more. Essentially I was caught up in what we all get caught up in: everyday life. I met the love of my life since, so that honestly made things a bit more consistent but I had gained back every inch of that 25lbs I had lost during my breakup diet since I was the happiest I had ever been… Long story short I vowed just like I did every year prior, that THIS was the year I would get back into shape and lose the weight, for real for real. Little did I know that didn’t happen in 2018… but here’s why.

The Start of the Journey

I saw all of these girls I followed, one in particular, putting in the work in 2018. She was working out almost every single day and also eating super clean. I had another friend losing weight rapidly too, but she was working out like crazy while eating whatever she wanted. In my mind, I was too. I bought organic and I was doing the laziest version of keto ever. Then I would break it on the weekends, order a big fat pizza, indulge in wine… then I would start unhealthy habits again by drinking 2-3 glasses of wine four nights/week, and stop going to the gym consistently altogether… and I kept getting really frustrated when I realized I wasn’t getting results. WELL DUH CARLENE! How could I possibly think that I was doing this correctly? After months and months of this I knew something had to change but I still wasn’t quite ready to admit what it was yet.

The Cleanse

Another friend of mine (yes, apparently I am blessed with many healthy individuals in my life for inspiration) started the master cleanse. She got crazy good results and I had heard of it. I thought she was crazy… but I was genuinely curious at the same time. I ended up doing this for 10 days and I don’t regret it at all. I had a new found appreciation for food, eating with intent, and breaking the emotional connection I had with food altogether. I have a full on master cleanse diary with my results and a breakdown of the 10 days, so make sure to read that if you haven’t already. I ended up losing 16lbs I had gained of “happy weight” and I was off to a good start! I felt refreshed, renewed, and ready to take on the world again! I was going to go to the gym, eat soooo clean, and keep on losing – right!? Wrong.

The Plateau

So, from the master cleanse throughout summer I didn’t gain any of the weight back other than maybe 3-4lbs of water weight due to actually eating food again. I was back to square one though: miserable with lazy keto and inconsistent gym sessions. I had however, cut out my drinking habit way more and was ready to truly start thinking about why behind my weightloss. Why did I even want to lose this weight? My doctor said I was healthy, my body was still functioning, I still felt comfortable in my clothes, and I had a boyfriend who loves me just as I am. And then it hit me: I wanted to do this for ME. Me, myself, and I. I wanted to get to the point where I could look I the mirror and feel strong, empowered, and beautiful – I wanted this so badly. And that’s when I finally found the spark I needed to take things to the next level.

The Push I Needed

So let’s be honest, while I was teetering through life at the gym I would to about 30 minutes of cardio and then either the arm or leg nautilus equipment in the gym. Would I get sore? Yeah. Was it challenging? No, not at all. I used to play tennis, soccer, and basketball as a young adult so I’m naturally pretty athletic. I like to think of myself as an athlete that just went down the wrong path in life! At Anytime Fitness West Seattle, they have never judged me. I NEVER got a “you’re doing this wrong” or “you know, you totally could get better results doing this…” I was always welcomed with a warm smile, a nice ‘Hey Carlene!’, or a friendly “welcome in!” They could tell I was trying… but Kenzie is the trainer that wouldn’t give up on me. She kept trying to get me to come in and take advantage of their free monthly check-ins and I kept blowing her off – granted I had a busy crazy work schedule – but to be honest it just wasn’t a priority. Until I finally just gave in and hit my boiling point with myself and I did it: I finally took Kenzie up on her offer and set a date and time to do the assessment and go for it.

Ahead of the Curve

In an effort to make sure I wasn’t walking into something just for the sake of it being a new year, I started this “next level” journey in mid December. I did the assessment with Kenzie and we collectively came up with a plan. I did my first InBody which assesses every aspect of your body. Your body skeletal muscle mass, segmental lean analysis, your basal metabolic rate, your body fat mass, total body water, and SO much more. We analyzed it together and I understood exactly where I was at – it wasn’t horrible but definitely far from where I wanted to be. And I committed myself to their 30 day challenge. For the first time in a long time, I felt empowered and READY. Best part? It was for me and nobody else.

30 Day Push

I’m not gonna lie, this part was the worst part. I had to actually GO to the gym and work for this?! CONSISTENTLY?! Ugh. I was annoyed at these early mornings, I was so damn sore, and I was exhausted: but it got easier every week. I did 2 classes a week for the first two weeks and that was all I could do. These classes kicked my butt, but in a good way! I hadn’t felt challenged like this in years and I already felt like I was getting results. I could tell within two weeks I was getting muscle in places I had forgotten about. Then by week three I upped it to 3 times a week in the gym, twice with the classes and once on my own to practice the moves I was learning in the classes. By week four I was going consistently and the weirdest thing happened: I was actually finding myself looking forward to my workouts. I listened to my body and took days off when I needed to, but was finding myself planning my days around my workout and getting excited about them!

The Results

It came to a point where it was time to do a second InBody assessment. I was bloated and felt so gross, mainly because my period was about to start any day. But I sucked it up despite my anxiety and getting that overwhelming feeling that I wanted to cancel and I did it anyway. And wow, I’m glad I did. I’m a very results-driven person so when I saw that this wasn’t all for nothing I was beyond re-motivated! Here is what I accomplished in 5.5 weeks:

I gained 2.8lbs – Exactly the reason I didn’t want to do it but I have already decided this was bloat due to that time of the month and have already lost the 3lbs and another 3lbs on top of that.
Increased my skeletal muscle mass by 4.9lbs
Decreased my percent body fat by 2.8%
Decreased my visceral fat by 1 point
Decreased my body fat mass by 8.2lbs

And there they were – the results in all their glory. Had I gained those 3lbs? Yes, but water weight comes and goes with hormones so I didn’t pay attention too much to that. But OH MY GOD, I lost 3% of my overall body fat which was a total of 8.2lbs and gained 5lbs of pure muscle! All of this in less than 6 weeks!? Yes I’m hooked.

#30Before30

I committed to another 6 months of classes. I bit the bullet and it’s worth the investment. Hell, if I can spend $150-200 on clothes and eating out, why can’t I cut back and invest that money into my health? I am beyond excited to see what I can do and my next InBody is scheduled for around March 1st 2019 which is about 6 weeks away. With the combination of keto (around 30-40g net carbs per day), intermittent fasting, and the continuation of four times a week in the gym, I hope to get even better results this next time around! I have essentially decided that I want to lose 30lbs by the time I’m 30 which is May 3rd 2019. That’s about 2lbs a week for the next 15 weeks. I am so beyond ready to lose the weight and genuinely do it for myself – the first time I’ve ever done it for me.

You Got This

If you are on this journey too then my one tip of advice would be: just do it. If you haven’t started yet, start tomorrow. And continue. The only workout you regret doing is the one you didn’t do AND I can tell you my only regret right now is not starting sooner. Do your research, figure out what food plan will work for you, and just do it. Remember, the word of the year is consistency – something I’ve been lacking for years. So don’t let this year get away from you too. Come up with a plan, execute the plan, and when you want to quit? Continue the plan.

Thank you so much for all your support so far on this journey with me – I can’t wait to share my results in another 6 weeks!

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