I am so excited to be part of this challenge, and to have one more form of motivation to start making changes to my life again. I feel like this is a great time to truly reflect on where I've come from, and what lies ahead of me.
Besides a lifetime of struggling with my weight, bullying, and body image issues, it really started right after high school. I have lost weight before, a lot of it. My freshman year of college, my boyfriend of 3 years at the time asked me to lose weight.. so I did. It was an extremely hard time on me mentally and I know many of my body image issues come from that. I lost about 60-70 pounds in around 3.5 months. It was extremely unhealthy, both physically and mentally.
It eventually all came back, as all weight from unhealthy weight loss does. I'm in a very healthy and loving relationship now, and that was absolutely a part of my weight gain. I felt comfortable and loved unconditonally with someone again. We loved to order pizza, go out to eat, get ice cream, watch Netflix, and all that jazz. I spiraled and am currently at my heaviest I have ever been. I am absoutely ashamed and embarassed of myself. There is just a lot of bad feelings, and I'm done living a life where I hate myself. It's not worth it. We have both made the commitment to healthy lifestyles time and time again, but nothing has ever really stuck.
Recently, something just kind of clicked. Its been a hard year for both of us, and hitting rock bottom is never really fun, but it has really motivated us to begin making the changes we know we need to make. We made a pact to go to the gym or do some form of workout every day at 7, and make healthy choices and healthy alternatives. We love going on walks, cycling along the many bike trails in our area, raquetball, experimenting with Yoga (SO HARD!), and basically anything we find fun. :) I'm also trying to make progress on my feelings towards myself, and use positive reinforcement rather than negative.
I look forward to working forward to getting to know everyone and encourage each other though this challenge. More than anything, my goal is for this to be the LAST time I restart my goals to a better life. I hope it leads to positive changes for everyone!