Article by Amanda Munro
Over the past few years I have struggled with a negative self-image and losing weight. At the age of 18 I looked in the mirror and saw a 230 pound, unhappy, unhealthy girl looking back at me.
When I began my life transformation, I started with the two basic changes that everyone claims will work – healthy eating and exercise. Since that day that day I haven’t eaten a french fry, because deep fried foods don’t interest me anymore, and I don’t even consider candy on my radar of “food”. (OK, so maybe chocolate every now and again – but only because dark chocolate has been proven to be beneficial for me!).
When I first started, my biggest struggle at the time was how was I ever going to do this without the support and help of my family and friends? At that moment I learned two important attributes: self-restraint and self-motivation. By that age I was beginning to grow up and realize that the only person who could control my eating and exercise habits was me. Unless I wanted to be unhappy, unhealthy, and alone for the best years of my life, the time to make some changes was now.
Before 230lbs – Most recent at about 150lbs (with lean muscle mass)
I didn’t know how I was going to lose the weight, but I knew that it wasn’t going to be easy. I knew nothing about health or fitness, ate horribly my entire life and never played sports throughout my childhood. I began researching, asking questions, and learning things and as time went on, the number on the scale began to get lower. Even though I now know way more than I ever imagined I would about healthy eating and how to exercise correctly, I still don’t find it easy. I find it hard to know exactly what to eat, when to eat it, and when to exercise to achieve maximum benefits. I’ve learned to listen to my body, push myself to the limit, but not injure myself in the process. I learned that the way to think about how and what to eat is to remember to only eat to live, not to live to eat.
I started my weight loss by the easiest, and in my opinion most effective, way of losing weight – running. I used to run on the gravel roads surrounding my parent’s house, and after sticking to it for a few months I began to see small changes. In those first few months, I dropped 20 or 30 pounds, and people began to notice. With the positive comments and my parents willingness to cook me “different suppers” (aka. no more French fries or hamburgers with everyone else; grilled chicken and rice for me please!), I started to believe I could do it. I set some goals (goals are probably the only thing that allow me to achieve the accomplishments I have to this day), stuck to those goals and was motivated to exercise and not be pressured to eat what everyone else around me was eating.
Over the course of the next year I continued to stick to my long-term goals and join a women’s gym in my town. At first it was so intimidating that I didn’t want to go back – but I did. I started walking, then jogging on the treadmill – eventually pushing myself harder than ever before. I looked around at all the skinny girls, and wished I could be like them. Over this time I struggled with self-image to enormous extents. I became obsessed with how I looked, and what I ate was always on my mind. Our society definitely sets high standards for beauty, some of which are not achievable for most women and we kill ourselves trying to be perfect, literraly. I never experienced an eating disorder, but I came close several times, and most definitely went through a few spells of slight depression. The feeling of worthlessness and self-loathing on a daily basis is not normal for a 20 year old who’s got her whole life a head of her.
As I progressed through my university degree I hit a few plateaus and my first real obstacle was seeking out professional fitness advice. I moved to Cornwall, Ontario for a 4-month work term and while I was there took the opportunity to get my fitness goals back on track. I joined their local gym and started working with a personal trainer. The wealth of knowledge, and my love for fitness truly began from this point on. I learned more about health and fitness from my trainer who pushed me to my limits in those 4 months than ever before. In 3 months I dropped 5% body fat and haven’t looked back.
People I went to high school with barely recognize me, and when they do, they’d ask how I lost the weight. With my new outlook on life and amazing routine, my next challenge was moving back home to my old routine. At first I was doing well, running outside and keeping up with healthy eating, but I fell back into my old routine way too easily. While working long days and not working out or watching what I was eating, I got caught up in my old ways and put back on a few pounds that I struggled to get off. Again, like before, I set myself on a new path and began a 5 day a week, 4-week long, intense fitness boot camp. With the support of a few of my friends we worked hard and actually enjoyed getting up at 5am every morning to watch the sun rise. The boot camp was exactly what I needed to kick my butt back in gear to start running again and haven’t stopped since.
Since the day I looked at myself in a mirror and promised to change what I saw, I’ve seen incredible transformations. With the wealth of knowledge I’ve acquired from the people who have helped me along the way, I know more now than I ever dreamt possible. Even if people comment on how far I come, I still have a way to go to reach my ultimate goal. I am a normal girl with goals, morals and ups and downs, but I have a drive that won’t allow me to give up. Sometimes when I don’t want to get out of bed in the morning I think about how much better I will feel after my run and it makes me want to get up. I have a new outlook on life, and attempt to encourage others to do the same every day.
Recently, I’ve been getting involved in as many fitness programs that I can in order to get a better knowledge of fitness related activities. I’ve begun training for my first half-marathon and eventually hope to run marathons on a regular basis. After finishing my public relations degree this semester, I am looking for a way to use my degree in a fitness related field. I’ve realized that my passion is fitness, and if my story can inspire people to change their own lives for the better, it would be completely worth all the hard workouts I’ve struggled through. I think that everyone has room for improvement in their lives, and I don’t think I will ever be done this life-long fitness goal. Sometimes people just need a little inspiration to make positive changes in their own life, and I hope to be that person for others. If someone can look at how far I’ve come to find the inspiration to reclaim their own lives, everything I push myself to strive to achieve will be worth it.
Filed under: Success Stories 
