My Fitness Journey: Tears of Joy

**Originally written on September 9th, 2020

Last week, I happened to wear a shirt I hadn’t worn in almost a year in Las Vegas. It was a coincidence I last wore the shirt in Las Vegas, but I didn’t think anything of it. When I arrived at my hotel room, I decided to look into every mirror to admire my new slimming figure. I was genuinely amazed by my accomplishments, but more importantly, the results of my appearance. My slim neck and face, visible collar bone, thighs not touching or rubbing together, my shape overall- “new body, who dis?” I had to stop and shed a few tears of joy. I hadn’t seen myself this small since the ending of 2017-beginning of 2018. 

Technically, nothing was wrong with my weight gain, and most preferred the “more to love” figure. I wore it well and can honestly say I was never sloppy with it. Unfortunately, I hated the weight gain, but more so because I didn’t cause it. It was caused by anti-depressants prescribed in August 2017. Within four months, I gained nearly 40 pounds and couldn’t understand why. I never ate much throughout my years of life, so it was easy to eliminate food from possible causes. I stopped taking the medications once I noticed the drastic change, and what do you know? I didn’t gain any additional weight. Don’t get me wrong; there is nothing wrong with being curvy- it just wasn’t for me. When you’ve been less than 126 pounds just about your entire life, you become accustomed to it. 

My slim and coke-bottle figure was something I took pride in. Everyone would always tell me, “You’re shaped just like your grandma.” My grandmother was a beautiful, slim, and light-skinned “BAD” woman. A lot of women envied her figure, beauty, fashion, and much more. Hearing those compliments made me proud of my appearance because her pictures were stunning. My mother was even the same size before she began to have more children (after me- haha), and she too looked stunning. Going to the gym and working out wasn’t something I needed to do because I had natural abs for most of my life. Wearing a bra wasn’t something I needed, so I mainly wore them to work. I loved wearing crop tops and was always more than comfortable and confident in two-piece bikinis (I had tons of them being the beach-bum I was). I’m now content and happy with my body and looking forward to the rest of my journey.

I made this post to prove, with hard work and dedication, you can succeed in just about anything you put your mind to! You can’t sit there and complain about what isn’t improving until you start making changes. In the beginning, it may appear as though no changes are occurring. You have to stop running back and forth to the scale. Although I started working-out first, I would suggest starting with clean eating habits. Once you’ve gotten used to eating healthier, you should get a consistent regimen within your work-out schedule. Yes, there was a change in my weight when I first begin my journey, but I wasn’t eating healthy. About two months later, eating cleaner became a habit, and the pounds started to shed quicker and more consistently. 

Believing in yourself is the first step. If you refuse to believe in yourself, you probably will never succeed. Having a great support system is also a plus, but you have to count on yourself before anything! You can do it!

*HOOTER TIP: Water is key… DRINK PLENTY OF WATER!