A Fit Girl’s Journey: Starting Over

Two years ago, I started on a weight loss journey. It took roughly a year to lose twenty pounds, and a year to gain most of that back. What’s interesting, however, is that my body doesn’t quite look the same as it did in the beginning. The fat distribution seems to be different. Perhaps due to the types of workouts I had been doing, there is still some muscle in certain areas.

For reference, at the beginning of my journey, I weighed 150 -155 lbs with a height of 5’5. My weight naturally fluctuated, but it always stayed within that pocket. After a year of changing my diet and exercising more consistently, I got down to 128. I looked good… But I wanted definition! I switched up my routine to incorporate more weight lifting, and the muscle, slowly but surely, started to arrive. Like many of us have experienced, however, life happened, and my workouts got put on the back burner. I still kept up with my new style of eating, and after about eight months, I got back up to 135—which isn’t bad, or bad at all. I still also fit into all of my clothes, but after the holidays, and a trip outside the country, I was up to 140—and freaking out. I doubled down on my high intensity workouts and ended up gaining three pounds. After fluctuating from 140 – 145 for some weeks, I decided to go back to body weight exercises, while keeping the intensity.

I find myself not going down in weight, but discovering muscle definition and strength in certain parts of my body. I can chest press 155 lbs, which was basically me three years ago, and I can do a straight set of 25 push ups, which is MONUMENTAL! #soproud

SO… I got my fitness down. I’m clearly gaining strength and stamina. The calisthenic exercises that I’m doing are great and allow me to stick to my routine at home, when I can’t make it to the gym. Like today, I did a simple series of

4 revolutions:

25 push-ups

25 abs (exercise of your choice)

25 squats

25 bench (couch) dips

And I feel it! Now, I just need to focus on my nutrition, which I have been researching extensively, and will talk about more next week. For now, let me know about your fitness journeys. Are you just starting? Are you a fitness super hero?

If you would like more info or inspiration, check out my website thewritingsol.com, where I feature an interview with the amazing and super fit Funk Roberts.

 

-Marisol