In 2016 I decided I was going to make a big change for myself, for my health, and sadly enough, for my love life.
I happened to be in a relationship where my boyfriend was openly bothered by my weight gain and wasn't shy about letting me know.
My weight gain actually started before I even met the man. In 2012 I was nearing the end of a very short marriage to an Army Sargent and dealing with starting my life over at the ripe age of 22.
(Even though things didn't work out, I still had to give this dress a moment)
I always used to be the skinny, athletic dancer with the tight body (5'5 125lbs) that I probably never appreciated as much I think I should've. I never really worked hard and keeping my weight down because I had spent half of my day in a dance class studio for my own classes and to assist the instructor with her younger students.
When the dancing stopped and the divorce depression crept in, I had to make the decision to start all over in life which meant: get a desk job, pay your bills, enjoy the small joys that life can offer. That small joy happened to be food.
Between 2012 and when I met my most opinionated boyfriend in 2016 I had gotten very close to 200lbs and after I met him then I went right over into 200+lbs weight.
If it wasn't the look of disgust my boyfriend started to give me that shook my confidence, it started to be employees chiming in. They would ask if I was pregnant and joke about how thick I was getting. Every time I had food with me they would joke about how I am always eating, how my pants fit. My goodness those women were some bitchy queens to say the least.
Finally I said to myself that I have control. I have control over how my life was going to look and how I would see myself. I have control over how I see myself. I can no longer look in the mirror and say "If I only started last year, I would look so much better" I have to look in the mirror and say "you could change some stuff but I still love and accept where I am at today"
I knew my "self talk" was all off! I was telling myself very mean things I didn't want to believe about myself and I didn't know how to stop it. So I looked up a good hypnotherapy cd and tried it out.
After listening to Anna Thompson's Weight Loss album on Spotify, and going for some extra long walks with the dogs, I started to see the weight melting off.
The hypnosis didn't only help me with my self esteem and self-talk, but it also helped me imagine and believe that my stomach was the size of a walnut. It made me full when the walnut was full and I literally could not eat another bite when I reached capacity. And I have to admit I didn't even change my diet that much. I just started eating significantly less food than I was before.
I managed to lose almost 50 lbs when I dumped the man who I can actually thank for the extra push to this place I've reached.
To lost the remainder of the 80lbs total lost, I turned to fitness. (I had a lot of extra skin and stretch marks to address at this point). I turned to Tara Stiles Yoga on YouTube. She has these short and long exercises for every single level and target area you would want to work out. She has covered all bases in making sure she has something for what you are looking to improve on.
Last Summer, In my attempt to change my life, I also had to try some things that weren't exactly traditional weight loss strategies. I allowed my hot water at home to be turned off so I could take cold showers like Tony Robbins and my metabolism could benefit from the cold exposure.
After a while of cold showering, I have to say the only thing it helped me do was start to go to the gym daily for a hot shower instead. I didn't want to give in and cut the water back on, so I took $10/mo Planet Fitness membership and started showering there, I couldn't imagine just going to the gym to shower and that is how I started changing my exercise routine.
Once I got my body more toned then all I had to do was continue to maintain my metabolism level and eating habits for the most part and Tada!
I spent nothing on the Anna Thompson hypnosis album. I listened to Spoitify on my computer and let it play from there (no commercials, no interruptions, no monthly fee)
I spent nothing on my Yoga training through Tara Stiles and YouTube. I have to admit I didn't even get a yoga mat. Just used my hard floors.
I actually saved money on gas by cutting it off and spent $10 per month on my Planet Fitness membership.
I made my neighborhood work as a good track to keep myself active in the evenings and I never let myself get too lazy about after dinner walks.
Now when I see someone struggling with their weight and giving themselves excuses like "I don't make enough money for fancy crossfit classes" or " if I just had a good place to work out I would be in shape" or " i can't afford those fancy healthy foods" I feel like I have to help empower them.
I have learned it is not about the circumstances , what matters is your state of mind.
