My Fitness Journey: How I Keep At It

I think the question I am asked most frequently is, "How do you stay motivated?"

To be honest, I really don't know how I stay motivated but I know it comes from within.  With that being said, I do get inspired by outside sources to continue with my journey.

I never thought I'd feel this way, but I really like it when people ask me what I do for my exercise, what kind of meals I eat, basically what I do and how I stick to my plan.  I ask why they ask me what I am doing.  I ask what they hope to achieve and why.  I share with them what I do, but most importantly, highlighting the struggles.

Each day, I struggle to choose the right foods, even though they are already planned out and cooked.  I need to convince myself to go to the gym, even the limited 3 times a week.  I've made every excuse in the book.  I am quite the Queen of Excuses.  I had one for every reason and circumstance.  Now I have adopted a no-excuses policy.  That has helped me get myself in the gym.  Some days I am really feeling tired or down, but in the end I am glad I did what I need to do.

I find inspiration and motivation from surprising places:

• Knowing that when I complete my workout, that I will feel like I've accomplished something, and that is an amazing feeling.
• Seeing/feeling results--muscles growing, increased speed or amount of exercise.
• When friends and family compliment me, I know I am doing something right.
• Talking to others and encouraging others to begin, revive or continue their own fitness journeys helps me want to continue with mine.
• Friends encourage me.
• Facebook, blog and Instagram fitness and positive body image personalities provide daily motivation, especially ones who are still on the road to their goals.
• Seeing strangers, especially the elderly, maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
• Little things, like maybe a fitness clothing ad, or maybe a license plate with an inspirational phrase, reminds me to keep at it.

My Fitness Journey: What Has Changed

Some things that have changed since I began my fitness journey are obvious:

• I look slimmer and the body parts are all firming up.
• I feel better: healthier.  Less heartburn, headaches and other general discomfort.
• My skin has been super clear.
• My body is getting stronger.
• I can work out longer/harder.

Other things that have changed that I didn't think would.  I am pleasantly surprised that these have changed:

• My mindset.  Changing the way I think has made all the difference.  I feel I can achieve, and I have achieved.  With every little bit of progress, it makes me want to stay with the plan even more.
• Positive body image.  I knew I was never going to be a size-2 but now I am okay with not being a size-2.  Not all my body parts are where society believes they should be, but I am okay with it.  I am okay with being "plus-sized," and having "rolls" and "stretch marks."  For the first time in a long time, I actually like what I see in the mirror!  That is a huge deal, especially I always felt like the ugly fat friend.
• Confidence.  I never really felt confident--but now that I've been strengthening my core, I can feel my posture getting better.  I look physically more confident has led me to believe that I am more confident on the inside.  I stand tall, my shoulders straight and walk proudly.  I think having confidence is more than half the battle.  If you carry yourself well, people won't say, "You'd be so much better if you lost weight."
• My priorities.  Originally I really wanted to lose weight so I'd look better.  While it has improved how I look, I am more concerned about how healthy and strong my body is.  How fast and long I can run, how heavy I can lift and so forth.

My Fitness Journey: Food Philosophy

Obviously, eating out often and choosing to eat lots of sweets and drinking sodas made me heavy so something needed to change.  I keep things simple:

• Don't skip meals!  If I starve myself, I know I will overeat later.
• Eat until I was only 70-80% full rather than stuffing myself.
• 80-20 rule.  Eat well most of the time, but allowing myself treats for special occasions.
• Meals usually include some source of protein, fat and carbohydrates--carbs mostly coming from fruits, veggies or whole grain source.
• Plan ahead.  I usually make food for all meals on Sundays and Wednesdays.  The meal we usually eat out is Saturday lunch or dinner.
• How I normally build my plate/meal: 1/2 a small dinner plate full of non-starchy vegetables/fruit, 1/4 plate protein source (usually baked, roasted or broiled lean meat or fish, sometimes eggs or tofu) and the rest of the plate a carbohydrate source, such as brown rice, quinoa, steamed/baked sweet potato (plain).
• Water is my favorite drink.  I drink 8 to 14 cups a day--I stay hydrated!
• If the food does not offer much beneficial nutritional value, that is the food I would consider for treats.
• Limit treats!  Watch portion sizes.
• Consider having several meatless meals a week.  There are plenty of protein packed foods that aren't meat.  It'll be more economical.
• If I get hungry in between meals, I tend to only go for fresh fruit or sliced veggies (without dip).  I think some people would disagree with me, that I should have some protein with my snack to stay full.  Honestly, I try to eat substantial, balanced meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner and rarely ever feel the need to snack anymore.
• Maintain a regular meal schedule, but if I get hungry, I'd go for the pre-planned snack.  If I'm not hungry, then I skip the snacks.
• Do not reward yourself with food.  If you feel horrible, find another activity that helps you clear your mind and reduce your stress.  If you did well, reward yourself with something that is not related to food such as a spa treatment, a new piece of workout gear, a cosmetic product, etc.

I know eating out can be a problem, but since I mostly only eat out once a week, I pretty much allow myself to eat whatever I'd like, but a reasonable portion.  I do consider the following ways to make the treat a little damaging:

• Drink water instead of soda or other soft drinks.
• Order only an entree or a salad and an appetizer.
• Order salads with the dressing on the side.  (And likewise, sauces for meat entrees on the side as well.)
• Avoid fried, creamy, battered, crispy, etc.
• Skip fattening additions such as croutons, mayonnaise/spreads, excessive cheese and such.
• Choose a steamed vegetable side instead of fries, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese and the like.
• I'd never have a cocktail, appetizer, bread basket options or dessert all in the same meal like I used to.  Either avoid all, or pick one.  Since I have a major sweet tooth, I usually pick the dessert option.  I stick to mini/single serve options, or share.

My Fitness Journey: What I Changed

So for the whole month of January I decided to try working out at least 3 times a week, about 1 hour for each workout.  At first, I could only go for 15 to 20 minutes each workout but that didn't matter.  I stuck with the plan.  As far as diet goes, I decided to sign up with MyFitnessPal to track my calories.  After filling out my information, I learned I should be eating approximately 1400 calories a day if I wanted to lose about 1/2 pound a week.  Of course, the program allowed me to eat a little more on the days I exercised.  Some of the first diet habits that changed included me replacing all the caloric drinks with water, except for 1 cup of coffee a day.  I still allowed myself 1 12-ounce soda a week, if I wanted it.  It wasn't before long before I rarely ever had a soda.  I am not much of drinker to begin with, so I really didn't consider them.  Another habit that needed to change was that I need to prepare most of my food at home, at least 75% of all meals, even if it was a bowl of cereal.  It was a two-fold situation: I was consuming way too many calories each day and it was costing me a fortune to eat out.

I was still not very motivated, I just did what I planned to do because I was set on sticking to the plan.  For too long I had been chunky and unhappy in my own skin.  So many years had I been putting myself down.  My big stomach.  My big chin.  Just feeling very doughy all over.  Within a month, I actually had lost 5 pounds and in 2 months lots of people, friends I hadn't seen very often had noticed that I was losing weight.  Most months I didn't lose any weight, but people insisted that I looked thinner and that I looked good.  I was never one to take compliments well--unless they were related to my cooking and baking skills, or other things I did well.  Learning to accept compliments on my appearance was challenging, but honestly, I think they were commenting on my efforts more than how thin I was looking.  I still have a lot of work to do...but each day of progress is one step closer to my goal.

Now, counting calories is terribly boring for me.  Luckily, I am okay with eating the same breakfast, lunch and dinner several times a week, so that made the counting a little easier.  When I shop for products, or cook dishes, since there are only two of us, I often cook several servings of a dish for meals for a couple days.  Being prepared by planning and making all my meals ahead of time really helped me stay within a reasonable amount of calories.  As the months progressed and I was able to increase the intensity and amount of exercise, I focused less on the calorie counting.  Of course, at the beginning I hadn't really paid much attention to what I was eating, just how much and how many calories.  It was tough to stay within the allocated number of calories.  I had to do something!  If I only ate as many calories I was allowed, I still felt hungry, I was never full.

The answer was to replace more of my food options with fresh fruit and vegetables.  I skipped high-fat meats such as sausage, and replaced with leaner meats and added vegetables or fruits.  That allowed me to eat more food without consuming too many calories.  Also, I don't eat as many processed bread type products as I used to.  That includes bread, tortillas and pasta.  I try to eat meals balanced in protein, carbohydrates and fats.  During this whole time I was reading articles online to see how I can eat balanced meals, and for meal ideas.  Most of the carbohydrates I eat now are complex ones: such as oats and other whole grains, quinoa and from sweet potatoes and squash.  I do still eat bread-type products but not as much or as often.  I try to avoid eating foods with excessive salt or sugar, which mostly all packaged processed foods.

My Fitness Journey: Why I Wanted to

My reasons were simple why I wanted to get in shape:

• I was unhealthy.  My blood sugar, blood pressure and triglycerides were not great--besides being terribly overweight for my height.
• I wanted to be given a clean bill of health in my adult life.
• One day I want to have a baby, and I want this to be a well maintained baby-making temple.
• I wanted to feel better--having a big soft body was making me feel uncomfortable, and I felt slow.
• I felt weak, and slow.  I didn't want to be the weak and slow young woman who was out-walked by a grandma!
• One of the reasons was that I wanted to look good.  Yes, it sounds shallow, I know!  I'm the girl who always looks for inner beauty rather than outer beauty when I choose people to surround myself with.
• I really want to wear a 2-piece bathing suit in public proudly once in my life.

So, it was very clear to me that something needed to be done.

My Fitness Journey: How it Began

I was born and raised in a small suburb in Los Angeles County.  As a baby and a young child, I was never particularly overweight.  Being Chinese American, it isn't very acceptable to be remotely thick or chubby in any way.  My mother and grandmother never had any qualms about pointing it out to me how fat I'd become.  When we'd go out as a family to have dimsum, ladies would stop by the table to say hello to my parents as my family knew lots of people--and often those ladies had a nasty comment to say.

They say things like, "Oh, your daughters must eat well," "How old are they?  They look so big," in Chinese.  I guess they had no idea that I could understand them.  At first I was very hurt, and it even made me cry when we'd get home.  Over the years, I learned to speak up, "It's a shame I can't be a slim and trim as you," I'd tell them back in Chinese.  They were very surprised that I understood what they said, but that never stopped from making comments.

Fast forward to high school.  My parents were rather strict on rites of passage that many teen girls go through with--wearing makeup, shaving legs, etc.  So high school, I was chubby, fresh faced and fuzzy for a good part of it.  One day I decided I didn't want to be fuzzy anymore so I used one of the disposable razors from my dad's supply and took matters into my own hands.  I was still chubby and fresh faced but at least I wasn't fuzzy any longer.  High school was such a rough time.  The actual things related to education wasn't so bad, but I just always felt so ugly, fat and generally unattractive because I hadn't dated at all in high school.  When I graduated I weighed in at 155 pounds, I am 5'4".

Through a few jobs and many years passing, I gained 20 pounds--the gain was gradual.  By 2008, I was 175, and within the next 5 years, I weighed 193 at my heaviest.  Every year for my New Year's resolutions I had the thoughts to get in the gym and get thinner.  Lose weight, but I would never last long.  I'd lose a couple pounds and it'll stay at that weight for while so naturally I gave up because I wasn't seeing the results.

193 was the starting point of my fitness journey. very late December 2012.  I hadn't really planned on it--I always thought about doing something about it.  I was heavy, round and relatively uncomfortable in my own skin.  But I was afraid to begin.  Because I knew I wouldn't succeed, that is the main reason why I didn't really ever give a new healthy lifestyle a full commitment.  A friend called me and asked if I wanted to go to the gym with her on January 2, 2013, which was a few days awhile.  The friend had been on a fitness journey of her own.  She once weighed in at 224, she is 5'1".  The lightest she had ever been was 145 but she goes back and forth depending on how much effort she puts into getting into shape.  I told her that I would check out the gym and see if it was for me.

January 2 came and we went to the gym.  A trainer showed me around and discussed my options with personal training, and how I need to incorporate my cardio and healthy diet with strength training.  It wasn't anything I didn't already know.  I think mostly every overweight person has seen him/herself in the mirror, scrutinized every fold, roll, dimple and stretch mark.  I have read about so many diets, so many exercises and otherwise, a method to "get thin."  After my consultation, I wasn't really convinced, but I joined because I saw it as a way to spend time with my friend whom I hardly ever get to see because she's busy gal, and so am I.