My Fitness Story (Part 2)

If you haven’t caught up on the beginning of my story, you can do so over here.

Because this is the part of the story where real change happens.  And it was scary for me. I had tried to do other fitness programs and workout DVDs.  I always lasted a few days before I gave up.  I told myself it was too hard, it wasn’t working, that I wasn’t a “fitness” person.

So, admittedly, starting a new program that included a regimented eating plan made me nervous.  But deep down I knew it was time for a change and that I had to DO something.  I was tired of being tired, sick of not feeling good in my own body.  I decided that I could be “one of those people” who is fit.

Here’s the thing.  I always thought that those “fit” people were crazy.  I thought they worked out for hours and had waaaay more will power than I ever would.  I held them up to a standard that I never thought I could achieve.

Enter the 21 Day Fix program.  21 Days.  7 different workouts repeated over 3 weeks (only 30 minutes each!  I could do this!).  A foolproof individualized eating plan.  Oh, and online support, motivation and accountability through my free coach.  (<—that turned out to be the part I was missing in my prior fitness attempts).

I was ready to go, food prepped, ready to press play.  But I was nervous.  I was already thin, and people were already asking my why I was doing this.  I “didn’t need to lose weight”.  Why was I “restricting my diet?”.  Part of me thought that they were right.  That I didn’t need to do this.  I was good enough.  I could have stopped there.  But for some reason this time, a little voice reminded me that I knew what it was like to quit, and I wanted to know what it felt like to NOT.  It was only 21 days after all.  If it didn’t work or if I didn’t like it, after 3 weeks I never had to do it again.

It only took 7 days for me to know that I would do it again. Were the workouts easy?  Nope.  But I learned that I didn’t have to do it perfectly to do it.  I did what I could and I made it through the 30 minutes.  Every Day.  I felt great, full of energy and strong. Actually, the workouts were the easy part.  The eating part was the more challenging part.  But I also learned that it is the most important part.  You can workout all you want and undo all your work in the kitchen (or the grocery store!).  The program forever changed the way I look at what I eat and how much of it I eat.  I got stronger and yes, I lost weight and inches too.  The program did everything it was supposed to…and so much more.

Because the biggest changes from doing this program were not tangible.  The biggest changes were on the inside.  What I didn’t know was how working out and eating well would permeate into other parts of my life.  I didn’t just get fit and strong (after many months of 21 Day Fix and other Beachbody programs), I gained confidence in myself and my body.  I gained a sense of accomplishment and pride in what I could do mentally and physically.  My family is more healthy than it ever has been.  The kids talk about nutrition and healthy choices.  They “workout” with us.

My husband and I never used to spend time together in the morning. Now we cherish that early morning time together AND we are doing something good for ourselves by working out.  It gives us something to bond over and we are both happier for it!  In fact, as we reflected on the past year we both independently decided that the single best thing that happened last year was me making the choice to get fit.  Because it impacted our lives in SO many other ways.

So there is my story. It hasn’t really ended though, because exercising and eating well has become a part of my lifestyle so we just keep on going…and there are always challenges and struggles with making it all work.  But I took the first step, and that’s what it is.  One foot in front of the other, baby steps every day.

Health and Happiness,

Cerissa