No, I'm not fit. Still far from it. In fact, I am still currently overweight. But I'm working my way to get to where I want to be in terms of health and fitness.
It was a weird realization, that when I thought about what I wanted to share as an entry for this contest, working out came to mind. I guess it became a hobby recently without me realizing it.
"Getting fit" has been an ongoing goal for me for the past 6 years - even when I wasn't yet overweight. Because I had people telling me I was "fat" when I was 135 lbs.
According to healthstatus.com, the ideal weight for a 5'3" woman like myself is somwhere between the range of 112 - 140 lbs. 126 lbs being the ideal healthy weight. So technically, I was not overweight at 135 lbs. I know I wasn't fit but I was not "fat" either. And yet I let the "fat" jokes bother me so much that I became unhealthily obsessed with losing weight then.
Society's perception of "looking good" got under my skin that when I first became obsessed with working out 6 years ago, I did it for all the wrong reasons: I wanted to look skinny. I wanted to fit back into my old size-4 jeans. I wanted to look "good" for society. It worked for a while. I got myself back down to 125 lbs in 2010 and I was happy. But it wasn't long until the weight started to creep back up because I stopped working out and I didn't really learn any lasting healthy habits. Until it got to a point where my weight became a health issue.
A year and a half ago, I reached 179 lbs. The heaviest I had ever been. I also found out I was pre-diabetic, my uric acid level was high and I had fatty liver. It was also around this time that I found out that I was the best candidate to be my sister's kidney donor.
I was determined to donate one of my kidneys to help my sister but the nagging reality was there - that I may not be healthy enough to go through it. Luckily, I was told by my doctor that all of my "health concerns" can be fixed by losing weight and a lifestyle change. In the end, we had a successful kidney transplant 8 months ago.
As soon as I recovered well enough from the surgery to start working out again, I just had to go for it.
But this time, I first had to sit back and re-examine my health/ fitness goals and my reasons and motivations behind them.
This time I wanted to lose weight for ME. Not for the society or anyone else. And I don't want to just lose weight, I want to be in a healthy weight. It's about being healthy and staying healthy. I want to impart good habits to my two kids and set a good example for them.
Right now, I've been going to the gym at least 4-5 days a week and my workouts typically last between 45 - 90 minutes.
I initially hired myself a trainer to provide me that extra "push" which has been working out really well for me. The fee for the gym membership and personal trainer is not cheap by any means but I felt that I needed to do it that way to kickstart my fitness journey this time. Having a trainer guiding me to effectively use and maximize my time at the gym is a huge help. I get to workout with my trainer at least twice a week. On other days I
get to do my own thing.
The gym that I go to is right across the street from my kids' school so I often go in the morning during school days, right after I drop the kids off to school or in the afternoon before I pick them up so it's really convenient for me.
Working out has also become a stress reliever for me on the days that I get too overwhelmed with life's day-to-day challenges. It helps clear my head because I can just focus on completing whatever workout I'm set to do. I feel quite accomplished when I get a good workout in.
I also thrive on challenging myself a little more each time. Whether it's adding extra lbs on a weight machine, or going for an extra mile on the elliptical. It's such a great feeling when you realize you can do something you never even thought possible before. A couple of weeks ago I was so stoked to find out I could do a regular push-up! Now I can do 15 reps! Not quite low drops, but good push-ups nonetheless. I remember not being able to do even just one a few months ago! How cool is that??
Becoming a healthier and fitter version of myself has become a priority, especially these past 6 months. I'm definitely still an amateur as I'm still learning a lot everyday but I'd love to someday be able to say that "I'm a fitness expert". How awesome would that be?
