I am a twenty three year old woman; I am five foot one inch and I weigh approximately two hundred and eleven pounds. My favorite foods are pizza and ice cream. My favorite hobbies are reading, writing and spending time with those that I love.Â
I am healthy.
I don’t have diabetes and according to my doctor I am not obese but rather “solidly built.” I have a belly that gets in the way while zipping up my size fourteen jeans and I am most comfortable in yoga pants. More often than not I wish that I were Pooh Bear so that pants would no longer be required. It is safe to say that we have all struggled to pull our skinny jeans up over our rounded rumps; all while sucking it in trying our best to get everything into our tight sausage wrappings that society deems chic. Anyhow, here are some of the methods that I tried in the hopes of diminishing my flabby stomach:
The Gym- Part One
“The Judgement Free-Zone.”
I went once; I went to Planet Fitness one time, paid four a membership for an entire year and never used it again. It was a waste of my money, mainly because I was lazy and didn’t feel like driving twenty five minutes to do thirty minutes of cardio. Their catch phrase, “The Judgment Free-Zone” is about as accurate as Wikipedia. Not only are you judging all of the people around you, but they are most certainly judging you.Â
“Did you see that girl? She only did thirty minutes of cardio, like that’s going to make a difference,” said that girl in a tight fitted spandex outfit, that clearly thought that along with me being fat, I was also hearing impaired. Like I said, I only went once. I was already feeling down about my chubby self and that sealed the coffin for me and the gym.Â
Fit Girl: Diet and Exercise Regimen
After my experience at the gym, I decided that I should save a little cash and work out at home. Let me brief you on Fit Girl: I purchased the 28 Day Jump Start which costed roughly fifty dollars. The 28 Day Jump Start contains: a full meal plan, full exercise plan, weekly grocery lists, vegan and vegetarian/ gluten free options, food diary, exercise diary and Fit Girl stat sheets. Fit Girl also has an Instagram page, where you can get all the love and support from other ladies on the same journey as you.Â
In the beginning I was impressed by how much I enjoyed the workouts, however, I felt like I was starving nearly everyday and it did not get easier over the weeks. I felt weak and drained; this probably steamed from the fact that I am not particularly fond of a lot of the options given to me. This was something that bothered me. I wouldn’t suggest diets for any one looking to lose weight. Unless of course you want to eat avocado pizzas for the rest of your life. I rather enjoy food but eating the same things every day is not sufficient enough for me. I lost 10lbs in one month and then got discouraged by the harsh diet and quit the program all together.Â
The Personal Trainer: Part I, II, III and etc.
My recommendation to anyone looking to lose weight and keep it off, is to see a personal trainer; that is if you have the funds and are 100% serious about changing your life. On average you are going to be spending anywhere from $50-70 a session.Â
Lets break it down a bit: say you have two sessions a week (anything less than that is a waste of time and money) With two sessions a week and an average of four weeks in a month brings you to a total of $400-560 a month. That total does not include food that you may need to purchase as part of your dietary needs.Â
There are several perks to having a personal trainer; in your first session you will sit down with your trainer and tell him/her what you like to eat and what you are looking to change about yourself, then they will create a personalized regimen for you. Once every week he/she will set aside a time to go over any changes in the meal plan you would like to make or to discuss any alternatives to the original plan. Going to a personal trainer isn’t just going to the gym and drinking protein shakes, it’s about changing your life through both food and exercise. Oh, and you can still eat pizza and ice-cream. Working with your trainer helps you to learn the proper way to use equipment and structure workouts that fit to your general needs. Let’s not forget that you also have a person standing over you to ensure that you aren’t cheating yourself ( 10…20…done, just kidding).Â
I will say that money was a huge issue when it came to having a personal trainer. For instance, I ran into several road blocks where I went for four months and then had to stop due to financial issues and it continued that way for some time. I saw the most results when I was seeing the personal trainer; I not only lost 30-40lbs but I gained a new respect for working out and eating somewhat healthier.
The Gym: Part II
After a couple of years went by, I decided to give Planet Fitness another try. I walked in thinking I could use my credit card to pay the $10 monthly fee but once I read the fine print and saw I needed to pay $60 to set up the plan, I ran back to my car hoping that would suffice. I was also informed that you can no longer use credit cards as a viable payment method. Seeing as how I was in between jobs, I couldn’t take the chance of being out of a job and being responsible for paying for something I couldn’t afford. $10 adds up when you don’t have a pot to piss in.
The Nutritionist: No CostÂ
For the past four months I have been seeing a nutritionist, which my insurance covers completely. During which time I learned a valuable lesson. Write down what you eat; if you write down what you eat you develop a self-awareness toward the fuel you are putting into your body. The best way to describe it is, are you using leaded or unleaded gas in your car? Sure one might be more expensive but it’s better for you in the long run. Going to a nutritionist helps you gain a better understanding a nutrition and what it means for you. Did you know that corn is a carb? Something that stuck out to me about seeing a nutritionist is that you don’t have to give up the things that you love. You want pasta? Then go ahead and eat it. In over four months I have lost approximately five pounds, though if I am being honest I haven’t been putting forth a whole lot of effort.Â
There was a time when I was overwhelmed with having to be thinner and now I am at a point where, sure a flat stomach would be nice but more than anything being healthy is more important. No one wants to live off frozen foods or kale. We want to eat the meals that we love but be conscious of how much we are filtering in. When the weather is nice take your dog(s) for walks or go on a hike. Exercise and healthy eating shouldn’t be a chore or unrealistic and unreasonable.
Overall, exercise and healthy eating should not only be affordable but doable for all people. I recently read a poem on social media that said something along these lines:
“I say: I’m fat, He says: No. You are beautiful, And I wonder, Why can’t I be both?”
That stanza lashes out at it’s reader like a bolt of lightening scorching the sand, creating something incredible.Â
As long as you are happy and healthy, your size, whether it be big or small, should be of little importance to your beauty or how you view yourself.Â
Have that glass of wine, eat that piece of pizza and don’t forget to have dessert.