It’s a tale as old as time. Girl goes to college. Girl discovers late night pizza delivery. Girl becomes busy and starts skipping workouts. Girl finds herself thinking jeggings might not be as bad as she originally thought.
Sound familiar?
I shouldn’t be so obsessed with my weight. I have a great group of friends, great grades and shoe collection that would make Carrie Bradshaw look twice. However, none of that seems to matter when my jeans barely zip.
It hasn’t always been this way. In high school I was a fitness machine. I was dancing 20+ hours per week and running and lifting on the days I didn’t have dance practice. Fast-forward four years and I am a senior at the University of Missouri who has fallen victim to the “Mizzou-22.”
I’m not the only person obsessed with my weight. This past semester my papou (that’s Greek for grandpa) decided to give me an incentive to lose weight. In short, he offered me $100 for every pound of weight I lost. Now, there are two normal reactions to this. The first is uncomfortable laughter, because nothing says I think you’re fat like offering up an obscene amount of money for someone to become skinny. The second is the approach I decided to take, which was that of a business opportunity. I ended up dropping nine pounds, but as I haven’t lost any more weight I think it was less about what I ate and more about my increased physical activity due to walking to class.
(In the picutre to the right you can see me dressed as my hero, Joan from Mad Men.)
I’m at the end of my rope. I’m graduating in May and I want to enter the next phase of my life feeling and looking my best. With the help of SELF and Her Campus, I know this regiment can help me regain the confidence that slowly disappeared beneath the pounds. It’s time to stop making excuses and start seriously focusing on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Today I’m going grocery shopping to get all of the supplies for the SELF Jumpstart Diet I need to begin my new healthy lifestyle. Sign up for the diet here and work towards a healthy style along with me. Soon the story will read: Girl begins eating right. Girl exercises regularly. Girl becomes happy in her own skin.