As we kick off the new year, we start to see a number of new weight loss trends and products popping up on our screens. Whether we are looking for it or not, our daily feeds are swamped with companies trying to make money off of our insecurities and convince us we have to buy their products in order to be happy. Sadly, people tend to fall for crash diets and skinny teas, thinking that they will be able to lose 10 pounds in a week when that is simply not true. These fads cause people to rush into a new way of living that is unsustainable and unrealistic for themselves. This is a vicious cycle that I, myself, once fell into but took it upon myself to never let that happen again.
I have to admit, my fitness journey started off at the beginning of a new year when I told myself I would workout everyday and completely transform my body by the end of the year. Instead of doing my research and figuring out what worked best for me, I would do multiple home workouts a day and started restricting myself from all the foods I enjoyed. Although from the outside it may have looked like I was doing great things for my health and wellbeing, I was actually damaging it in more ways than one.
I have spoken of my history with an eating disorder that still lingers with me today, but it all started with believing I was truly doing what was best for my body. Although it was not my intention to lose weight, I would workout every day without eating enough to make up for all the calories I had burned off. I had no idea what I was doing to my body until it got to a point where my body became overly sensitive to almost everything I ate; I had never felt worse. After getting a number of comments about how much weight I had lost instead of gaining the freshman fifteen during my first year at college, I realized I was going down a dangerous road and something needed to change. That being said, this was in no way an easy realization after believing for over a year that I was “healthy” and “fit”.
I just want to say that if you are struggling in any way with your relationship with food, you are not alone. It is easier said than done to ignore the countless ads promoting weight loss tips to live your happiest and healthiest life ever. In reality, what you need to do to live your happiest and healthiest life is by listening to what your mind and body truly need. Eat that slice of cake or piece of chocolate if you are craving it and don’t feel guilty about it. Skip a day at the gym if you had a long night and are too tired. There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking a step back and just living your life every once in a while. I had to learn to ignore what everyone else was telling me was best for my body because only I truly knew the answer to that.
The road to recovery was not an easy one but admitting to myself that something was not right and then making the choice to seek professional professional help was one of the best decisions I could have ever made for myself. This journey has been quite a process and it is far from over, but everyday gets a little easier and that makes it worth it for me.
As you kick off the new year, there is nothing wrong with setting health and fitness goals, but just make sure you are doing it in a truly healthy and sustainable way that works best for you. Experiment with different forms of working out. I started off with dance, then pilates, and cardio, but when I started lifting weights, I instantly fell in love. Remember that it takes time and these changes do not happen overnight, but the journey is worth it.
If this is relatable content and you would like me to write more about my journey of recovery and accepting my body, let me know!
Read more from Jana at her blog: https://jvcunfiltered.wordpress.com/