It’s no secret that New Year’s Resolutions are often broken by the end of January. You have the best intentions and do a great job at the start, but then life gets in the way and you have to focus on more pressing matters. I get it.
I actually never thought I would follow through on a New Year’s Resolution in my life. That was before the year 2016.
After a terrible stomach from eating too much around Christmas time in 2015, I decided it was time to focus on my physical health. The next day, I joined Planet Fitness and got on Weight Watchers (now known as WW). Over the span of six months, I lost 40 pounds. I was so proud of myself and thought I could keep it up!
In the fall of 2016, I gained back around 10 pounds, but that wasn’t bad considering the fact that I lost 40. Then the holidays came around and another 10 were added. I still wasn’t concerned because I had good endurance for exercise and felt pretty healthy.
From the fall of 2016 to the summer of 2017, I had pretty much maintained my weight. Then the fall of 2017 hit me like a truck.
It was my senior year of high school, and I was excited to finish the year off strong. Sadly, that didn’t happen. In September 2017, my mother was diagnosed with stage 3 sinus cancer. She started to go to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota because it was so severe and uncommon. They then found a cancerous node in her lung that was unrelated.
Over the next three months, she had four surgeries, chemotherapy, and proton radiation at the Mayo Clinic. I was depressed, angry, frustrated, but most of all, disappointed because, at my heaviest, I got up to 220 pounds.
Going from 170 to 220 was AWFUL. I lost interest in everything, I cut off friends, I felt isolated and alone in this fight with life.
I spent a long time in Rochester as well, having my friends send me my homework while I watched my mother receive cancer treatment for two months straight.
When my mom finished proton radiation in January 2018, we went back to the Twin Cities. I went back to my high school and everything changed.
I wasn’t interested in going to after school activities or even hanging out with friends. I was anxious constantly and felt drained. I felt this way until I graduated from high school in June 2018.
Once I graduated, a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. I was free from that situation that caused me this setback and could be reborn.
During the Summer of 2018, I worked full time at Little Caesar’s as a Shift Lead until college started in August.
The difference between myself in high school and college is night and day, literally. I found a place where I was encouraged to speak my mind, ask questions, and learn more about the world. Ever since I have been at Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU) I have been reborn as confident, expressive, passionate, and dedicated to my future career goals.
Everything seemed as though it was perfect. Except for one thing. I kept remembering the wonderful progress I made in 2016 and wanted to do it again.
When I finished my third semester at MNSU, I decided in the year 2020, I would attempt to do what I did before; get down to 150 pounds and continue to stay healthy throughout the rest of my life.
I returned to the Twin Cities for my winter break and signed up for Planet Fitness, just like before. I worked out around four out of the seven days of the week, but I continued to eat as I had before. (It was the holidays, and my Aunt is an amazing cook.) When the clock struck midnight on January 1st, 2020, I changed my eating habits. A few weeks later, I joined Weight Watchers, (WW), once again and began to track my food and exercise.
Throughout the years, my weight loss journey has not been easy, and I don’t think it has been for anyone. But I believe that at this point in my life, I have the chance to get back to my goal weight of 150 pounds. No resolution is easy, but the end result is so worth it.