Follow Chelsea on her journey to get healthy and feel amazing!
The Freshman 15. It’s something that almost everyone will admit to being worried about. A change in routine, living in a small space with so many new and delicious fatty food options available are enough to make even the slimmest person gain some weight. So if you gained five or 25 pounds, you’re not alone. I didn’t gain 15– more around the Freshman 13. Tell me that isn’t unlucky!
I started college with the confidence that I would not fall into the “fat trap” I’d heard about. I had slimmed up during my school musical in the fall but gained a bit of weight spring semester of my senior year. I still believed that my weight would only fluctuate five or so pounds from what I thought my normal weight was. Boy was I wrong!
This is me the Summer before I started college
My first semester I got depressed a lot. There would be days where all I wanted to do was curl up and sleep, which I did pretty often. A grilled cheese sandwich from Paws always sounded so much better than a simple salad, and my once a week Chik-fil-A fix turned into a bad habit I couldn’t quit. I let myself get out of control. A few months prior I would never sit on the computer for hours while scarfing down fatty fried foods, or at least not as often as I did at school. When the semester finally ended, I felt relieved. Time to go home and recuperate!
The first week of break I felt awful. There was nothing for me to do and nowhere to go so I ended up just lying around and doing nothing. As the adrenaline from surviving finals wore off, I started feeling extra sluggish and what some would describe as “blah.” Watching show after show of beautiful skinny women made me feel even more aware of my flabby belly. Finally, my mom convinced me to try working out at home. I opted for Wii Fit, since the treadmill isn’t quite my cup of tea.
“Welcome, Chelsea! It’s been so many days since your last visit—let’s weigh you!” Such an annoying little electronic.
Well, son of a biscuit. Look at that scale. At risk or overweight? When did that happen? My mind spun and I got so angry at myself. How could I have let this happen?
After that I moped a lot. I felt so fat and useless that it depressed me to try to even do anything about it. I am a Zumba instructor and enthusiast, but I didn’t really pursue that passion over the first semester. To get back into it, I started attending my original instructor’s bi-weekly class at my gym. It nearly killed me the first week. The second week got better; I felt like I could breathe and move. Everyone said it didn’t look like I had gained weight and that I looked great, but inside I knew that I was heading down a dangerous path towards obesity.
Something has to change.
This is me now
My extra weight depressed me, but partaking in Zumba and exercises at home made me feel less miserable. By drinking tons of water and being more active, I lost at least five pounds the last week of break just from removing all the salty toxins that had built up. It’s going to be a long journey, but I know that I can find ways at school to get back to feeling healthy and better about my body. I don’t need to be the skinniest girl; I just want to be healthy. Look for me at the gym girls and I hope to see you there too! Let’s get healthy together!