Just the Start

I go to the University of Oregon, a school that prides itself in its athletics program and state-of-the-art workout facility. Seeing that I did not have any more good excuses to avoid it, I began going to the gym on a daily basis. I set a goal for myself: lose enough weight to feel confident in a bikini. For some that may be five lbs, for others that may be almost one hundred; for me that was fifty pounds. I knew I had to start small and work my way to the ultimate goal so I began with a goal of five lbs in mind. I downloaded a few fitness apps and got a Fitbit to better motivate me to get moving on a daily basis. At first I absolutely dread going to the gym. I would try to schedule things during the time I usually go in order to avoid it. After a few weeks of this, I decided to pull myself together and just do it. I started off by just doing cardio using the elliptical then worked my way up to a stationary bike and treadmill. I wouldn't let myself take no for an answer and in doing so began to go to the gym on a nearly daily basis, allowing a break from the gym on weekends. After a few weeks, I began to actually enjoy going to the gym and exercising. As time progressed, I came up with my own routine (see bottom of post for full routine). Most days I would add or change up my routine by using one of the fitness apps I downloaded. After a term of doing this, I decided to start playing some recreational sports in addition to my routine. I joined the club sport equestrian team and started taking PE classes for credit in order to keep me going to these activities. As a result, I found that I actually liked tennis and am going to retake tennis for beginners this upcoming fall in order to gain more skills in the sport. I hope to eventually be good enough for the intramural tennis team but only time will tell. Anyways, I discovered that by adding activities I truly enjoyed to my daily routine I began to actually have fun while getting healthier. Throughout this time I also began to pay closer attention to what I was eating and how much. I started to look around campus for healthy alternatives to my usual diet. I began mainly consume the grain bowls offered as well as some of the interesting foods from the deli on campus. I believe this helped immensely with my weight loss because within two terms of doing this I had lost twenty pounds!