Everyone has a story

I've been thinking a lot lately about how people perceive not only me but how I share my health and fitness story with you. I am in the best physical shape of my life and although I struggle, too, I feel like a lot of people must look at my posts and think that they just can't relate because they are at a different place on their fitness journey. The reality is that I have only been sharing with you for a few months now but my story has been going on for much longer.

Last night, Chris wrapped his arms around me and said, "God, you're tiny." My first response was "Do you mean short or skinny?!" We laughed when he said "both" but we started talking about how much I have changed in the two years since we met. But my story goes back even further than that and I've decide that it is important that I share my whole story so that you don't just look at my blog and roll your eyes.

I was at my heaviest weight my sophomore year of college (about 5 years ago). It was the first year I lived in an apartment, bought my own food, and started drinking regularly.  I didn't really  realize how much I had put on but that scale just doesn't lie.  To put things in perspective, I was around 30 pounds heavier than I am now.  I realized it and started cutting back the food but between engineering school and working, there wasn't much time for the gym. 

When I graduated from college, I had lost some of the weight (5-10 pounds) but I finally had time to start working out regularly. I started P90X and really focused my eating but I was still around 20 pounds heavier than I am right now. 

Throughout the past two years, I have gone through on and off periods of working out.  Last summer, Chris ordered Insanity; I thought he was just that, completely insane.  I tried it a couple of times with him but even after P90X I could barely get through the warm up.  In March, I decided I would try it out again and this time on my own, quite frankly, because I couldn't stand when Chris corrected me. I got hooked and I haven't put it down since. In the past 7 months or so, I have dropped the final 10ish pounds and am at (or around) my goal weight!

After sharing this with you, it is important for me to say that my fitness journey is not about the weight. The reality is, if I felt good 30 pounds heavier, it wouldn't matter what the scale said. But I didn't feel good. My fitness journey is about working hard, seeing the results, feeling good, and being happy with my reflection. The number on that scale is just a visual reflection of the time I've put into my body.

So just because someone is physically fit, don't assume that they've always been that way or that they always will be that way. Everyone's story has some bumps along the way but it's about how you react to those bumps that determines where you end up along the path.

Today's workout: Insanity's Core Cardio & Balance