Healthy living, similar to the moon, has many phases. There are varying ups and downs that one must overcome when deciding to take part in a healthy lifestyle. From the food you eat to the activities you engage in, you can’t just say “I want to live a healthy lifestyle,” you must fully commit.

Growing up, I always had insecurities about my body and the way I looked. My mom is extremely thin and my dad is big-boned and each of their body types were bestowed upon their two children; guess which one I got. My dad and I often joked we were the “meat” of the house and my mom and brother were the “bones.” Needless to say, body image has always been a struggle for me.

Over my life (21 years to be exact) I have gone through many phases of a weight loss battle. I have had incredible transformations and some not-so-cute gains; but through it all, I have always tried to maintain a somewhat healthy lifestyle. After a recent weight gain and near heart attack from seeing the number on the scale, I have decided to vigorously work on myself and change my lifestyle. I realized if I keep living this way, I may have fun, but my time will be cut to a screeching halt.

As I sat down to prepare a new workout for myself, I considered the phases of my fit life. My phases may not be identical to that of everyone else struggling with weight loss, but I do believe what I went through has the potential to inspire and challenge people like me to finally decide to live the healthy life you were meant to.

Phase I: Baby Fat and Freshmen Fifteen

Duh. Being away from home for the first time means food galore. Having unlimited access to the school cafeteria, having the weekend potions and midnight fast-food snacks to go with it; it’s a no-brainer that I blew up like a balloon. Though I was able to maintain my weight during the first semester of my freshman year, the second semester was not as rewarding. Doing, as my roommates and I called it, “threefers” (going out Thursday through Saturday) and enjoying a delicious Domino’s Pizza after each excursion, it really should have come as no surprise that I gained the freshmen 15. Once I saw the number on the scale, I knew it was time to limit my pizza intake and take myself seriously.

Phase II: The Weight Training Nightmare

Around the time I decided to embark on my weight loss journey, I began to date a boy who guided me in the right direction. He was able to show me some tips of what to do in the gym and he even laid out some meal plans for me. My goal was to look like Beyoncé. I didn’t care if I was healthy, I just physically wanted to have her body figure. By the end of the spring semester of my freshman year, I had lost 10 pounds. *Side note: To lose this weight, I barely ate and I worked out intensely for five days a week. I stopped going out on the weekends and I lost some social relationships with my friends. By no means was this phase fun and, honestly, every day I wished I was still in Phase I. However, seeing results proved to me that I could have the body I always dreamed I would and eventually I could eat the food I missed so much.

Phase III: Maintaining Weight is Not Cool or Fun

Not only do you have to continue to lose weight once you are determined to have the body of Beyoncé, but you also have to maintain the weight loss. Over the course of my sophomore year, I was able to lose 10 more pounds and keep that weight off until the end of my junior year. Throughout this two year span, I tried to go to the gym three to four days a week, choose whole wheat over white toast at restaurants, and limit my nightly activities to no more than twice a week. I was able to modify what I had learned from the boy I dated and put that to use in my day-to-day life.

Another important thing I learned in the course of maintaining weight was timing. During my freshman year, I was overwhelmed with free time. Going to the gym and focusing on what I ate took up most of the time I used to spend binge-watching Netflix and eating junk food. But once I came back to school as a sophomore, I joined as many clubs as I could and to this day, I am still busier than ever. However, when maintaining your weight, my biggest recommendation would be to always make time to eat a decent meal and get a work out in. And if you can’t make time for the gym, make healthier decisions when it comes to your food intake.

I have to be honest—there is a dark side to maintaining weight. I heard once it takes three months to lose weight and three months to gain weight. This past school year, I stopped working out and eating healthy around March. I just did not have time to make it a priority. Though I tried to go to the gym, I noticed I wasn’t gaining any weight so I figured my metabolism was finally fast and I could eat whatever I want, not exercise and have no regrets. I could not have been more wrong…

Phase IV: The Big 2-1

No one told me when I turned 21 that I would gain weight. I thought since I already consumed alcohol before (shhh don’t tell my mother), I would not have regressed. Also, I had always been careful about what I ate, so what would happen if I had chicken fingers and nachos with an alcoholic beverage? I thought nothing, but in fact a lot happened; a lot of weight happened. In the past few months since my birthday in May, I have experienced a huge set back. Though everyone told me they couldn’t see it, my scale and I knew the truth. Venturing into my senior year of college weighing the same I did when I first arrived at school, I knew it was time to try and get healthy again—but this time I would do it differently. I would not intensely push myself to the point of misery, but rather find a way to actually keep the weight off and still live my life.

Phase V: Getting Back On Track

About a month ago, the boy I dated during my freshman year reached out to me. He created a fitness app called fitDEGREE that encourages a healthy lifestyle through a community support system. Though he approached me for my Public Relations expertise, I decided to use our reunion to my advantage. I had asked him to give me pointers on working out since his help proved to be so successful years before. In just the one month of committing to working out and eating healthy, I already feel great. I can still go out and get dinner with my girlfriends AND do really fun workouts in the gym. I guess I can have my full-fat, not sugar free cake and eat it, too. I began finding fun ways to work out and I actually enjoy going to the gym again. Though I am not happy the weight is back, I am determined to not only lose it all this time, but to set myself up for the rest of my life. If I continue to follow all I have learned in just this short time, I can really have the Beyoncé body I always dreamed of, but in a healthy way.

Living a healthy lifestyle is not easy. Some people love going to the gym and consider it their holy ground, while others call it their personal hell. But living a healthy life doesn’t exclusively mean going to the gym, it means making healthy choices. It is proven people work better when they have cheerleaders routing them on. The reason I love working with the upcoming app fitDEGREE so much is because it emphasizes group fitness activities.

I encourage you all, no matter what shape or size you are to always try to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Yes, I 3000 percent encourage splurging and having that hot fudge brownie sundae, but moderation is the key.

I am nervous for this new phase in my life, but I know it is for the best and soon enough, I will be strutting like Queen B.