All my life, I have wanted to be in the best shape that I possibly can. I have envied people who could run miles upon miles and say that they did 5Ks and marathons. I hung out with people who made me feel inadequate for not being an “athletic girl.” I exercised and then ate chocolate at night as a reward. I tried running but couldn’t even make it half a mile without feeling like I wanted to die.
It hit me about four months ago that I wasn't happy with my body, and that was really ground breaking for me to come to that conclusion. The freshman 15 is something that everyone in college has heard of, well for me, it wasn't 15 pounds heavier, but I had definitely put on some pounds. I learned that stress eating wasn't good for my waist line and beer/alcohol didn't help much either. Sugary snacks in my dorm room just added on calories, but never filled me up. Soda was my lifeline my freshman year, so cutting that excess sugar out of my system was hard. Don't get me wrong, I still eat and drink things that are not the best for me, but I do it in moderation now.
When you decide to exercise for you, everything falls into place. Like I said, all my life I had wanted to be that girl that could run and show off her hot body, but I never truly wanted it to be healthier—I just wanted the benefits of having the great body. When I actually put the effort in and did it simply for the desire of bettering myself, it made the running so much more worth it. I was exercising and eating right for me, not to impress others, and that made all the difference.
When you exercise you have to eat healthy, too. You can't go work out for two hours straight and then go eat a Big Mac from McDonald's and expect to lose weight. Being in the dorms and trying to overcome this is easier said than done (believe me, I tried). But once I moved into my apartment, bought my own groceries, made my own meals and avoided as much junk food as I can.
Get fit for yourself, not for the benefits. All I wanted out of exercising was to look good—not to feel good. Exercise to be healthy and eat right to be the best version of yourself. It really changes your perspective as to why you are putting all the hard work in. In order to really see the improvements in yourself, you have to want it. You have to want to work hard. You have to work for it.
I wanted to say I was a girl that was fit, but that doesn't have to be the case. You don't have to be the best runner or lift the heaviest weights. By simply trying, you're being the best you. Try running, or go to a cycling class—anything that makes you feel good and motivated!
You will see results and it will be because you did it for yourself by yourself.
