My Story
It was towards the end of my sophomore year of high school and I was on my way to the school gym to pick up the year book for this year. I did what any high school student does when they first get it…I started looked for pictures of myself. The first one I found was the standard school picture which matched my school ID. I then went to the team sport pages since I was on the soccer team. I looked through the JV Soccer Team photo and I didn’t see myself. This was confusing because I definitely took a team photo that year.
As I took a closer look at the photo, I realize I am in the photo. Maybe it was the angle or the lighting or something else but the photo did not match the picture I had of myself in my head. I was significantly heavier that I realized. I had always been built more like a football player than a soccer player but this photo made me look like I didn’t play any sports. I start feeling a wave of shame and embarrassment wash over me. I close the book and l started to walk home. I always knew I was a little chubby but getting hit with a dose of reality like that definitely didn’t help my confidence.
That photo help give me a bit of motivation to convince my mom to get me a gym membership. If you ask her, it may have been more on an incessant pestering but that is beside the point. I finally got my gym membership and started going purely because I wanted to look better. Being a cocky teenager who knows everything, I didn’t ask for help, read a book, or get a trainer. As a result, I wasted a lot of time and money trying to figure out what to do and making very little progress.
After the initial sprint out the gate where I was going to the gym almost every day, my consistency started to wane. I did continue going to the gym every now and then until I finished my senior soccer season. But at that point, I stopped going entirely. I honestly had seen very little progress in my appearance and I no longer had any sports to play so I basically said what’s the point. I essentially did no physical activity from November of my senior year in high school until the end of my freshman year of college.
I wasn’t happy with how I looked when I was playing soccer. Then get rid of all physical activity, provide all you can eat buffets for breakfast, lunch, and dinner at college and don’t forget about the alcohol. This makes for a perfect recipe for not being happy about how you look in photos.
At the end of my freshman year of college, I was not happy. My clothing didn’t fit right, I was tired all the time, and had very little self-confidence. That summer I found a workout routine online and started following it religiously. The bodybuilding style routine resulted in me seeing a fair amount of improvement compared to no physical activity but it did make me become a consistent gym goer because it had a structured routine and I didn’t have to think whether I was going to go to the gym or what I need to do when I got. I just had to follow the plan and trust the process.
My path forward was not a straight line, I had lots of ups and downs. But since the summer after my freshman year of college I have been going to the gym consistently. I started going to the gym purely for vanity reasons. As I have gotten older, I realize the health benefits both mentally and physically. The mental benefits are actually the primary reason I go to the gym as consistently as I do.
Looking better was what I thought was my reason I went to gym. But over the years, I have realized that I am someone who has to constantly have some sort of challenge. The gym gives you an unlimited number of ways to challenge yourself to be better. The feeling I get after finishing a challenging workout where I know I am making myself better is why I keep going to the gym.
As I look back on that yearbook photo of my JV Soccer Team, despite how it made me feel really crappy at the time, I am quite glad that it happened to me. I would not be where I am today if I had not gone through that situation.
Your Story
You are starting to build some momentum. You’re energized and feeling great about taking the steps towards improving your health and fitness. Continue using the excitement as long as it is there. But like me, the excitement will wane along the way. The newness of these steps will eventually start to wear off and you will need to find something else to keep moving forward. No need to ask yourself the following questions. Write down the answer before looking at the next question (no cheating).
1. Why do you want to improve your health and fitness?
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2. Why was that your answer to Question #1?
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3. Why was that your answer to Question #2?
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4. Why was that your answer to Question #3?
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4. Why was that your answer to Question #4?
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It might be really challenging to answer these questions but you will come up with the answers over time. Put your last answer in the comment section below? It will help you and other become a fitter, healthier, and happier person.