2 Years Later

A little late on “transformation Tuesday,” so I guess we’re going with Happy Hump Day for this one. The picture on the left was 2 years ago. I was a long distance runner and I ran every single day. Most days I went to the gym and lifted, but my focus was always on running and cardio. I ran 5 half marathons when I went to UConn—I enjoyed running, but I wasn’t in love with it. I always felt like I was forcing myself to go for a run everyday, and I could tell my body was falling a part from it. Eventually I started lifting weights more and more and put less of a focus on running and cardio. Not only did I (slowly) start to see changes in my body, but I got a high from lifting like no other.

Now looking back, it’s crazy to see how much has changed. Going to the gym to lift is more than just a workout to me. Rather than being a chore like running was, lifting is my favorite part of the day and I always make sure I have plenty of time for it. Even though I’m in grad school, work almost everyday, and try to have a social life, I always make time for the gym because it’s “me time.” I do it for myself and nobody else.

But this post isn’t just about the progress I’ve made. Of course I think it’s amazing how far I’ve come—going from being afraid of a 45 lb barbell (literally...I thought it was so heavy whenever I picked it up) to deadlifting 245 pounds and benching over 100 lb is something I’m very proud of. I think sometimes we only think about our progress over the course of a couple weeks or months, which is a good thing to do especially to learn more about your body and how it changes… but sometimes we forget just how far we’ve come from the beginning. If we don’t see immediate changes, it’s easy to become negative. It’s important to look at both the small and big changes, especially because progress doesn’t happen overnight. When I think back on the past 2 years, I’ve come such a long way both mentality and physically. At one point all I was concerned with is burning calories and getting abs. I tracked my calories and only ate 1200-1300 calories/day, and I was so lean it was unhealthy. Now, I'm about 20 pounds heavier than I was 2 years ago. I feel bigger and I have my moments where I feel like I need to lose weight, but I've gained muscle and strength and I'm proud of it! We all have good days and bad days, but it’s all part of the process. The bad days—the days we feel weaker than usual, or something tests us mentality—is what helps us learn and grow stronger. This applies to anything in life. If we didn’t have bad times, we wouldn’t have anything to learn from. Think of it as a journey and remember to look at the beginning of it, where you are now, and remember there’s a whole road ahead of you to accomplish your goals. If you’re not happy with something then don’t settle…take action and make changes. And don’t be afraid to fail or make mistakes, it’s inevitable. In the end, it could lead to making some of the best decisions and accomplishments in your life. Taking chances is the best thing I've done for myself in the past 2 years, and I can't wait to continue doing so and see where my journey takes me.

 

It's also been just about 2 years since I started this blog! I haven’t been posting as consistently as I hoped to. I originally started my blog for fun, mostly to share my healthy recipes because people kept asking for them. Now that I’m almost done with my Master’s degree in Nutrition, I’m hoping to create a more “professional” website in the near future so I can continue to share my knowledge and experiences. Stay tuned!