This is my in depth version of my fitness journey. The
shorter/summarized version of my story is in my first blog post here: http://www.catalystttfitness.com/2021/11/my-fitness-journey-how-i-became.html
As my
journey continues, I will be updating this page periodically.
It was 2019
and 42-year-old me was at the beginning of another diet overall mid-year. By mid-2020
the next year in the heart of the pandemic I had lost over 60lbs. To give some
perspective, I am writing the following verbiage for this page November 2021,
so it has been about a year now and I have been able to maintain that weight
loss ever since. Me! I somehow did that! I certainly thought after all these
years that it wouldn’t be possible. I was plagued by doubt like everyone else.
But of course, I didn’t let it stop me from trying. As a pre-teen, when the
weight began to creep up, no matter what I did to eat healthy, it was always
frustrating because no matter how hard I’d try, ultimately, I’d fail. When
reflecting back and knowing what I know now, I can clearly see why it didn’t
work. After researching and studying about macro nutrition and how nutrition
combined with good quality exercise actually work, I wish that I had known
because I know growing up my self-esteem and confidence suffered a lot because
of it. During my research, it turns out that I am not along in my ignorance.
About 80% of the population is obese among adults, not to mention the
statistics for teenagers. And as time progresses, it may not get better unless
we take the time to start learning and educating ourselves instead of utilizing
a quick fix through trendy diet fads. That was my downfall all though my 20s and
30s. It was all too easy to panic when my clothes stopped fitting and to jump
right into a fad diet that only worked for a couple of months. What I thought
was a failure when a diet seemed to stall and no more weight loss occurred was known
as a diet plateau.
What is a diet plateau? Why does it happen? What do you do to
overcome it? Up until recently, I knew nothing much about that. I just knew to
eat less and keep on moving. But this strategy, although theoretically it does
work, it is not maintainable over the long term. The 1st step in my fitness
journey was to gather information that was based upon fact and not trends or
hearsay. So, that was where the true start of my research began:
Healthy eating:
v
What does it look like?
v
How do you do you it to lose body fat without
starving or boredom setting in?
Exercise:
v
What does it look like?
v
How do you do it to lose body fat but in an
effective and efficient manner?
As I explored these topics, my search began to fine tune and it
started to become apparent that I needed to focus on topics relating to macro
nutrition and fat loss through muscle toning and resistance training. As my
research resulted in more quality answers that I could tangibility move forward
with, I also realized that I had to change my mindset and my way of thinking. I
had to embrace change, stop telling myself no and become fearless. Because when
you consistently tell yourself no, there is the answer each time. No one can
change that for you. You are the one that has to lift that heavy weight in
front of you or get past that roadblock yourself. And you can’t play it safe
and protect yourself from failure. You have to embrace it because you will fail
a few times before you get it right. I am living proof of that. This is when it
got better, and I started getting craftier with the situations that I thought
were a big problem or I couldn’t fix.
Can’t go to the gym?
v
I slowly bought equipment and did my exercises
at home.
Needed support?
v
I found an online community of other ladies
into fitness for that since everyone I knew around me either hated fitness,
were indifferent or didn’t have the time.
Didn’t know where to start the research?
v
I started online since the people closest to
me knew as much as I did. Although I had come across influencers that were
popular and spoke ad nausea about what to do and how to do it, I felt that the
information was conflicting, misleading, and inadequate in order to help me
make solid individual decisions that were healthy choices for the long term.
v
I conducted research online outside of social
media using keywords, terms, topics, and phrases such as:
Ø
Proper exercise regime (How does that look?)
Ø
Permanent weight loss strategies
Ø
Healthy eating for weight loss
Ø
How to avoid trendy dieting
Ø
How much veggies and fruits to eat per day?
Ø
The value of vitamins and multivitamins
Ø
I also began to watch fitness influencers that
were open and honest about their fitness journey.
I began to separate the trends from healthier lifestyle choices.
Once I got my answers and I got organized back in 2019, I felt confident and
ready to get back at it again. From late 2019 to June/July 2020, I never
stopped once. I kept on going because for once I actually knew a lot more about
what to do and how to do it. I was also not in a hurry either. I was willing to
do it even if it took a couple of years because I realized that it originally
took decades for me to put this weight on. I knew the only way to make a
difference this time was to avoid having a poor and unrealistic attitude like I
had in the past.
I got into a steady pattern with the weight loss. After a few
months in a strange way, I kind of forgot that I was on a diet. After five
months, I stopped trying on old clothes in my closet that were at the time too
tight. I was just more focused on a new way of living that felt better than the
past and it helped that I was more confident and knowledgeable about what I was
doing. I wasn’t blindingly following a diet that was not tailored to my needs
any longer. I was actively involved in my fitness journey in a healthier way
more than any time before and it was a beautiful thing to finally be a part of.
The process was enjoyable without conflicting with my lifestyle choices. By the
time June came around and I checked my weight and other measurements, all my
clothes became way too loose. I now perplexingly enough had the opposite
problem from being overweight! My clothes didn’t fit not because I was overweight
and steadily gaining but because I had lost some weight and then some leading
to all my clothes being too big! It was surreal to find out that on my journey
to losing the weight, I had missed the opportunity to wear clothes that I had
been saving to wear again when I lost the weight. I missed the opportunity to
wear those clothes again but for a different reason that I never saw coming.
Afterwards, what came next frightened me. I got really good at
weight loss and knew how to lose weight, but no one really talks about maintenance
mode once you reach your goal. We rush to get through the process of fat loss
without ever reaching our goal and then go back to trying to lose that weight
again. It took me some time to get use to not having my numbers decreasing
gradually anymore. And now that it has been about a year and instead of me
yo-yo dieting, my weight normally fluctuates 2-5 pounds periodically. The good
news is everyday it feels less and less odd that I am here, and it won’t
disappear. I took it one step at a time as you should too on your journey.
The one thing that always helped me stay on track through fat loss
and maintenance were my goals. There was always something to look forward to.
My goals during fat loss were to stop feeling tired from getting up off the
couch, getting rid of my back pain and to be able to take long walks every day.
Now that those goals are accomplished, one of my new goals is getting into
powerlifting for ladies. I now want a stronger body and to be able to lift my
own body weight one day. When I get there, I believe I will enjoy the beginning
of that journey.
For now, most recently (September 2021), I just wrapped up my
studies for my CPT certificate program and learned about nutrition and fitness.
I look forward to helping others on their fitness journey by providing my
training and coaching services online. I also would like to help others seeking to
become a CPT through online tutoring services as well. My journey is about giving back
to others every way possible so that they can succeed too as well.
Ready to start your journey? Continue to read my blog postings
where you’ll continue to learn a lot about nutrition and fitness and feel free
to contact me at any time so you can also…
Get Fit and Fire it up Superstar!™
In the meantime, please feel free to check out my website
and blog articles. Don’t be afraid to reach out to me and let me know what you
think! I’m always here for you when you need me to be!
Until next time… Keep it Fired up Superstar!™
Nadia
Matheson
Catalysttt
Fitness™
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