Weight Loss: My "Why"

I'm glad you stopped by. A weight loss journey is something that can be both exciting and daunting at the same time. The starting line for everyone's weight loss journey is fueled by their "why". As in why am I doing this? Why am I motivated to make these changes? 

Welcome to my passion project, my online space where I share all things life. After a few unfocused yet still-failed attempts at increasing my fitness activities and shedding some pesky extra weight I decided to incorporate fitness as a component here on my blog. I hope it will hold me more accountable since it's out there for the world to see. So what is my "why" you ask? Have a seat -- let's get to know each other.

As Julie Andrews said in The Sound of Music, "Let's start at the very beginning. A very good place to start." 


My weight gain did not start until "later" in life. I was a skinny and super active kid. I started out with tumble tots classes at a local gym. I loved rolling around and spinning and the instructor recommended that my parents enroll me at a gymnastics facility. They did and I started taking gymnastics classes around 3 or 4 years old. Around the age of five they had me try soccer -- but I only lasted five seconds before I decided it was not for me. I was way more into gymnastics and ended up competing junior Olympic artistic gymnastics for over a decade. I even went to a sleepover gymnastics camp for a few summers. To this day those are some of my favorite memories. I absolutely loved competing gymnastics and I competed in meets in-state, out-of-state, and out-of-the-country.

When I entered high school things my priorities changed a bit. Rather than spend 20+ hours in the gym during the week, I wanted to be more like my friends who were going to movies, hanging out, and talking about boys. I retired from gymnastics and joined the school's cheerleading squad.

I also started competing in track and field, specializing in sprints and hurdles because I guess I really liked running full speed at stationary objects and jumping over them? My favorite event was the 100 meter hurdle.

I also tried discus and high jump but I was not very good at those events soooo...

After high school I joined a four year college where I stopped all formal sports. I still managed to stay pretty fit and active and I enjoyed recreational running and going to the campus gym with my new college friends. I even ran two color runs with my sister.

My college buddies also enjoyed staying active. We would go to the college gym before dinner some days and on the weekends. We also enjoyed volleyball when the weather was nice.

And we would do random things like learn the Michael Jackson Thriller dance and try acro yoga poses (that's me on the bottom) in our cramped dorms. 

My weight stayed consistent during college and, because I had been slender all my life, I didn't bother to worry about it. I ate whatever I wanted and didn't pay it any attention.

Undergrad on the left. Law school on the right.
You can see the weight gain in my face.

After graduating college I continued to law school, where my focus on fitness became...unstable at best. Some days I would spend an hour at the gym. Other days I would jog around my apartment complex and the neighborhood next door or walk over to the state park to run the trails. But then there were days where I spent all my time preparing for class and studying in the library so working out was the last thing on my mind. Those days happened more and more frequently and by the time I graduated and was preparing for the bar exam in 2015 I had gained probably 15 pounds. Unfortunately, since then I probably gained 20 more! Ugh.

Now I am an attorney by day. So, my job is a desk job. And while I may shuffle between courthouses, law firms, client meetings, and around my office, I spend the majority of my time sitting stationary at my computer. Not exactly the best-case-scenario for incinerating those calories or keeping up that metabolism, you know? 

What have I done most recently? I completed the Tough Mudder Half in 2018.

So my "why" is to reignite and get back to the level of fitness I had when I was in college and law school. My plan is to not focus or obsess over it too much -- I want it to be enjoyable. I started incorporating fitness into this site as a personal challenge, a way to keep myself accountable, and a way to share progress (or lack of progress). Either way, I hope that you'll join me to follow along, offer advice and tips, and maybe even share a bit of your own journey. Where we go from here is anyone's guess!