Notice I said "the last time." Yes, I've been around the weight loss block more times than I care to recall, and though I achieved the most success the last time I went on a health kick (I lost 92 lbs), let's just say I don't look like that pic on the right anymore. Thankfully, I don't look like the woman on the left either, but as I face my weight (re)gain over the past year, I can admit that with all my success, I did some things wrong as well.
I was more accountable to my trainer than myself. Having a personal trainer completely changed the weight loss game for me, primarily because of the level of accountability. My first trainer was on me constantly, and most times I did what I was supposed to do because I didn't want to disappoint him during weigh-ins. But I should have been just as concerned with disappointing myself after I didn't have anyone encouraging me and making me workout. I failed to be accountable to myself and let pound after pound slip by without acknowledging I was letting my own self down.
I didn't have a post-trainer plan. I knew training wouldn't last forever (who can afford that?), but I didn't have a game plan for continuing to lose weight or at least maintaining the results I achieved when it was over. My last day of training came and went and it was as if I'd never stepped foot on a treadmill a week later. I was totally lost as to what to do next, and quickly slipped back into a lazy lifestyle.
I didn't stick with the things I loved. When I finally got to a point of trying to continue my weight loss journey on my own, I signed up for New York Sports Club because the location was convenient and the price affordable. I knew the moment I signed the contract, NYSC wasn't where I wanted to be -- the classes sucked, it was always packed, and I get bored of ellipticals and treadmills 15 minutes in. What I should've done was find a boxing gym immediately and a place to take Zumba classes regularly, those were the activities I loved and that brought me success.
I never got to a point where I was totally confident in how I looked. When I look at pictures of myself at my lowest weight, I think I'm crazy to have not been content with my progress, but during the time all I could think about was how much I still hated my stomach and how I wanted to get to a specific goal weight. Eventually, I got tired of always working toward something and feeling like I'd never achieve the body I wanted and so I completely rebelled against the process, and reverted my results.
I was a little too stringent. Like having a personal trainer, measuring everything I consumed was a huge part of my weight loss success. And though I'm now more aware of portion size and calories, I also tired of measuring and prepping all the time and never got to the point of just cooking a healthy meal naturally because it's good for me and not because it was the right amount of calories.
I let shit go too far. Once i gained back 20 pounds i should've set my own ass straight but, honestly, I kept lying to myself. "You still look good," I'd say, which I did. However, my focus shouldn't have been on how I could still be cute with a little more meat on me again, it should've been "You look good but you can look and feel even better by not letting all of your hard work go to waste."