Healthy, not sexy

In early 2016, I weighed the heaviest that I'd ever been. I was still far from being obese but I hated how being that heavy made me feel. I felt sluggish and lazy, my clothes were too tight, and, being in my early 40s, it made me worry that one of these days I'd find out that I already had hypertension or something. I desperately wanted to stay healthy and well for my family.

I didn't make myself any promises but I began by making little changes to my diet. 2 cups of rice became 1 cup and lesser, I avoided taking second helpings, started choosing fruits to snack on instead of bread, cut down on the 3-in-1 coffee (my guilty pleasure, sorry!), and drank more water. After we moved, I became more active since I had to do many things around the house by myself. In about two months, I noticed that I'd lost weight. From 67 kgs, I dropped down to 62. It made me feel inspired to lose some more to reach my target weight of 60 kgs.

To reach my target, I started going to zumba sessions during the weekends at the park near our house. Instead of taking the car, I chose to walk the kilometer or so distance. I also started doing hour-long walks through the hilly park in the afternoons, about 2 to 3 times per week, with my good friend Olga. By the time December came, I had reached my goal weight and felt so much better than I ever had in a long time.

Now that summer has rolled in and our schedules are a bit looser, my friend and I have decided to step it up a notch and transition from just walking to running. Another good friend of ours, who runs marathons, has been trying to convince us to train for a while now and we've decided to give it a go. Hopefully we'll be able to to a 5K run before summer ends.

I think it's a good thing that I focused on becoming healthier when I wanted to lose weight instead of focusing on how I was going to look afterwards. Thinking of good health helped me make choices that were good for my body and mind. I wasn't overly concerned about dropping the weight as fast as I could but instead I slowly learned to enjoy the journey, to appreciate the results of the work and dedication that I put in. So, cheers to a healthier me and here's to hoping that this becomes my lifestyle.

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