Why You Actually CAN Lose Weight

According to the CDC, 39.8% of Americans over the age of 20 are considered obese and 31.8% are overweight making the total American population overweight or obese 71.6%. This number is overwhelming and so are the feelings associated with this number. Some personal feelings associated with being obese were hopelessness because you just don’t know where to begin and you don’t know how to change. Anger at yourself for getting to such a point. Fear of things never changing and remaining the same. Defeat because it’s just easier to stay this way. Frustration because you’ve tried all the yo-yo diets and fab just to give up because you’re hungry and who can live with so little food. You want to enjoy life, and if being healthy to you means never eating, then forget it. Disgust because you don’t even recognize this person in the mirror. The overall mental and emotional stress of being overweight is draining.

But you’re determined to start again so you sign up for a gym membership and vow to not quit this time. Things will be different. You head to the gym where you are surrounded by people who look like they belong in a gym and the voices in your head grow louder (“What are you doing here?!”), but you decided to stay out of fear. You just know everyone is staring you down anyway wondering why you’re here silently judging you, because silently, you are judging yourself. You walk around looking for a machine you know how to use so you don’t look stupid trying to figure it out. After 5-10 minutes you have wandered over to the cardio area and find an elliptical or treadmill a few machines away from anyone while you watch a rerun of M.A.S.H., SportsCenter, or some cooking show. You spend maybe 45 minutes total in the gym and most of that asking yourself why you are even here and no one will notice if you don’t come back tomorrow.

You have no idea where to begin with food so you try all the yo-yo diets you read about on social media or from your friends. You’ve bought the “it really works wraps,” fat burner pills, and slim shakes hoping to jump start your weight loss. After all, they have tons of success stories. Why not you? But somewhere in the back of your mind you know it doesn’t work, but praying to God it will help you feel better about your situation. Nutrition is a word thrown around, but seldom really understood. What is it? What does it look like? How are you ever doing to get this right if you have no idea where to begin?

If this hits home for you, then welcome to my world before joining CrossFit. This was me! I know all too well the feelings of despair and frustration that are constantly with you. The good news is that there is a REAL solution. Is it easy? No, if it were then 71.6% of our current population wouldn’t be overweight or obese. Here’s the truth: It’s not supposed to be easy. I didn’t wake up overweight one morning or by eating just one double super sonic cheeseburger. It was a childhood of ignorance and several years of little choices as an adult that added up.

It took learning about nutrition and then applying what I learned into my everyday life. I had to realize that although that individual pack of cheez-its only had 19g of carbs, it wasn’t going to fuel my body and allow me to feel full. I had to learn what a carbohydrate was to be honest. I thought eating fruits and veggies was enough. I had to make the tough decision not to eat out of boredom. I had to learn not to be afraid of eating REAL food because I could eat real food and still lose weight. I had to apply what I learned and put it into practice.

I had to ditch the fake gym membership and join a gym that would challenge me, support me, push me, encourage me, and most of all love me. I needed a gym that wouldn’t let me stop because it got hard in a workout. A gym that when the workout was posted and I said to myself “I’ll just skip tomorrow because I can’t do any of that” I heard a voice saying everything is modifiable. Have I cried in a workout? Yes, and more than once! Have I left a sweaty outline of myself on the mats after the clock sounded? Every time I go! Have I wanted to quit in the middle of a workout? Yes, a dozen times or more! It challenges me every time I walk through the bay doors and that’s what it’s about! Every time I do something new I couldn’t do before, I celebrate internally. Every time a moment is achieved I silently repeat to myself “I’m doing it. I’m really doing this!” Over the years, those negative feelings have been replaced with positive ones. To be honest, I still struggle with making the right nutrition choices and I get frustrated with the challenging movements at the gym, but I know that with consistency, I will master them and so will you. The challenge keeps me coming back. Thoughts like today’s the day, I’ll get a bar muscle up, string double unders together, or PR a movement keep me going. These thoughts fuel the desire to be great and drown out any negative thoughts of quitting because I’ve come too far to stop now.

In essence, in order to see a change, what you do should challenge you. You don’t have to be perfect, but you need to be consistent. You need to be consistent with your nutrition and exercise. Don’t skip the hard days. Don’t make excuses why you can’t show up. Don’t let fear or ego keep you from reaching your goals. We need to understand that progress is progress no matter how small. Celebrate it all! Show up and let someone love on you today.

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To learn more about how you can FINALLY change your lifestyle and see the results you’ve so long desired and to have the confidence that you deserve, schedule a no-sweat intro with us here.




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