It’s the Fall semester of my junior year and I have vowed to yet again work on my weight loss.
Just to fill you in on what you’ve missed in the past year or so: it’s been quite a cycle of gaining three-ish pounds over the course of a few months and then working to lose it again.
Admittedly, this is because I have not been as focused as I was when I first began my weight loss journey in my freshman year. I’m not going to list out all the emotionally taxing reasons for this because that’s for another post.
This school year, I am determined to reach my weight goal of 125 lbs. I am currently at 143 lbs and I have already lost around 11 lbs since the summer (please don’t ask, it was a bit of a lazy time).
I’ve been sweating it out at the gym and controlling my diet more consistently; overall, I feel pretty good except sometimes when the numbers on the scale don’t move ashdfhee.
If you’re someone who’s been meaning to achieve similar things for yourself, here are a few things you need to know:
Waiting for the New Year doesn’t make sense.
The only difference between starting now and on New Year’s is that there’s less competition for equipment now. Think about it: many more people attempt to make lifestyle changes in January because it feels more “official” or “celebratory”.
What happens is that there’s wayyy too many of us at the gym, which makes trying to snatch that elliptical nearly impossible.
Plus, if you’re someone who prefers to not be around too many people when you work out, January really isn’t the best time to start because it might just discourage you from going. Start the habit earlier so you’re less likely to get disheartened later!
If you really want to take care of yourself, you don’t need to wait such a long time before you start! What are you gonna do until then?!
You’re probably not even that busy.
I know I’m saying this as though I’m the best at budgeting my time (spoiler alert: I’m not), but hear me out.
How many times in the day do you find yourself mindlessly (or mindfully, I guess I shouldn’t assume) watching Youtube videos? How about binge-ing shows at night? How about chit-chatting with friends about tHe lAtEsT tEa? Or even just laying in bed on your phone?
If you spend too much time on any or all of these things, you have a problem, and you most definitely have more time than you think. It’s just a matter of managing it better.
You can easily commit a few hours every week to taking care of yourself beyond the “relaxing in bed” kind.
You really don’t have to go to the gym every day (but you can if you’re looking to lose weight)!
Apparently, doing 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week is the minimum, which doesn’t sound too bad, does it? That’s only around eight episodes of your favorite sit-com – which you can totally watch while you’re on the treadmill!
Claim the health benefits sooner.
This is probably the most important point. Being active is commonly associated with better health. This sounds like a big duh, and it probably is, but it doesn’t hurt to keep repeating it.
Instead of writing out the health benefits of exercising, I’ve made this little infographic for you based on things I’ve read from this Mayo Clinic article!
It should be known that while this post keeps encouraging you to go to the gym, it’s mostly the becoming more active part that I want to stress.
You can, of course, exercise without going to the gym through running/jogging outdoors or doing workouts in your room. This post is mostly for college students like me who have access to their school gyms and keep putting off going there.
I’m not really the best at being faithful to my workout schedule, but I always try my best and I have definitely enjoyed the very positive results! So really, start today and see yours sooner!
Ferna’s interests include blogging, reading and learning all things digital media! She hopes to soon become a half-decent baker.
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