Boot camp fitness: Accepting progess

 

As the spring semester’s end draws near, it is a time for reflection of growth and progress over the last three months.

My journey into weight loss began on January 14, and in three months I have lost 21 pounds. I must admit that though I am excited for the loss, with 100 pounds to lose, I had hoped to shed more weight and gain more from the overall experience.

Don’t get me wrong, I am ecstatic for my loss, but this journey has become more than just numbers for me. Other areas I hoped to have improved upon during this time were my overall health and my stamina.

With that said, I have been more ill this semester than I have been all year. Just when I thought I was over an illness, a new one would suddenly appear.

I have had a cold, the flu, strep throat, a stomach virus, a sinus infection and swollen lymph nodes due to infection — all in a three-month span.

Because many of my illnesses involved respiratory issues, it was hard for me to keep up in boot camp fitness and in the gym. Due to my absences, I eventually had to drop the boot camp class.

I would make it to the gym maybe twice a week, but I honestly did not do more than walk 3 mph on the treadmill.

My diet has changed a little, but not drastically.

For the past month, I have developed a bad habit of only eating once a day.

My schedule — similar to that of most college students — has been so chaotic that I have had little time for breakfast or lunch. By dinner time I am so ravaged that I throw diet caution to the wind and grab the most appealing items on campus dining menus, which are never the healthiest available.

When I am at home, there is a little more structure. I have kept my promise of serving as a healthy example for my 5 year-old son. The menu at home usually consists of chicken, whole grains and fruits and vegetables. My son has developed quite the love for salads.

Because of my wavering commitment to workouts and dieting, I can only attribute my weight loss to being sick. There were many days where I was so sick that I could only hold down crackers and water.

Aside from losing the weight, the benefit I looked forward to the most was gaining my stamina back. Before having my son, I was a gym rat. Going to the gym was a daily routine. It was therapeutic, and it was my time.

After gaining so much weight, I really didn’t have the energy to work out. Before I set out on this journey, when I would go to the gym, I would never finish the routines I had planned.

I would program the treadmill, elliptical or stair-climber for 30 minutes each, but would sometimes give up within 15 minutes. I became so lazy.

I hate to admit, not much has changed. Sure, I have had several health excuses this semester, but I desperately hoped things would have changed by now.

So as I reflect over my journey the last three months, I am extremely grateful for the 21 pounds I have lost. I just wish that along with the weight loss, I would have seen an improvement in my overall health and an ability to keep up more in the gym.

This may be the end of the semester, but it is not the end of my journey. I will be back in the fall. I hope that this summer will grant me the ability to spend more time on myself and by the fall I will be closer to that 100-pound weight loss goal.

Pounds lost so far: 21Pounds to lose: 79