A New Path

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REAL LIFE

My athletic swim career ended after I completed my senior year of high school.

I decided to hang up my cap and goggles and shift my focus to things that were more important.

I never really got to enjoy my free time because there wasn’t much of it and when I did have free time I just wanted to relax. I really wanted to focus more on what I wanted to do in life and be able to spend quality time with friends and family.

Life is so precious and I found myself missing out on things that were big parts of loved ones lives.

Of course, when I stopped swimming, I was no longer capable of consuming all of the calories that I used to because the calories weren’t getting burnt off through 2 practices a day anymore. Being a broke college girl, I was always eating off of the $1 menu at McDonalds or splurging at Chickfila. I never made time to go to the gym, instead I made time to go to the bars. I also found myself to be a lot less happy than I was when I was swimming on a regular basis which is the opposite of what I was expecting.

One day, I jumped on the scale and saw that I had gained 20 pounds. I was in disbelief.

Right then and there I knew that I had to start taking care of myself again.

FOR ANYONE WHO HAS LOST THEMSELVES

Before I knew how much weight I had gained, I recognized that the confidence I once had about my body was no longer present. I knew I wasn’t happy but I didn’t understand why until I saw the scale.

I had lost myself.

Before I did anything, I wrote down goals that I had for myself. Things that I wanted to start doing. A schedule that I wanted to start following. I needed a routine again

Personally, writing things down helps me get things done. Not only does it force me to speak it but also write it and then check it off.

I taped the goals I had written down for myself on my mirror that way when I woke up in the mornings, I was reminded and there would be no excuses.

I logged my workout on a daily basis making sure that I made it to the gym at least 5 days a week.

The most important thing I did was clean up my eating and drink a whole lot of water. My skin cleared up and I felt as though my life and body was cleansed. Like I mentioned earlier, I learned how to meal prep at a very young age so I started portioning out my meals and eating a lot less preservatives.

If you find yourself living an unhealthy life, please make the changes to become a better you.

Exercising is proven to reduce stress, improve sleep, boost self-esteem, and ward off anxiety and feelings of depression.

So if you find yourself to be unhappy, the easiest thing you could do would be to exercise.