[Kelsey Haddock is a Health Fitness Specialist Major at East Carolina University and an Athletic Development Intern at Athletic Lab]

GoalI know what it feels like to wake up, look in the mirror and be completely ashamed of myself. How did I get like this? Why do I feel so uncomfortable in my clothes, or even more uncomfortable in a bathing suit? I’ve tried dieting before, in addition to running on the elliptical at the student recreation center, and I thought after a couple of days I should be seeing results. But what I failed to realize is that if it took months, or even years to put this weight on, its not going to just fall off in the matter of a couple days.

So, here I am, sitting on my bedroom floor, clothes are thrown everywhere. At this point I have given up on trying to dress myself in anything other than sweat pants and a t-shirt. The following day was New Years Eve and all I could think about was what am I going to wear? What will make me look slim? What will be comfortable?

I had enough.

The next day, I became one of those “New Year’s Resoultioners” who promised myself I was going to lose this weight. People laughed at that, and people doubted me. I started eating healthier, I found what foods I enjoyed and which foods I didn’t really care for. I joined a gym, but I never ventured off to any part of the facility other than the dark movie room that consisted of treadmills and ellipticals.
But things did start to change. I felt better, I had more energy, which led to me waking up earlier, and I no longer took 2-3 hour naps every day. I ate better, but I was no longer forcing myself to, it just became second nature. And finally, my clothes started to fit better! Two months later, I was 20lbs down. The month of May finally rolls around and I am happy to say I lost 45lbs. Finally! But here I am, I reached my goal and it wasn’t easy. It never became easier; I just became a stronger person with a stronger mindset, realizing I could actually do something that I really never thought I could do.

As the end of spring semester was approaching I became nervous; nervous because in a couple days I was about to have shoulder surgery to repair two tears and a damaged bicep tendon. I was scared; scared that I put all this hard work in and being unable to exercise for weeks would result in me gaining the weight I just lost. Here I am, doubting myself again, and boy was I wrong. One week after surgery you would have found me in my living room doing body weight squats and one-armed planks in my sling. My cardio consisted of taking my dog for really long walks on the Greenway, and yes walking a dog while in a sling is quite difficult.

A couple months after shoulder surgery, I still maintained my weight and all of the good healthy habits I adopted. But I was weak; I could barely lift my hair dryer to dry my hair every morning. I began to get excited, I learned to love challenges, I learned that I have the potential to anything I want to do with the understanding that you always have to start somewhere, and nine times out of ten you will be starting at the bottom.

This is when I began strength training. Every Monday-Wednesday-Friday I went to the gym with a friend of mine and we began a strength-training program. We motivated each other, we held each other accountable for showing up, and it was nice to have some one make you feel comfortable in such a male-dominant setting. Months later, I was stronger than I have ever been before. I stopped caring about the numbers on the scale, because I understood at this point I would be gaining muscle mass. So, I started judging my progress on how my clothes fit me. I now weight 10lbs more than I did before I began strength training, but I actually wear smaller clothes. I look back now, and it really is crazy to me how far I have come. And it really only took one thing to accomplish everything I have ever wanted, and that was the decision to try.

My first two years at East Carolina I struggled with deciding which career path I was going to take, what could I see myself doing for the rest of my life? Five months into my journey to become a “better me”, I knew exactly what I could see myself doing for the rest of my life. I could see myself helping other reach their health and fitness goals, I could see myself being that motivator someone needs, or educating others on things I wish I would have known. So, I would like to share a couple key elements that I believe are important in reaching your weight loss goal:

  1. Motivate yourself. DAILY. Write motivational quotes on a sticky note and stick it on your mirror. Listen to a song that pumps you up, first thing in the morning. Buy a pair of pants that you wish to eventually fit into. Or my personal favorite, browse the health and fitness tab on Pinterest. If it is cheesy, but it works for you, who cares
  2. Try new things. Don’t just run 2-miles everyday. You might see changes at first, but your body will adapt to your daily 2-mile run. Change up your work out routine, try something different, and discover what you enjoy and what you don’t really care for. This is one of the many reasons why I love the Performance Fitness classes that Athletic Lab offers, because we offer a new work out every single day.
  3. Surround yourself with people who have the same goals, or support your goals. It is best to avoid negativity, when you are trying to improve your health and fitness. Find a friend who wishes to lose weight, motivate one another, and hold each other accountable to show up for a work out.
  4. Set realistic goals. If it took you years to put on weight, you shouldn’t expect it to fall off in a matter of days, right? Set short-term goals, for example: I want to lose 5lbs in the next 3 weeks. At the end of those 3-weeks check your progress and set another goal.
  5. Balance your calories. In order to lose weight you need to have what is called a negative caloric balance, which means you are expending more calories than you are consuming. Keeping track of what you eat and drink in a given day can help you understand how many calories you are consuming, and it can also show how quickly those little snacks add up. Attend our upcoming nutrition seminar series that is taught by the Director of Healthy Living, Doretta Gaudreau. These classes will provide you take-home information regarding nutrition that you can implement immediately.
  6. Do it for yourself. No one else can want it more than you do. You are in full control of your body; no one can change it for you. Do it for the day that you can look back and say I did it, it was all me. I overcame my obstacles and all my hard work paid off.