Reader Contribution – Ariana’s Story

One of our readers – Ariana – sent in her story “reflection on weight loss and life”. It’s a great read – thanks for sharing with us Ariana!

In high school I was never very active but I was always strong. I weighed 150lbs from grade 9 until graduation when I went up to 160. When life got difficult (my three year high school relationship ended, I couldn’t decide what to do with my life, my mom went bankrupt) I gained 10 pounds. When I got a job I started exercising and started losing weight. I never really looked at how diet affects weight so it wasn’t a fast process but I got down to 130lbs.

When I got my very first office job that’s when things went downhill. I had moved to my own apartment, stopped running and kept up the drinking. I gained my weight back. I tried weight watchers but I found I liked food and alcohol too much and didn’t have any motivation to get going.

In March 2009 my fiancé and I sold our condo and decided to try and start a different life. No more suburbs! We wanted to get outdoors and have a life with less stress. We moved to North Van and I joined a gym with a personal trainer. He wasn’t the right fit for me but he did help me get started on my road to weight loss. In three months of training three times a week and eating nothing but eggs, lettuce and plain chicken I lost 10 pounds of fat and 5 pounds of muscle gained. My BMI went from “Obese” to “Over weight”. I started at a BMI of 37% and went down to 32%. Woohoo!

In September I joined a different gym with my friend and co-worker Stacey. She had had great results with her trainer (she lost 134lbs) so I thought I’d give a trainer another go. We did partner sessions which I found to be more motivating than the one on one. It had a more competitive edge to it. In 4 months of training with Stacey I lost another 10 pounds which got me down to 145.

In December we moved again (didI mention I’m also getting married?) and my workouts have suffered immensely. I’m eating large portions of bad food and I can’t seem to stop my sugar cravings. I’m currently hovering at 142 and I’m looking at losing 12 to 15 more pounds. I want to tone up to be in the best shape of my life but how I’m going to get there I have no idea.

So how does weight loss co-exist with life? It’s not easy, but I’m giving it all I have. The most important thing I’ve learned is that weight loss starts with me and I have to make it a priority each and every day. It never gets easy but it gets more enjoyable. I’ve learned to stay away refined sugar, it leads to negative cravings! I’m trying to come up with new lunch and dinner ideas that are both nutritious and healthy, not just low in calories which is a little bit harder to do than you’d expect. I have a support system, albeit a little lopsided sometimes, but it’s there for me, and I have me, my biggest cheerleader pushing me along this bumpy road.