blog

Starting Out With Exercise – A Personal Story

“Who was that woman in the photos?”

2 years ago, I looked at a photo from my holidays and was shocked when I saw myself.  I had been dieting on and off for years, but it was clear it hadn’t worked.

Who was that woman in the photos? What I saw didn’t match the picture of myself I had in my head.

I realised I had been messing with my body by yo-yo dieting and needed to get back to proper eating and – more importantly – to start exercising so that my messed-up metabolism would start working again.

Getting back into exercise.

First thing I did was find a friend to come along with me.  I knew that having them book in to classes at the same time as me would help me stay on track.

I was so nervous before my first session. What would everyone think of this big flabby woman? Would I be able to do everything? Anything? Would I be able to keep up?

It was hard. But not as hard as I thought it would be.

The trainer scaled the exercises to account for my fitness level. I walked 4 laps of the circuit while everyone else ran 6.  I only did 10 repeats when everyone else did 15.

I started with the lowest weights and was taught to focus on the right techniques.  Every exercise had to be explained to me and some of them I’d never heard of.

What was a burpee?  I thought it was something my son did when he had too much milk! But, I felt so proud of myself when I’d finished. My legs felt like jelly and I was beetroot-coloured, but I’d done it.

After my first session, I was so sore and so tired!

Nothing prepared me for how sore I would be after that first session. And how tired.  By lunchtime that first day I felt like I needed a nap. And by the evening my legs were starting to ache, and it would only get worse for the next 2 days.

I had to haul myself up the stairs because my legs wouldn’t bend properly without it being agonising. At one point I had to fall forward off the toilet as I just couldn’t get off because it hurt so much.

I took 1 day off (where the soreness got even worse) and then my friend and I went back.

But it faded and I began to feel proud of myself.

At the start of that next session, It hurt. A lot. My legs were burning and even a simple squat was agony. But as we warmed up the pain started to ease, and I made it through another session even prouder of myself.

By the third session, the soreness was pretty much gone, and some other interesting things had started to happen.  I felt SO MUCH BETTER about myself. I found myself smiling and feeling much more positive about my situation.

I felt GOOD.  I started sleeping better too. And waking up in the morning wanting to get out of bed.

After 2 weeks of going 3 times a week I stepped on the scales and saw I had lost a kilo. It doesn’t sound like much, but it was huge to me. I was doing something for myself, I could do something that would make a difference.

Already the soreness had gone, and I was finding exercises like squats and push ups easier to do.  Even the dreaded burpees were not so dreadful.

Then I began to see changes!

It was probably a month after I started that people started to comment.  I was already noticing my clothes were looser and the improvement in my overall mood. But then a couple of school mums mentioned how healthy I was looking I knew it was really working. By then I had lost 4kg and 8cm from around my waist.

I wanted to be healthy. I didn’t want to go back to how I was before.  I started eating better and training 4 times a week, even if my friend wasn’t going, and things just got better and better.

My trainer worked with me to push myself harder and I really started to see how much I was improving at the exercises and feeling more confident in every part of my life.  I glowed!

Before I knew it I had changed myself and changed my life

So, I kept on going.  I keep on going.  I lost over 20kg in that first year and another 5kg last year.  It was when I went to IKEA and single-handed loaded my own car with 6 flat pack bookcases that it really hit me. I had changed myself and changed my life.

Not to mention the fact that last year I was even able to do something I never expected of myself – run the Blackmores Half Marathon!

It’s not all easy and it does hurt – especially in the beginning. But that doesn’t last, and the benefits of exercising are worth it in the long run.  More energy, better sleep, improved mood and better able to handle the stresses of life. And confidence – buckets loads!

See you at the park!

It is never too late to begin your own journey!

Inspired by reading Vicky’s story? It is never too late to start exercising, Live Life Get Active is a free, non-intimidating environment that caters to all skill and fitness levels. We have people of all ages, sizes and background come together daily to get healthier!

If you would like to start getting healthier and feeling happier, than book in for a class today. You can search for your nearest Live Life Get Active location – here.

Live Life Get Active is building a fitter, healthier and happier Australia and we want people to have fun along the way. With the help of Local Government and Corporate Australia we provide FREE health, fitness and nutritional education both online and in the parks, suburbs and cities of Australia.