(Image from Pinterest)
Before the age of 21 the closest thing I got to working out was running for the bus. At school I would fake injuries or simply skive off P.E/gym class. The few times I was forced into playing sport I always opted for fielding, which in my eyes just meant hanging out the back talking to my friends. At uni I was more interested in drinking and dancing into the wee hours, and the one time I did go to a ‘yogalates’ (yoga/pilates hybrid class) I spent the rest of the afternoon sleeping my lectures away. I was so underweight that I was terrified that working out would make me even skinnier, and so I ate my boxes of chocolate and drank my Complan, hoping it would stop people asking me if I had an eating disorder (I did not – I just could not put weight on).
After that, I was on a medication that made me go up five dress sizes. In six months. I kid you not. My relationship with my body was ruined and I hated my reflection. I ate to make me feel better about myself and then felt worse for eating! It was a horrible vicious cycle, where I would spend an hour on the treadmill, eat 200g of chocolate and then wonder why I wasn’t losing weight! My eating habits were tangled up with my emotions and I was completely out of tune with my body cues, especially hunger. My exercise regime basically consisted of cardio, and my workouts never got me any closer to my ‘dream body’. I will be posting about this stage of my life in more detail in the near future, as my experiences have made me very passionate about body image and healthy living.
Flash forward to six years later and I generally aim to work out ten hours a week. I try and practice Ashtanga yoga six times a week, and also do HIIT, lifting and blogilates videos. Exercise brings me sanity, peace of mind; a sense of power and strength. Whenever I have a rest week I count down the seconds until I can train again. I weigh an amount that is good for me, and I look and feel better than I have done my whole life. I am more at peace with my eating than I have ever been, and follow a mostly Paleo diet.
Six years may sound like a long time, but the most significant chunk of that has been the last two years. I was always put off by the idea of yoga, thinking it was “too slow” compared with my beloved cardio, but once I started my whole life changed (again, more on that soon!). I also began taking pole dancing classes, which were swiftly supplemented with weight training to build up my strength. It has been these last couple of years that I have really began to educate myself about health, nutrition and fitness, and I find it so fascinating!
That is my story so far. In the next few years I hope to increase my knowledge even further, and use what I have learned to help others through similar difficulties.
Are you interested in fitness and nutrition? What got you hooked?
Tali xxx