I have lost a “few pounds” many times in my life. But I could never stick to a diet for very long and could never keep off the few pounds that I managed to lose.
In hindsight, I see that in order for me to lose the weight that I did, and in order for me to keep it off, I had to learn to how to exercise. I had to get physically healthy first before I could get mentally healthy and address my eating issues.
My lifestyle change began in January of 2006 while eating a Whopper at Burger King. A friend of mine had given me the number of a personal trainer who was really affordable. Little did I know that that phone call would change my life as I knew it forever.
And I don’t think that my trainer, Jameel, knew that each push-up, lunge, sit-up and squat that we did together was going to completely transform more than just my body. I am forever grateful to Jameel for teaching me how to exercise and for the gifts of health and strength that I have a gotten as a result of his lessons.
I definitely didn’t go into working out with Jameel for the long term. I never went into anything for the long term. I was hoping that this would be the quick fix that I was always searching for. I always wanted to figure out how to drop 50 pounds in a week, by eating a lot of whatever I wanted. FYI, I have proven through many attempts that it is impossible to lose 50 lbs in a week, and one cannot lose weight eating however much they want. You can, however, lose weight eating whatever you want, in controlled portions.
By teaching me how to work out effectively, Jameel not only gave me the tools to begin transforming my body, he also unknowingly gave me many of the things that I had been lacking in my life. When I started to see myself getting physically stronger, I started to feel an amazing sense of personal accomplishment that I had never felt before. This sense of personal accomplishment gave me real tangible self-esteem. No one was trying to convince me to feel good about my successes in the gym, I was feeling good about my own triumphs as I continued to kick my own butt with Jameel’s help and guidance.
As I looked in the mirror at the gym and began to see definition in my arms and waist, I started to want to become more responsible and better to my body -- in terms of what I ate, how much I ate, and how often I exercised. The better I treated myself physically, the better I felt mentally and the happier I became, which in turn made me think that after years of being unhappy with my weight and appearance, why would I ever want to lose this feeling and go back to the way that I was?
I never thought, two and a half years ago, that working out would become something I love to do. Who knew that this girl, who couldn’t run for three city blocks without feeling like she was going to die, would love the smell of a sweaty gym, the sound of my own grunt and the grunts of others while lifting weights, and the feeling of beads of sweat running down my body as I pushed myself a little bit further and a little bit harder.
Who knew that I would find peace and serenity at the gym and learn to enjoy valuable time with myself, my iPod and the treadmill? I have learned how to take time to care for myself by sitting in the steam room. I have learned how to start my day off right by rising early and hitting the gym, before everything gets hectic and I lose myself in the NYC chaos. Working out has taught me how to be responsible, dedicated, and committed -- and how to pick myself back up again when I fall off the beam. And I have taken what I have learned at the gym and applied it to others area of my life.
Most importantly, working out and exercise has given me the opportunity to look in the mirror and begin to get comfortable with the imperfect, human woman that I am. Most days I can look in the mirror and really like and feel proud of the strong, healthy and capable woman that I have become, on the inside and out.
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In hindsight, I see that in order for me to lose the weight that I did, and in order for me to keep it off, I had to learn to how to exercise. I had to get physically healthy first before I could get mentally healthy and address my eating issues.
My lifestyle change began in January of 2006 while eating a Whopper at Burger King. A friend of mine had given me the number of a personal trainer who was really affordable. Little did I know that that phone call would change my life as I knew it forever.
And I don’t think that my trainer, Jameel, knew that each push-up, lunge, sit-up and squat that we did together was going to completely transform more than just my body. I am forever grateful to Jameel for teaching me how to exercise and for the gifts of health and strength that I have a gotten as a result of his lessons.
I definitely didn’t go into working out with Jameel for the long term. I never went into anything for the long term. I was hoping that this would be the quick fix that I was always searching for. I always wanted to figure out how to drop 50 pounds in a week, by eating a lot of whatever I wanted. FYI, I have proven through many attempts that it is impossible to lose 50 lbs in a week, and one cannot lose weight eating however much they want. You can, however, lose weight eating whatever you want, in controlled portions.
By teaching me how to work out effectively, Jameel not only gave me the tools to begin transforming my body, he also unknowingly gave me many of the things that I had been lacking in my life. When I started to see myself getting physically stronger, I started to feel an amazing sense of personal accomplishment that I had never felt before. This sense of personal accomplishment gave me real tangible self-esteem. No one was trying to convince me to feel good about my successes in the gym, I was feeling good about my own triumphs as I continued to kick my own butt with Jameel’s help and guidance.
As I looked in the mirror at the gym and began to see definition in my arms and waist, I started to want to become more responsible and better to my body -- in terms of what I ate, how much I ate, and how often I exercised. The better I treated myself physically, the better I felt mentally and the happier I became, which in turn made me think that after years of being unhappy with my weight and appearance, why would I ever want to lose this feeling and go back to the way that I was?
I never thought, two and a half years ago, that working out would become something I love to do. Who knew that this girl, who couldn’t run for three city blocks without feeling like she was going to die, would love the smell of a sweaty gym, the sound of my own grunt and the grunts of others while lifting weights, and the feeling of beads of sweat running down my body as I pushed myself a little bit further and a little bit harder.
Who knew that I would find peace and serenity at the gym and learn to enjoy valuable time with myself, my iPod and the treadmill? I have learned how to take time to care for myself by sitting in the steam room. I have learned how to start my day off right by rising early and hitting the gym, before everything gets hectic and I lose myself in the NYC chaos. Working out has taught me how to be responsible, dedicated, and committed -- and how to pick myself back up again when I fall off the beam. And I have taken what I have learned at the gym and applied it to others area of my life.
Most importantly, working out and exercise has given me the opportunity to look in the mirror and begin to get comfortable with the imperfect, human woman that I am. Most days I can look in the mirror and really like and feel proud of the strong, healthy and capable woman that I have become, on the inside and out.
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Micaela was born and raised in New York City. She has always loved to write and has been doing it all her life. In 2006, Micaela embarked on a 50-pound weight loss journey and lifestyle change. Currently maintaining that weight loss, she makes it a point to be the best person that she can be every day. In her spare time she enjoys hiking, running, people watching, time with family and friends, reading and giving back to her community.
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