Before I can answer why I started to work out, you must know my past. I had gained over 60 pounds with each of my pregnancies. I felt huge. I had stretch marks and the scale was rising to numbers I thought I’d never see.
I was 38 weeks pregnant with my second child (14 August 2013), it was the last day I would be pregnant and 196 lbs. I lost about 30 lbs the first week after my daughter was born. I worked full time and never got back into fitness.
It wasn’t until July 2015, that I found Kayla Itsines BBG program. If you haven’t heard of it yet, it stands for Bikini Body Guide. Her guides are a 12-week program consisting of high-intensity 28-minute workouts to be completed three times a week. I completed my first round by September 2015. I had lost about 20lbs and gained a bit more confidence.
It wasn’t until after January 2016 that I started to really get into weight lifting. Every day after work I would spend 1.5 hours at the gym. I was lifting weights and doing things I never thought my body would do. At this point, I was working out twice a day. Doing BBG in the morning and lifting weights or yoga in the evenings. It felt amazing. My results seemed unreal. I was shedding weight and gaining muscle.
I hit a few bumps in the road, it wasn’t always easy. I overate or I didn’t eat. I would “punish” myself for eating a treat. I wasn’t confident in myself that I could bake the cake and eat it too. It took all of 2016 and half of 2017 until I gained more confidence. I had weighed in at the lowest 128 lbs and I felt fabulous.
I had joined Kayla’s SWEAT program for the 
first 12 weeks of the new year and had felt the leanest I’d ever felt. I was in love with my exterior. I finally got the body I had worked so hard to achieve. Yet, something was missing. I may have looked amazing but I didn’t feel amazing. I worked so hard, twice a day, to achieve this body. Gallons of water to drink and nothing but healthy food for 12 weeks.
It wasn’t until late 2017 that I realized I am happiest when I have self-love. I needed to love myself from the inside. It is a LOT harder to do than it is to say. I realized that looking lean wasn’t making me happy. I became happy when I found self-love and body positivity. It wasn’t until I found self-love that I realized I can eat guilt-free. I can definitely make my cake and eat it too. I never over-indulged but I did treat myself once or twice a week to some cookies or pizza. I gained a few lbs back but I never let that stop me.
April 1, 2018, Kayla Itsines had shared my transformation on her Instagram. This was an amazing experience for me. That over 9 million other ladies get to see what her guides did for me. This was after about 9 months of self-love and eating freely.
Working out has changed my life. I am happy, healthy, and have gained confidence in a bikini, dress or even naked. I thoroughly enjoy what I look like on the outside and I love how I feel on the inside.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/610448924487089343/
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