Disclaimer: This is my own personal experience with physical health and weight fluctuation. Every body reacts differently to certain diets and exercise. Take everything I say with a grain of salt and ultimately decide what’s best for you, both physically and mentally. This isn’t a weight-loss journey, it’s the story of how I learned to love taking care of myself.

In the Fall of 2017, I started my first semester of college at the College of William & Mary. Over the past year and a half, I’ve grown in so many ways: I’ve become more responsible, I’ve made lifelong friendships, I’ve been challenged academically, and I’ve learned how to take care of myself in a place away from home. I wouldn’t change anything about the way my college experience has gone so far — it’s been wonderful.

Of course, that’s not to say that I haven’t had obstacles along the way. Sometimes, life is steady and everything is going your way. Other times, it feels like your world is falling apart and you don’t know how to fix it. In those times, it is easy to find unhealthy coping mechanisms and slip into bad habits.

My Downfall

It’s hard to stay healthy in college. Students are constantly surrounded by unhealthy food and encouraged to eat it as a form of socialization or comfort. On top of that, the dining halls on campus don’t typically offer very healthy options for their students. (The only consistent item I’ve seen there year-round is pizza. Not even the good kind.)

I want to eat delicious and healthy food while I’m at college. Eating whole foods sustains me more and makes me feel less bloated than if I’m constantly feeding myself junk. I wanted clean food to the point where I would go deliberately out of my way to get a healthy meal. This lifestyle cost me lots of time and money, so I gave up. Providing myself with the right nutrients just wasn’t on the top of my list of priorities. After all, I had to focus on things like studying, engaging in extracurriculars, and maintaining healthy relationships.

I didn’t realize just what a bad decision it was to rank my physical health so low on my priorities. When my figure became larger, my self esteem plummeted. I constantly felt guilty and bloated. I had less energy to do the things I had to or wanted to do in life. My quality of life decreased when I stopped caring about my diet.

By the end of the academic year, I gained the infamous Freshman 15. (For reference, I am a tiny 5’3 girl who was — up until this point — very athletic.) In high school, I never weighed more than 110. I didn’t have to think about my figure back then because my mom fed me and drove me to dance class every day. So when I weighed myself at the end of my sophomore year and saw the number 125, I was shocked and a bit depressed. I didn’t like how I looked in the mirror or how I felt in my clothes. I hated the way I looked.

This Fall, I finally decided to pick up the slack and lose my excess weight. Not to conform to beauty standards and not for anyone’s approval, but for myself. My goal was to weigh 115 again. Thankfully, I had resources to achieve these goals because my parents are both into health and wellness. With their help, I created an exercise plan and a diet plan.

ESM’s Exercise Plan and Tips

• Make a killer playlist. Here’s the link to mine.
• Go to the gym 5x a week. Run 6 miles on the elliptical (approx. 1 hour) then do stretches, ab exercises, and weighted squats for 30 minutes.
• Take a walk or jog outside 3x times a week for 15 minutes.
• Do Blogilates from home when you don’t feel like going outside.
• Suck in your stomach whenever you can remember to. (Yes, this makes you appear thinner, but that’s not why I do it. It helps to engage your abs without doing any work.)
• Stand up a bit taller. This makes you appear slimmer and encourages you to engage the correct muscles rather than placing stress on your lower back.
• Get a Fitbit. It reminds you to get up and stretch your legs if you’ve been inactive for a while. It also records your steps/distance, which is great motivation!
• Get the My Fitness Pal app. It tracks your activity levels, syncs up to your Fitbit, and has a place to log in your meals. Accountability is everything.
• Take pics of your progress so you can see just how far you’ve come!

Working out regularly has not only improved my life physically, but also mentally and emotionally. As I’m sure you’ve heard, exercise releases endorphins, which make the world seem like a better place. If I’ve had a bad day, I love to run on the treadmill for an hour or so just to clear my head. After I’ve got the blood pumping and the good feelings flowing, I can finally unwind and move on from whatever was bothering me. Exercise has also given me a bunch more energy to study and do the things I love.

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ESM’s Diet Plan and Tips

• Intermittent Fasting. This is when you break your day into two parts: an eating period and a fasting period. I personally choose to eat from noon until 8pm and fast for the rest. There are so many benefits to intermittent fasting, including: weight loss, reduced risk of chronic health conditions (i.e. cancer), improved brain health, and increased energy. I will write more in depth about intermittent fasting in a future article.
• Eat whole foods. This means whole grains, dark greens, super foods, protein, and fruit.
• Less carbs. I have found that for my body type, I tend to gain more weight and feel more bloated/icky when I eat lots of carbs. Natural sugars such as fruits are fine, but refined carbs such as white bread and processed sweets should be eaten in moderation.
• Count fiber. Chia seeds are my all-time favorite source of fiber. (Yes, they’re the things that grow into Chia Pets.) Not many people know this, but females are supposed to get 25g every day and 35g for males. If you can get this into your diet, your metabolism will be out of this world and you can basically eat anything else that you want. 😉
• Count calories… but not too much. Especially if you are intermittent fasting, it’s extremely important to make sure you’re eating enough calories in the day for your gender/height/weight. That said, don’t obsess over the number of calories you eat. That’s when some bad stuff can happen.
• Drink water. Hydrate or die-drate!
• Drink a detox drink every morning, such as green tea or lemon water. It increases your metabolism.
• Everything in moderation. I try to eat healthily most of the time, but everyone deserves to treat themselves to a yummy, unhealthy meal once in a while. So, if you’ve been eating clean for the past few days, treat yourself!

Cooking can be a wonderful way to pass the time, as well as show your appreciation for a friend. I like to think of it as an art form, because it tells a story and sustains us. I’m sure that if we all began to think of the food we eat as art, we would have a much better relationship with it.

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By creating and following these two plans, I was able to exceed my goals within one month. I weighed myself at 114, but the number isn’t what I care about. I feel more confident in my skin. I have more fun picking out my outfits in the morning and taking photoshoots with my friends. I feel less guilty when I have dessert. By taking care of my physical health, I have felt the most freedom that I have ever felt before: The freedom to love myself.

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