It’s that time of the year again when new gyms open within a two mile radius and where these said gyms are literally packed every single night.
My brother and I call them “the summer people”. The summer people, for whatever reason, only infiltrate the gym during the summer for the main purpose of “Laboracay”. They’re in the gym every single day until June and then they’re gone, only to return again the following summer. We really don’t mind but we do feel sad over the fact that most people think that fitness is all about looking good without realizing that the benefits go beyond looking good.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am definitely not one of those rah rah rah health buffs that only eat protein all day. My weight loss journey has always been an extremely personal one. I have dealt with years of overeating as a way to escape my emotions (yes, those memes you see all over Facebook can greatly describe me) and I have also dealt with counting every single morsel that enters my mouth. I’ve been on extreme ends of the spectrum and none of those fad diets have ever made me feel good on the inside.
It often left me feeling extremely frustrated, especially since I have always considered myself on the “active” side. I would run at the crack of dawn, dance horrifically during my Zumba classes, and even “try” my flexibility during pilates. My brother, however, would be the first to tell you that none of those worked for me.
You see, I was so busy working on the outside without realizing that I needed to get a lot of things fixed on the inside. The reason I wasn’t gaining control over my food intake was because I was a mess on the inside. I ate away my feelings one day and then went on a “cleanse” the next. I wasn’t being kind to my body simply because I wasn’t kind of myself.
It’s when I accepted my body for what it was and no longer detested it (and myself) for what it wasn’t did I see the legitimate changes that I’ve been longing for.
It started with a boxing program at our neighborhood gym (and my second home), Yellow Corner Sports and Martial Arts Gym that was initially introduced to me by my brother to help me deal with the stresses I daily faced.
You see I’m a HUGE initiator of things. I love starting new things but often have trouble being consistent with them due to my schedule and other excuses I often come up with. However, Yellow Corner for some reason hit the spot just right. Yellow Corner, through its trainers who have quickly turned into family in the year that I’ve been there, has been a place of solace. I’ve been surrounded by athletes my entire life but it’s only in Yellow Corner that I truly embraced a sport that challenged me and left me so tired I can barely walk at the end of the day.
My best friend, Karla, also helped me in dealing with my food intake. Food was no longer the enemy but it wasn’t my savior either.
The ironic thing however is that the changes on the outside didn’t matter as much as they used to. Looking good in front of the mirror was no longer the end goal of why I spent those many hours in the gym; instead it was just an added bonus. I am eating right and working out because I loved my body and now treated it as I would any of my friends.
It’s those things that you hear about constantly but it’s in experiencing it that you are transformed. So if you too are on an weight loss journey, don’t lose hope you’ll get there but you must also remember that you are beautiful and complete as you are, and once you believe that, that’s when the changes begin.
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Know more about Yellow Corner by visiting their Facebook page, Yellow Corner Sports and Martial Arts Gym.
