To begin, do you know the difference between dieting and changing your lifestyle? I didn't. Not six years ago, anyway.
See, this time six years ago, I started training for Miss Universe Canada, my first ever beauty pageant. And as we all know, there is an evening gown and bathing suit portion in this beauty competition. So knowing this, I made sure to extensively look up meal plans and exercises to follow, and even sought professional guidance from a few very developed personal trainers to be as ready as I could be.
Some of the workouts I did included 6:15 a.m. boot-camp sessions every Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, spinning classes on Sundays, weight training once or twice a week and Yoga on Saturdays. My body almost fully progressed to the way I would have like it to—but I was having some difficulty in the nutrition department, which kept things like love handles around. One thing I can say for myself and for many others is that food, especially good, tasty and not-so-good-for-you food is sometimes hard to resist, especially when you tell yourself you are on a "diet". For me, personally, as soon as someone puts a restriction on something, my inner rebel flares up and craves to do the exact opposite. So even though I was working out extensively, my food intake is what really needed a makeover.
See, when someone mentions to you they are "dieting", it implies that they are probably depriving themselves entirely of certain foods and that this is only a temporary thing. Little did I know that "dieting" was the only thing keeping me from seeing more drastic changes in my body. Don't get me wrong, I was in pretty good shape by the time the pageant rolled around in mid-June 2010, but I could have done so much better had I not been so focused on the number on the scale and the number of calories I was taking in. My eating habits weren't the greatest either, because I would eat very clean while depriving myself of breads and sweets (my weaknesses) for a certain amount of time and then crash for a few days. I did not know what moderation was, and soon, I was counting down the days until this whole pageant was over so that I could eat whatever I wanted again.
The first meal I had after my pageant journey ended was a McDonald's Big Mac with fries and a large Coke. It could not have gone down my system any smoother than it did, and I loved it.
I have to admit that after the pageant, I didn't stick to the good old gym routine I had once planned out pre-pageant, nor was I watching what I was eating. But about a year later, I had gained approximately 15 lbs from not caring as much about my nutrition or about exercise. And let me tell you, it wasn't 15 lbs of muscle—I started feeling uncomfortable.
When that light went off in my head, it was at that very moment that I realized that diet was not the answer. In order to achieve a healthy body and to feel good about oneself, there is a need to change your outlook on your life and an even bigger need to change your lifestyle.
See, from the day we come into life, we are given one body. Your body is your responsibility. You cannot trade it in for a new one. You are the only one with the power to change it. And this change can be for the better or for the worse. You must determine your path.
Once I realized this, it was almost like a night-and-day transformation. When I was looking into getting back into shape this time around, I did not have a "get fit by ______" date, nor was I looking at deprivations of any sorts. I simply told myself that this time around, I am getting into shape and turning my life around for me. Not for some pageant, to impress others or to be #1, but for me.
I quickly signed up for a three-month dodgeball session with friends (which I actually kept on doing for three years), and this translated into finding other great ways of staying active. I also found some yummy meal variations I could later build on, and ate that occasional slice of delectable cheesecake when it crossed my path, but would not go overboard. See, when I changed my outlook, my body was no longer the enemy I was trying to control. In fact, it became the friend I was trying to nurture and keep healthy. And let me tell you, when you stop being so hard on yourself and find pure motivation and positivity, it makes a world of a difference.
Needless to say, I ended up doing dodgeball (and I have to say, I have a pretty wicked arm) and beach volleyball. I also started running back in 2012. I went from not being able to run 500 metres without being out of breath and taking a break to running 7 kilometres in a year and a half without any breaks. My nutrition, however, is what really changed. Instead of choosing quick and easy foods to bring into my home, I decided to start making things from scratch and using whole foods to avoid preservatives, empty sugars, pesticides, unclean food-handling, processed carbohydrates and unnatural ingredients. This way, I dictated what goes into my snacks and meals, and what stays out.
Since then, I have never thought about going on another "diet" again.
How did you get to where you are today? What motivates you to have and to maintain a healthy lifestyle?
Send your answers in here or visit alesiadunn.blogspot.ca and follow me on Instagram @ChezAlesiaDunn
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