I think everyone has, at some point in their lives, had an issue with their body size. Whether this is too fat, thin, bulky or scrawny, we all want to improve ourselves. But getting fit is hard, and that’s why we look for get fit quick solutions. Do they really exist though? Is it possible to get fit quick? I share my own experience with weight issues to try and answer the question.
When I was young, I was super skinny. Skinny might have been an understatement. Teachers would often ask me if I was being fed properly. I was hated that I was smaller than everyone else. Often I ate as much as I could, hoping to put on some weight, so that adults wouldn’t look at me with concern.
I loved eating so that was easy. The dinner ladies always gave me big portions, and I would go back for seconds. Not always because I was hungry, but they must have thought that. I got used to eating that way. Big portions, always seconds.
Growing up too chubby
Then I hit puberty. Suddenly all the food I was eating finally starting showing. Fast. One moment I was a size 6, then suddenly, size 12. At first I was thrilled. Clothes started fitting properly, I developed breasts! But I was used to eating so much more than I needed to, that I just kept putting the weight on.
I didn’t really acknowledge it though. Obviously I bought bigger clothes, but my sense of style also changed. I went through a sort of emo-goth phase, where I wore big, baggy boy hoodies. My hair was cut my hair short and kept messy. I wore a ton of eyeliner. My teeth had braces put on, and I chose super large glasses to hide my face behind.
My family jokingly nicknamed me double chin, sometimes shortening it to “wub” (don’t ask, I didn’t get it either.) and I joked along with them but secretly I was quite hurt by it. I knew I was big, and I knew I was unattractive, but I blamed it on lots of different things.
Self esteem and family
Being good at studying, and also being into comics, I labeled myself a nerd. Years of watching hollywood movies taught me that nerds weren’t popular. Other girls in my year started dying their hair, wearing makeup, more provocative clothing. My friends and I made fun of them, in the same way they made fun of us. But I was jealous by how much better they looked than me.
My love for food continued, and so did my eating copious amounts of it. I justified myself, by saying it tasted amazing and that not eating it wouldn’t even be living life properly. I went back to Vietnam on a holiday, and people are much more open there about appearances.
“Oh you’re so fat! You’re like a pig!” they’d exclaim. They laughed about it, not realising it upset me a lot. To them, it wasn’t a problem that I was fat, they were just commenting on it like you would comment on someone getting a hair cut.
Losing weight for the first time
When I left 6th form, I realised I wanted to look better. Something inside me clicked. Adulthood was always this thing in the far distant future. When I imagined it, I imagined myself slimmer, better looking and successful. I figured it would just happened, like a second puberty.
I learnt that you had to work for it. Between studying and keeping two part time jobs, I automatically lost weight. There was less free time to spend snacking, and my part time jobs made sure I was constantly moving, going up and down stairs ect.
Reddit and camming
It was around this time that my housemate posted the first few pictures of me on reddit. You can see a picture of me in my underwear there, and I’m noticeably bigger I think. I got a lot of compliments on it. Getting attention like that was new to me. It felt good.
There were also mean comments though. Lots of people pointed out my weight, and some made fun of my face. It was upsetting, but it also triggered this part of me that wanted to make myself look better. I wanted to prove them wrong.
As you know, I got into camming. I studied a lot on better hairstyles, and make-up that would suit me. I can’t emphasise what a big difference to your appearance simply cleaning up does. Even if at the moment you think you’re unattractive because you’re fat, there’s probably lots of factors connecting to it that could be improved on easily, like personal grooming.
Joining a gym for the first time
I got to the point that I was at a nice dress size. I still had bits of flab though, and my weight fluctuated a lot depending on what I’d been eating. Joining a gym seemed like the easy solution to me. Getting a personal trainer, training twice a week.
I figured, zero exercise to tons of exercise would make a huge different straight away. It sort of did. However your weight is much more connected to your diet. It’s simple maths. Say the average amount for a woman is 2000 calories a day to maintain weight. If you go over that, you’ll gain weight. If you go under it, you’ll lose weight.
Well I didn’t bother counting calories. It seemed like a hassle. I didn’t need it. I ate lots of sushi and steak, which are good for you. Sure, I’d have the occasional burger, but cheat days are allowed right?
What I didn’t account for was all my snacking. A packet of crisps here, a chocolate bar there. Chips with all the condiments and extra butter as a side every night. I didn’t realise just how much I was still putting into myself. My weight continued to fluctuate and after a while, I decided my lifestyle was too busy to keep up at the gym.
Joining the gym again
I was never quite satisfied with how things went though. I wanted to get fitter. So this past month, I decided to take on a get fit quick regime at a new gym. A 6 week program, that they’re letting me stretch to 12 weeks because I’m abroad so much.
It sounded fantastic. I just have to concentrate and follow the rules for 6 weeks, and boom, goddess body achieved. Where’s the downside? It should be a walk in the park, and even if it isn’t, it’ll be over in 12 weeks anyway.
Starting this course however, I’m starting to realise you can’t really get fit quick. You can certainly improve yourself for a short amount of time, but if you don’t change your lifestyle, there’s not going to be any long term effects.
My new fitness regime
My regime right now is quite strict. I record everything I eat on myfitnesspal. I track how many steps I walk each day, and I have a target of 10,000 steps a day. My weight is recorded everyday, and I also rate my mood, sleep, hunger, cravings, bloating and digestion everyday.
It honestly sounds like so much work. But I’m finally taking a good hard look at my own body. Seeing all the stuff I put into it, I felt bad. Not because of the weight, but because of the health reasons as well. Is eating fat fried food everyday good for you? No, of course not. So why was I doing it?
The gym part is hard, but ok. I don’t do anything fancy, no deadlifts or push-ups. Instead, I’m working on simply learning to find and use muscles. I’m working on my posture. If there’s an exercise I don’t like, my trainer and I find a new one.
Will it work?
It all sounds fantastic right? Part of me is loving it. But part of me is also worried that I’m only getting into this because it’s new and exciting. In two weeks time, four weeks time, six weeks time, will I still be this motivated? Or will I sink back to how I was before?
I don’t know. But I do realise it’s a risk. Getting fitter is so hard. I have a friend who is male and skinny. He’s self conscious about his weight, but finds it hard to eat a lot at a time. I think everyone struggles. Even Aletta Ocean, who has one of the most insane bodies, tweets about how she hopes she can get abs soon.
Is it possible to get fit quick?
If you want to get fit quick, you can. It’s possible. You have to work hard, and it’ll be hell, but you can do it. Get fit quick doesn’t mean shortcuts though. It means pushing yourself to the limits in a short amount of time. You have to be careful with it.
But as hard as that part is, staying fit afterwards is even harder. That involves making lifestyle changes, being more aware of your health and nutrition. The road to getting fit sucks in my opinion. People tell me you get addicted to the gym workouts, and I don’t think that’ll happen to me. I get moody. I get frustrated. But I know I can talk about it.
Can you get fit?
You can talk about it too. It’s ok to be open and honest about how you feel about yourself. It’s not gloomy to say “I’m fat and I hate it.” If you tell me “I’m fat, I hate it, and I want to make a change.” then I’ll be 100% supportive about it. Your friends and family will support you too.
It’s also ok to say “this is too hard. I can’t do this.” because we all have those moments. It’s in those moments that I believe you should tell someone. If you don’t tell someone, you’ve already given up to yourself. But someone else can tell you “You’re doing great, take it slow, look at the progress you’ve made!”
So for everyone who is trying to improve their fitness, I wish you good luck. I’ll also be updating you with my own fitness journey, and I know I’ll need some luck with it!