Welcome to my blog. I wanted to finally invite people to my hobby, my addiction, my life. I started my journey a little over 16 months ago on January 14, 2013 by the help of a dear friend (you know who you are). To be honest, I was insecure, un-happy, and negative all the time, and tried to find things and/or people in my life to blame it on. All along I realized my unhappiness, and insecurities lied completely within myself. It was time to do something; I had to make a significant change! I mean come on, who wants to cry everyday, and be the most negative person to be around, simply because one is un-happy about their own personal image and habits? Not this girl! So I began to change my lifestyle, Big Time!
So, people are always asking "what do you mean your changing your lifestyle?" I started thinking to myself (does it not make sense to change a lifestyle?). Maybe I wasn't explaining it right; often times I would find myself trying to explain over and over what I meant about changing my lifestyle (oh you know, changing how I eat, working out a bit more, making healthier life choices blah, blah, blah). People would often say "so your dieting." Ugh! No, this is not a diet, this is a lifestyle change. Diet, as defined in the dictionary is : to eat less food or to eat only particular kinds of food in order to lose weight: to be on a diet. Of course, many people want to lose weight and come up with ways of doing so, however I love food, and A LOT of it. When I think of the word "Diet." I think of others words too such as hungry, anorexia, failure etc. This may be different to other individuals, and hey to each his own; but dieting is not what I started out to do; I started this journey on changing my lifestyle.
For everyone who is wondering what I mean by Lifestyle change, please allow me to explain. A Lifestyle Change is simply that, a person changing their lifestyle for the better of themselves. For you definition go-ers, Lifestyle change as defined, is a process that takes time and requires support; once you're ready to make a change, the difficult part is committing and following through; conduct effective research and make a plan that will prepare you for your success.
Back to the beginning, I started this journey a little over 16 months ago, by working out to Zumba DVDs playing on my 13 in Macbook, in the middle of my living room floor. Everyday Monday thru Friday I would dedicate 45 minutes of my 24 hour day to dancing like a salsa queen. In all honesty those DVDs are hard, I mean picture yourself dancing, jumping, sliding and gliding for 45 minutes straight with only a 5 second water break (Wheew). But to make this long story short, I did it! Everyday! Monday thru Friday of Course!
On top of all that, I changed my eating habits as well- FOR GOOD! No more late night Taco Bell runs (man do I miss having a beefy 5 layer burrito, with a side of cheesy nachos and a frutista freeze to top it off mmm). But in actuality I don't miss these types of foods. After staying dedicated to my lifestyle change and making healthier food choices, my body starting craving foods such as vegetables, fruits, protein, and water (lot's of water). It's crazy how sticking to something for a while can change you forever. You know what they say, 21 days of something and it becomes a habit (I guess it hit me hard because its my addiction).
I stuck to Zumba, and healthy eating choices for roughly 3 1/2 to 4 months; at this point I began to tell a difference in the way my clothes fit and the way my body was forming. (I was starting to look really good, healthy, almost like a new person). I wanted to do more so I started running every day 1 mile to the lake and 1 mile back home. At this point, I realized my love for fitness and health had kicked in.
I could go on and on about my Journey, but to make it very simple for everyone, all it took was sitting down with myself and making the commitment to lead a happier, and healthier life.I did not make the commitment to impress anyone, or be like anyone, I made the commitment for me and only me; to become a better Shayla. Now everyday, its not a habit, or some diet that I have to do to lose weight or maintain. Its a Lifestyle Change, to be the best person that I can be for ME. Until next time
Live, Laugh, Love, Fitness.
Shayla
These Photos are quite embarrassing, but I think it is time I show the world my hard work, and dedication. This is what changing a lifestyle can do. This is only the beginning! :)
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