From Fat To Slim And Fit: Story Of A Female Athlete

"Hey, fatso! , move off the road" a male voice yelled as I pushed through the crowd heading into the supermarket. How rude, I thought, feeling sorry for the target of his nastiness. And then the truth kicked me in my droopy size-16 rear: He was talking to me—I was the fatso! My name is Annie.

I was once the hard-bodied, athlete girl who had moved to New York for my university education twelve years ago.  I was addicted to jogging, swimming and tennis. I quit junk food so I could run faster; but eventually gave all up only to gain 5kg in six months. I added another 21kg by eating my way through a very miserable relationship.

It had been easy to ignore my weight. After all, I was still running and competing in marathon races, but truthfully, after a 30-minute jog, I was so wiped out that I would retreat to the couch and do my favourite exercise: power lifting a bag of potato chips and a pint of ice cream.

Very soon my boyfriend and I broke up, and alone at a New Year's Eve party surrounded by cute, fit and slim people, I forced myself to face the facts: I was fit but fat. Even though I loved exercising, I hated dieting, and this is where it had gotten me. I downed a few cocktail drinks and some cakes, and the pity party was over: I was ready to get slim. There and then I made a New Year resolution to move from ‘fat to slim and fit’.

1. I had to prove myself

I joined a gym that had a good trainer. I finally got a space at the back of his aerobics class and concluded that even on my marketing executive-job salary; the money for the gym was well spent.

"I can't take you on for now," my trainer said, when I asked him to take me on. He only had time for clients who were really committed to getting in shape. Apparently, he didn’t think I was since I hadn’t been at the gym enough to prove otherwise. I glanced at a woman parading around in a fabulous fitness wear, and thought, If she can be a member of the slim fit-client club, so can I. It almost killed me, but I exercised every day for two weeks and cut back my calories.

When I showed up 2kg lighter, my trainer said, "you're ready, I will take you." His prescription: cross training, to build up my strength and stamina. My drill was to work out five times a week, whether strength training or running the foothills.

What was missing earlier was consistency. I would go 10 days without working out. Now I was lifting weights and doing cardio five hours a week. As an athlete, I could handle this challenge. I wasn’t so sure of his diet suggestions though. I had convinced myself I could eat anything if I worked out hard and threw in the occasional crash diet. My trainer explained why my strategy wasn't working: It was difficult to burn off as many calories as I was taking in each day unless I exercised intensely.

2. Clean eating

The clean eating was a start. I eliminated sugar, but if I wanted to really lose weight for good, I had to make more permanent changes. My trainer pushed me to eat five or six small meals a day—rather than three large ones—to curb cravings. The bulk of my mini-meals came from what he described as "clean" ingredients: foods with slow-release carbohydrates, such as brown or local rice, sweet potatoes and oatmeal. The carbohydrate fuelled my training; the fibre kept me full and the constant supply of energy revved my metabolism. At each meal, I ate a lean protein, like white fish, chicken, egg whites, or lean turkey (drumstick or breast), to help me build muscle and burn more calories.

3. Slow progress

I was looking forward to shedding pounds, but nothing happened. I wasn’t losing a thing! I couldn’t find the 2.2kg –a-week loss I was used to getting from my earlier weight loss plan. I was tempted to try it my way again, but my trainer insisted I stay with the clean eating. "Give it time," he said. I imagined his slim clients and agreed. After a couple of months, I definitely felt fitter, though the slight changes in my shape were barely showing, which made it very hard to resist chocolates sometimes. For a while, my experience was more about the journey than the goal - my final destination. It took months of hard work for the 1 kg I was losing each month to become noticeable to me or anybody else.

4. My slimmer, fitter body

Half a year later, I got my reward finally. I was in the dressing room and it dawned on me that for the first time since university, I had choices. That first glimpse of success gave me the resolve I needed to keep it up.  Now, four years later, there is no fatso in sight. I have gone from a size 16 to a 12. I have lost 19kg, shaved more than two minutes off my mile time, and packed on a lot of sleek, toned muscle. That's not to say that it's over. My get-fit journey continues—and will for the rest of my life.

Story Credit: Indulge Health and Fitness,  Bisi Abiola, ed.

Photo Credit: Creative Commons