Author: Aarushi
During a teambuilding activity at a youth seminar I attended, I was asked to write down three things that I like about myself. Even after thinking about it for a while I couldn’t come up with anything and decided to put down generic adjectives which I didn’t really think were true.
When I went home that day, I started to think more about all the things I didn’t like about myself and eventually realized that if I didn’t take care of myself I would never like myself. Self-care is one of the most important parts of life and something that was very nearly absent from my daily routine. I was and still am to a certain degree, a total junk food addict and to top it all off I never exercised. After a stressful and busy day at school, I would immediately plop down on the couch and eat a bag of chips before getting started on my homework. All the oily food resulted in frequent acne flare-ups which lowered my self-esteem even more. After abusing my health for years I finally decided that I needed to make a change because there was simply no other option.
Self-care is one of the most important parts of life and something that was very nearly absent from my daily routine.
I began by replacing at least one meal a day with real, nutritious food and joined a CrossFit training program. On the very first day of classes, the instructor asked me to do jumping jacks, crunches, rows, push-ups and squats. I had to do at least two sets of each exercise and complete everything in fifteen minutes. My friends laughed and the instructor looked worried when I maxed out at five push-ups. The first week was absolutely miserable because every muscle in my body ached and I was constantly craving junk food. But I kept doing CrossFit and my friends kept me on track and after the first month, things were starting to look significantly better.
I started to keep a journal and it felt very satisfying to add a little note every time I could push my limits and do an extra set of crunches or every time I had green tea instead of Coke. I am almost at the end of the third month in my journey and all I can say is that I have experienced amazing results. I feel so much more healthy and energetic. Of course, CrossFit isn’t for everyone. Seek out an activity that’s fun for you and challenges you. Maybe it’s yoga or swimming, or even going for walks.
I would be lying if I said I never had any slip-ups. There were plenty of days where I binged on junk food, slacked off at the gym or didn’t bother going at all. But I learned to forgive myself and keep going even when things got hard.
We are who we choose to be, so choose to be a better version of yourself.
