Success Is A Journey

When I began wrestling in March 2015 it became clear to me quite fast, that while I was ‘in shape’ (read: thin) I was not fit. And so a few months in to my training I hired a personal trainer to show me what to do, and I finally began to enjoy going to the gym and lifting weights – the first time I’d been back to a gym since I was 15 years old. (I also decided to give up alcohol and try a vegan diet!)

In January of 2016 I joined my local Anytime Fitness and in April 2016 won the “Member of the Month” for the most visits (and went vegan permanently). Every month I competed with myself to get to the top of the ‘most visits’ list. I would get up at 5am to head to the gym before work, and then return again on my way home.

During this time, although I was doing so much in the gym I barely noticed any difference in my body. This was really disheartening, and over time I started to slack off and dropped down to twice a week.

In May this year, I had to stop all exercise for 4 weeks due to my concussion and light exercise only (no weights) for a further 4 weeks. During this time I put on 8kgs and made my debut for Invercargill’s Southern Pro Wrestling. I was so upset when I saw the photos of the match, because to me, I looked huge and by this time I’d stopped fitting nearly all of my clothes.

The picture above shows me in April, May (when I got concussed) and July '17. I remember that I didn’t eat all day, just to try and make myself look less bloated. I felt like crap the entire weekend.

Weighing the heaviest I’ve ever been, in August this year I decided I needed to do something about it. I headed back to the gym with new vigour. I’ve tried really hard not to eat out more than once a fortnight, and prep my meals for the week in advance, and just be really consistent in my workouts.

At my last weigh in I was 58kgs. I’m slowly starting to regain my confidence in my body, most days I feel happy when I look in the mirror. But it’s not always easy. Sometimes I see myself and still think I have 10kgs to lose, I’m 170cms tall and my BMI is 20.4 – I know I shouldn’t think this way. I’m healthy and able bodied and extremely thankful for that.

Where do I go from here?

·         I’ve decided to try moving on to a wholefoods diet and cut the processed meat replacements out from my diet. Tofu will stay though!

·         I want to cook for myself 6 nights a week, and I’ll treat myself to eating out once a week. As a bonus, hopefully this will help me save money.

·         Rest days Wednesday and Sunday to give my body time to recover from heavy weight sessions.

I’m also looking at getting back into modelling to help me feel more confident in my body, if this happens I’ll be sure to post about it.

-Ash.

Success Is A Journey, Not A Destination.