At Destin’s Mirimar Beach with friends and boyfriend. Photo Cred: Thanin Viriyaki
Hi Deep Fried Fit Fans (try saying that really fast, five times),
I’m back from my Destin trip and it was so beautiful and definitely a much needed vacation. My friends had their dream wedding in this gorgeous location and I am so happy for them. It only felt like yesterday, I helped Tony propose to his wife Diem on a white Christmas Day two years ago. Gosh, time flies.
Diem’s bachelorette and wedding were my main motivators to get fit and to finally have a summer body I could be proud of. While I have been a gym junkie for years, I am ashamed to admit, it was a lot of wasted time because I had no idea what I was doing. All the food and boozing didn’t help either. I didn’t truly get serious about fitness until last October when I finally made the commitment to have a personal trainer teach me everything I need to know and encourage me to make healthier choices. Even now, it’s still a struggle. I love food too much.
With that being said, it’s all still a work-in-progress but I feel so much happier with myself. To most people, I’m a tiny skinny Asian chick. I’m sure you’re wondering why I need to work toward this so-called summer body, but to be honest, skinny people have issues too. In October, I was 113 lbs with a fat percentage of 30%. That is technically obese. I was technically obese. Yeah that’s right. Skinny fat is a real thing people! Now, I am 110lbs and I fluctuated around 20% body fat. Took me a long time to get here, but I’m glad I did it.
At 24, I realized I didn’t want to put off taking care of myself and wake up one day wishing I had cherished my youth. Bikini season is in full swing and I hate the self-conscious feeling just about every girl can understand. So instead of wishing and hoping and sucking it in, I did something about it.
First day at the gorgeous Mirimar Beach. Group shot. Photo cred: Thanin Viriyaki
Hiring a trainer was the best decision I ever made. Being on a budget, I couldn’t afford training 5 days week every week. I ain’t got that kinda money or time!! But the good thing about building the discipline in going to the gym helped me settle on a different option. I began by seeing him every other week and having him teach me things I could do on my own and working out on my own. Getting used to a more vigorous routine takes a while to adjust to. I would be sore for an entire week after one session which was sometimes a little disheartening. I didn’t realize how out-of-shape I truly was. But despite the pain and the shock of it all, I dropped 5% body fat in 3 months. Now, I see my trainer once a week and I consider my sessions like a Food Sponsor program for Food Addicts. A Foodies Anonymous. Our sessions keep me motivated and less likely to stray. I have more strength to detour past Churches Chicken and Burger King on the way home. It was hard enough trying to workout, imagine trying to run a food blog when I can’t eat 90% of the stuff I post. I save my cheat meals for the blog. Love me.
So what began as a very determined desire to get the ever elusive “summer body”, this journey has turned into something more. It’s turned into a lifestyle. It is a health trend bandwagon I am so glad I hopped on. The beaches of Destin originally was kind of like my finish line. But once I got there, I realized I wanted to go further. I wasn’t quite where I wanted to be yet and there’s still more to work toward. I didn’t want to sprint to the end. I’m here for the long game and there will be no stopping and going back to skinny fat.
