Back in September I started my fitness journey. Not that it’s the first time I’ve written about wanting to make a change. But since I’m only human, I’ve failed before. This time, however, I made a commitment to myself. A commitment to be healthier and fit.
However, what I didn’t tell you was that it was also a commitment made out of vanity. This journey was also one towards positive self image.
You see, all my life I’ve been on the chubbier side. Even at the age of 10, I would wear a t-shirt over my bathing suit. Body shame has been the most faithful constant in my life. Being ashamed of my weight was always a burden I carried with me and it never allowed me to wear a bathing suit with joy. I mean, is being happy in a bathing suit even possible?
In a recent This is Us episode, a young Kate is bullied at the pool for wearing a two-piece as a heavier girl and ends up wearing a t-shirt over her bathing suit. This reminded me of my childhood visits at the pool. Present-day Lisette has since ditched the t-shirt in favor of one-piece or tankini bathing suits with full coverage in the form of shorts or skirt bottoms.
At nearly 33 years of age…I thought it was finally time I got over this shame.
Because…it’s time.
It’s time that I feel confident wearing a two-piece bathing suit. It’s time that I stop hiding and start shining “bright like a diamond.” It’s time. And, since we live in Florida, bathing suit season is almost year-round, so getting in shape makes living without body shame infinitely easier.
Brian and I haven’t felt ready to have kids…not just yet. We’ve talked about sometime in the near future, but I didn’t want to become pregnant at my current weight. So I thought, What better time for me to finally get that “bikini body” I’ve always wanted? For just once in my life, I want to feel comfortable in my own skin, literally. For just once in my life, I want to wear a bikini and be proud of how I feel and look in one.
I’ve heard that how you take care of your body in your 30s sets the stage for late adulthood health. If you get in shape now, it will be easier to retain muscle mass and bone mass and stave off illnesses like diabetes (which I’m genetically predisposed to) and other cardiovascular diseases. Plus, women who are in shape before pregnancy have an easier time during and after delivery. #lifegoals
For that reason, I decided to start Kayla Itsines’ Bikini Body Guide (BBG) in September. Since then, I’ve lost 11lbs but I’m still in the overweight BMI range. Today I am starting week 9 of 12 in the BBG program! I also did the four weeks of pre-training, so that puts 12 weeks of BBG under my belt, and in all honesty the time has just flown by!
During the days I’m not doing the strength-training exercises, the BBG program has me doing LISS, low intensity sustained state workouts like walking and jogging. I’ve always admired runners and their tenacity and I always thought I would never be one. However, since wearing my heart rate monitor, I’ve learned that I burn more calories when I jog or run, and slowly but surely I discovered that I actually liked jogging! Can you believe that? For that reason, I have a goal of completing a 5K, despite overcoming knee surgery a few years back due to a car accident.
However, this isn’t without hiccups. About three weeks into BBG I started experiencing pains and aches above my knees: quadriceps tendonitis. It’s an inflammation of the quad tendon, and it happens when you have bad running form and/or the wrong workout shoes. I didn’t want to let this stop my vanity fitness goals but I also didn’t want to develop an injury.
It turns out my old sneakers, while I loved them, where creating undue stress on my knees. Oops. I didn’t even know that I needed running shoes, much less know that these shoes are specifically made for a forward and backward motion.
Luckily, my local Famous Footwear had a large selection of running shoes at affordable prices. After trying on several pairs of shoes, I found my perfect match with the Asics Women’s Gel-Enhance Ultra 3 BCA Running Shoe in the chic Pink Ribbon pair. It also made me feel good that through November 30, 2016, ASICS® America donated $10 for each pair of these shoes purchased to Christina Applegate’s Right Action for Women for breast cancer research.
I’ve had these cute shoes for a little over a week now, and I’ve already gotten numerous compliments on them. They are very comfortable, and my knees are no longer in pain after leg day. I’m still taking it easy by walking on my LISS days. In a few weeks, I hope to be able to start jogging for extended periods of time again, as that is when I see the most calories burned on my heart rate monitor and steady weekly weight loss.
I was sick around Halloween and my workout program was pushed back a week. I expected to be done the 12 weeks of my first round of BBG on Christmas Eve, but now it looks like I will be finishing my last workout on New Year’s Eve.
In a way it’s kind of funny. Instead of setting a New Year’s resolution like so many do, I will be continuing my fitness journey by restarting BBG a second time.Hopefully by then I’ll have before and after image on Instagram to share with you.
Bikini body, and positive self image, here I come.
Famous Footwear is challenging everyone to #StepForward by championing their confidence to be their best self. Check out the Famous Footwear Instagram for more inspiration.
What is your Step Forward story?