Wellness Journey - Journey Back to Health
This article was originally written in September 2022; however, I did not publish the article, as I needed to complete my body's metrics. I will give an update; however, the information is still relevant and contributed to my weight gain.
We go through different changes and phases in our lives. There are good times and bad times, ups and downs, and moments of stillness. Within the past few years, I would say I've experienced them all. There are times when I felt great, and other times when I've experienced long-term lows. Stillness also had its place in my life within the last couple of years, I was stagnant and lacked motivation. Working in a stressful environment, navigating through life in the world of COVID, and the mental fatigue of pushing through life during these times have all played a part in where I am now with my health. Those circumstances coupled with bad choices have led to a substantial amount of weight gain. My overall lifestyle has changed drastically; the contrast between my life two years ago and currently is far in between. So, how did I get here? How did I gain 40+ pounds? Where did the excess weight come from, and what were the contributing factors? I will provide a high-level overview of the last two years, of what I believe contributed to my weight gain.
First, stress and emotional eating. Over the past few years, there have been stressors within my life that have caused me to turn to food as comfort and driven me to overconsume more calories than what my body actually required. This overconsumption of food was my outlet, it was my way of escaping the realities of life, it was my false sense of refuge. When Covid came into the picture, the stressors began to multiply. Working in Human Resources (HR), my workload increased tremendously. I worked in a high-volume, multi-state company and single-handedly managed the company's leave of absence program. Managing leave of absence, during covid was extremely taxing physically, and also mentally. The more Covid reared its ugly head, the more leave requests rolled in. The work was non-stop. I managed this program, along with managing other HR duties. Food became a stress reliever. When the stressors began to multiply, those behaviors which I once had the ability to easily control had magnified. My discipline and self-control faltered greatly during this time. By the time life was "normalizing," I had lost a sense of self.
Second, change in environment. I moved to another environment in an attempt to escape my current stressful circumstances. What I thought would be my escape and quiet little oasis became a barrier within itself in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. My new environment was more of a feast oasis with a surplus of restaurants. The more work increased, the more I turned to the convenience of food within my area. Places that I would have never stepped foot in previously, became my favorite safe haven. There was also a change in my activity levels. Where I previously lived, there were three gyms at my immediate convenience, with two being free, and the other offered at an extremely low price. My previous environment influenced my physical activity. It was exciting, fun, and vibrant. There was also great walkability. Given these factors, the barriers to maintaining a healthier lifestyle were lower. In contrast to where I live now, the environment is a bit less exciting. There is great walkability; however, we're surrounded by a lot of elderly and the town's activities cater to that particular cohort. Now, providing activities for our older generation is awesome, and the town should continue to provide services for this group. But, if you're a bit younger, the environment can be a bit discouraging. This is not an excuse, but not being in an environment that caters to a healthy lifestyle for younger people has become a barrier for me. I've managed to create some healthy habits, but not having those various options to access has hindered my wellness journey and has led to a more sedentary lifestyle.
Third, lifestyle creep. I landed another job, and along with this job, I got an increase in salary. The more money I earned, the more disposable income I had to spend on food. My "fun" and dining out increased. Still carrying a lot of stress from work, I had more money to blow and retreat to my false refuge, dining out. Not only did my dine-out increase, but my leisure spending increased, I stopped maintaining my budget, and I became fiscally irresponsible, and accumulated debt. This was not the same Courtney. I was a Dave Ramsey, debt-fee, budget-keeping fanatic. I planned almost every cent of my income. But this Courtney went missing as my income increased. My mindset switched from a frugal saver to a YOLO spender. My foundational values were diminishing by the day. My impulse shopping habits also included increasing my food consumption. All of these things have led me to where I am now with my weight gain and health journey.
Where I am presently. As you can see in the before and after photos, my body has changed tremendously. I'm not going to be too harsh on myself, as life happens and most of us have ups and downs in our weight. I can accept where I am now, but also know I prefer a healthier weight and a healthier overall lifestyle. My current weight is 195 pounds (currently 202 pounds), 39.3 body fat percentage, with a 33.9 BMI. I'm aware that BMI (Body Mass Index) doesn't provide the total picture of your body structure, but I will use this data for tracking results and to show improvements. For my height, 5'3 1/2, a healthy weight range for me is 124 -141 pounds, 21-31% body fat, with a BMI range between 18-25.
I'm ready to make a change and fight through my journey back to health. I say fight, because this will journey will be harder than before. I now have more barriers in place that can hinder my progress. I still work a highly demanding career, still lack gym variety, and I still have those unhealthy ingrained habits which I developed over the past few years. My goals are not impossible, but they are more challenging at this point in my life. obtaining good posture, maintaining strength, flexibility, and balance. Feeling better, having better self-constraint, and living a balanced and healthy lifestyle while maintaining a healthy weight are my goals.
I will be documenting my physical health journey. If you're going through a weight loss journey or trying to get your life back on track, I welcome you to join me in my health and wellness journey. Share your journey in the comments below and let’s motivate each other.
Be true, be balanced, be well.