Hello lovelies! I miss you all so much. In the past two days, I’ve put the finishing touches on two 19-page projects and am in the midst of three other assignments, one of which is a 12-page article. Simply said, there is no extra time for blogging…which breaks my little heart into pieces.
I’ve asked Matty to fill in and I think he’s followed through with flying colors on this one. He has a different and interesting story on how he got into shape and found his “happy place.” I hope you enjoy! I’ll be back tomorrow!
Hey, everyone!
I would consider myself to be pretty healthy; I exercise regularly and I have a relatively balanced diet (I’m no Heather, but I do what I can to eat right). But things weren’t always this way.
I was lucky enough to have a very high metabolism when I was younger. I could eat whatever I wanted and because I was always playing sports or running around with my friends, I was always a skinny kid (which isn’t an easy task when you live in an Italian family that is constantly putting food in front of you); it also helped that I was a very picky eater back then and never really had a big appetite. I still remember being little and sitting on my grandmother’s lap and having her tell me that I had “a boney butt”. Sorry, Grandma.
As a result, I never really paid much attention to what I was eating. I could eat fast food for every meal (which I’m not proud to say I’ve done before) and wouldn’t gain an ounce. Even after my first two years of college when I could basically eat as much as I wanted, I wouldn’t see much weight gain. And then it all came to a grinding halt.
Junior year I moved out of the dorms and into an apartment with my friends. I obviously wasn’t used to buying food for myself, so I didn’t really know what to buy. Also, I wasn’t interested in cooking yet, so this resulted in a lot of frozen foods and other easy-to-prepare meals. When I would eat on campus I would basically just go with whatever I was in the mood for and not worry about the nutritional facts of anything. I started gaining weight at this point; not very quickly, but it adds up over a two-year period.
This trend continued after graduation. Like most 2009 college graduates I moved home and lived with my parents. I would eat pretty much whatever my mom cooked, just like I had done when I was younger. But that super metabolism that I had had four years earlier had all but disappeared.
Fast-forward a year and half to December of 2010. I had noticed that I was developing a bit of a gut, but it didn’t really bother me that much at the time. Then it finally hit me: I remember sitting on my bed one night and looking at myself. I was 165 pounds, which may not seem like much, but I didn’t have much muscle, so it was mostly from fat that I had accumulated from over three years of unhealthy eating. It was at this point that I decided that I was going to change.
My decision to get in shape wasn’t solely based on how I felt. At the beginning, my main reason for wanting to lose weight was Heather. At this point we had been together for about two and a half years. She had always been in really good shape while mine continued to decline. I decided that it wasn’t fair to her for me to look the way I did while she was working really hard to stay in great shape. I joined a local gym shortly after that and never looked back.
Throughout my journey towards a healthier lifestyle I’ve constantly been inspired by Heather. Watching her workout and seeing how strong she is has really motivated me to keep pushing myself to get in better and better shape. I lost 20 pounds in the first five months and am now working on building muscle.
Not only has Heather been my inspiration to exercise, but she’s also taught me so much over the years about how to eat better. My diet has changed dramatically because of all the things that I’ve learned from her: I stopped eating fast food, I eat more fruits and vegetables, and I consume less meat and dairy.
Another very important thing (probably the most important, actually) that Heather has shown me is that I should be doing all of these things for myself, not for others. When I told her that I started exercising because I wanted to look better for her, she told me that she didn’t want me to do it for her; she wanted me to do it for me. She let me know that she will love me whether I’m in shape or not and that the only reason I should be healthy is for my own well-being. She helped me transfer my motivation from her to myself, and I’ve really benefitted from that.
While it may be over-dramatic to say that Heather saved my life, it’s definitely safe to say that she has completely transformed the way that I look at exercise, food, and my own body; and that’s something that I can never thank her enough for.
- Matty
P.S. – All photos were taken by my dear friend Kelsea Cardoza, an incredibly talented photographer. If you’re in the MA / RI area and looking for a photographer, she is nothing short of amazing to work with!
