FB Strong results-pictures . Change of mindset

Hey, FB Community!

This is my first post ever, but reading some of your journeys has inspired me to share mine. I'm 28 years old, and although I've never been truly overweight, I've struggled with losing weight and wanting to be skinny since I was a child (thanks, media and unrealistic beauty standards!). Due to this preoccupation with being skinny, I began working out at the gym on and off since I was a teenager, but I never stuck to it. I would sign up, be super motivated to lose weight (and lost weight) for 4-6 months, and then quit because I HATED working out, and because whenever I cheated on diets, my motivation would just disappear and be replaced by guilt. I now realize how unhealthy this mindset is. In 2016 I underwent a psychiatric treatment for anxiety, and with the medication and anxiety I ended up gaining 8 kg.. It wasn't a massive amount of weight I had gained, but I never felt so out of shape and disconnected from my body the way I felt back then.

Fast forward to December 2017: I had to lose weight to fin in a maid-of-honor dress for my best friend's wedding. I worked out like crazy (doing body combat at home) and followed a strict diet. My goal was still to be SKINNY. I came across FB and did a workout while I was on vacation. It was SO difficult! I had lost weight, but I didn't feel neither fit nor strong. I decided to try a 5-day challenge, and although it was difficult, I managed to complete it. Then I did another one. Little by little I started feeling more confident on what my body could perform. I

Now it's been almost 5 months since I started working out with fitness blender, and my body has had major positive changes. After completing both 5-day challenges, I purchased and completed FB Sweat. I lost weight and got very slim, but seeing my body get stronger made me want to build more muscle and not just be skinny (I'm 9 kg lighter than I was a year ago, but I'm starting to build muscle throughout my body and I like what I see). I'm about to complete FB Strong (thank you, Kelli and your beloved strength training!) for the first time, and I can honestly say my mindset is what has changed the most. I work out 4-5 days a week, and I enjoy working out and the way working out makes me feel. There are some days I really need to push myself into it, but remembering how working out makes me feel is enough to find motivation during the lazy days. My eating is relatively clean, but I cheat a lot on weekends. The funny thing is that those cheat days don't make me feel guilty as they did before, because my body feels so active overall.

I think the best lesson I've learned in this journey is: DO NOT make working out something aversive. This is something I used to do in the past: pushing myself excessively in order to finish a certain workout, and it gradually became aversive (that's why I used to end up quitting the gym). Fitness IS a journey, so the slower and safer, the better. Thinking like this has kept me steadily motivated and has prevented injuries (both physical and emotional).

Sorry for the long post. But FB has helped me in ways I could've never imagine it would be possible. I'm really proud of being a part of a community of people that are learning to love and to take care of their bodies in a healthy and realistic way.