A busy schedule is a classic excuse people use every day. But it’s all a question of balance and willpower. It takes time and effort to create the body and lifestyle you want for yourself. Everyone has the same amount of hours in the day – some people just make theirs count more than others. Sunny thought that having a career meant that there would be no time to put herself first. But with lots of hard work and patience, she managed to fight back to where she wanted to be – losing 14kg in the process. Now she no longer sees training as a chore, it’s a choice.
I think a lot of people have similar stories to mine – I was always active when I was younger. I danced, played volleyball and did sport in my free time. I didn’t have to think about what I ate and was always slim. But that changed when I started university. I didn’t do anymore sports and my eating habits got worse and worse. I never really thought about what my now unhealthy lifestyle was doing to my body. I suppose I never really wanted to notice the change in my figure. Then, after two years of this, I saw a picture of myself that totally shocked me. There was no way that was me.
This was the shock I needed to get me active. I started with Freeletics Bodyweight and luckily found enough time for it without letting my studies and job suffer. I was happier again and found the balance that I’d lost in my life. When I finished university, I started working full-time. This meant that in the evenings, I was too tired and lazy to cook something healthy, and training was out of the question. I just wanted to relax. I started eating a lot of ready meals and fast food and stopped exercising. But because I felt good about myself at that point, I didn’t think I would gain weight like before. And so the whole cycle started again. After a year, I saw a picture of myself from a trip to New York and was shocked and disappointed that I’d let myself go so much. Again.
I knew it was up to me to find a way to make my working life compatible with a healthy one. So many others do it, why not me? I knew I had to change something straightaway, so I applied to test the new Freeletics Running app over 3 months. I needed something new that would really push me, and this seemed like just what I was looking for. Running was something I knew I didn’t have to be afraid of. But after the first week of training and changing my diet, I doubted whether I could do it. It was tough. I had reached my limit. I knew I wasn’t the fittest person, but I never thought I had become this unfit. I was so tired and sore. And I was craving sugar and bad foods. I wanted to stop.
But I didn’t. Every day I asked myself why I was doing this to myself. Was my life so bad before? I wasn’t totally happy, but at least it was comfortable. And then I reminded myself every time that I wanted a new life. And that was going to take time and effort. So I changed my lifestyle. I learned quick, healthy recipes, stopped seeing running as a chore, but as a way to become who I wanted to be and a way to relax after work. Training was hard, but that feeling of being free from my everyday stress was amazing. So I ran. In sun, rain and snow. And I got to know some great people on the same journey.
For weeks, I didn’t notice much change, and this dampened my motivation. I kept going, but I was close to quitting – why bother when I didn’t even see a real difference in the mirror? I was frustrated. But I didn’t want to give up. And then I came out the other side. Suddenly I noticed changes in my body and saw kilos disappearing on my scales. I saw a huge difference in my performance and loved it. I became faster, could run further and had lots more energy. This was the moment I realized that I was going to reach my goal. No matter what. Nothing was going to stop me.
And looking back I’m so happy I kept going. In 20 weeks, I lost 14kg and went from a size 40 to 36. At the beginning, when I first started running, I had to keep stopping. I was slower than the others and I was always gasping for air. I couldn’t keep up and I was really struggling during every workout. But now I feel fit, confident and athletic. I have more energy than ever before and I run and run, further than I ever imagined I could. This makes me so proud. The journey was a struggle. I was close to quitting, but I’m thankful for the physical and mental challenges. Mastering them has allowed me to realize my potential. I can now successfully balance a full-time job, training, social life and a healthy diet. Training and eating clean shouldn’t be seen as a chore, but as an investment in yourself. I’ve learned this for good now.
I hope I can inspire people unhappy with themselves to go out and make a change. If I can, there is no reason why you can’t. It’s hard work, but it will be so worth it! Don’t be afraid of the first step – anyone can run and it doesn’t matter how far or fast you go at the beginning. So grab a friend and start running! It may change your life.
