Working out isn't always about weight loss.

Someone sent me a message the other day saying I was never fat to begin with. The intentions were sweet, but what you might not know is that I actually weighed almost 200 pounds in college (I’m 5 flat). I was a binge eater - the kind who would eat two family-sized pizzas on her own (with Coke!) followed by two pints of ice cream.

That's why progress photos are so important to me. I feel the need to document what my body looks like every now and then because I want to make sure I'm not falling back into old habits and becoming the unhealthy blob of fat that I was back during my college days. Here's my latest progress photo:

MAY 29, 2020 vs SEP 25, 2020

Two months into quarantine, I started feeling my old college habits creeping in. I was practically inhaling cups of rice and ordering two cups of milk tea a day. Food has always been comforting for me, but let’s face it: unhealthy eating habits lead to less productivity, less energy, and a negative mindset.

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for the movement of loving your body and accepting it with all of its flaws; but I also believe that you still need to make a point to look after your health and ensure that you don't abuse it by filling it with junk. (But that's just me. *shrugs*)

On the flip side, I was a size zero late last year and everyone said I was so skinny. I hated that just the same, if not more. I know that people meant for those comments to sound as compliments (since most people in the Philippines equate skinniness with beauty, for some reason), but my personal goal for the past few years has always been to look and be fit and strong - not to lose weight or get skinny. (It’s really just a matter of preference.)

I work out primarily for the positivity that it brings. It makes me feel good to finish a killer workout I know the Anj of a few months ago never would’ve finished. It makes me feel good to know that when someone needs help with heavy lifting, I can get it done. Working out has always been a challenge and a competition for and with myself - physical proof that I continue to become stronger as time goes by.

I still remember the exact date and time when I decided that I needed to add some workouts into my life. I was in my obese state (as mentioned earlier) and had just given birth to Syrena about two months prior to that when I found myself in the stupid position of almost falling off a cliff (long story). Anyway, I slipped and for a split second, I saw my life flash before my eyes. My first thought was of my 2-month-old baby girl who would've been left without a mother. It sounds funny, but I swear it was such a scary moment for 22-year-old me.

I knew that if I had slipped, no one would've been able to carry me up because I was too heavy and I knew that I wouldn't have been able to carry myself up, either. When I got back to the city (we were at the beach), I made a vow to change my lifestyle. I had to start with yoga because my ankles and knees couldn't handle anything more intense than that; and from there, I've dabbled in a bunch of other workouts to keep myself un-bored.

So there you have it: my decade-long fitness story in as small of a nutshell as I could put it (hopefully) without boring you. :p What's your fitness story? Would love to read it!