After I lost a couple of pounds, I felt I needed a good plan to stick to my weight loss goals.
Coincidentally, I spotted an advertisement on campus by the UH Campus Recreation and Wellness Center.
The Wellness branch at the center was offering (and occasionally still does) free nutritionist consultations. I scheduled an appointment and saw the nutrition intern within a few days.
The nutritionist took my weight, height and body mass index, then wrote down my food choices to get my plan started. He calculated my BMI range at 31 — meaning I was essentially obese — and advised me to lower this number. In order to reach a healthy BMI range, I had to lose at least 40 pounds.
The nutritionist provided me with booklets on healthy eating and told me to keep a food journal. I took his advice and scheduled a follow up.
Under the nutritionist’s plan, I was required to eat less, of course, but also to eat small meals throughout the day. The plan I was given to lose weight might work for some, but it failed for me.
Everyone’s body is different, especially when it comes to weight loss and food digestion.
I gained three pounds back with the nutritionist’s plan, but at the follow-up appointment, my plan was edited for my own benefit instead of being more general.
My new plan called for a modest breakfast, lunch, and small dinner and exercising at least five times per week. Still, I was discouraged and thought I’d never successfully lose weight.
Not long after receiving my new nutritional plan, I started going back to 24 Hour Fitness regularly.
After getting winded on the treadmill, I discovered a cardio machine called the Cybex Arc Trainer in the back of the gym.
I gave it a shot and burned twice the calories I was burning on the treadmill in only 15 minutes. Soon enough, I was using the Arc Trainer for 60 minutes, five times a week.
In addition to eating better, I found myself 15 pounds thinner in no time at all.
While the UH Wellness Center was a great help, my success was backed by support from family and friends.
As I began to slim down, I received praise from close friends and even classmates I didn’t know too well.
Some of my overweight relatives and co-workers were inspired by my new lifestyle and started taking their own measures to lose those pesky excess pounds.
With so much support surrounding me, I began tracking my progress via Facebook.
I would share my calories burned at the gym, how many pounds I had lost for the month, and my favorite healthy foods.
After many workouts at the gym and munching on fruit for snacks, I was 20 pounds thinner and lost one size by the end of Spring 2011.
I enrolled in summer courses again and feared the hectic schedule would cause me to once again regain the weight I had worked hard to lose. However, I resolved to see the summer as an opportunity to exercise in the fresh air.
I was now halfway to my weight loss goal and determined to reach a healthy BMI number.
