More people are realising the importance of being healthy and keeping fit.But with all the food (mostly junk) out there and the busy lifestyle (that keeps people in the office), you will see many excuses coming out. Some excuses are really creative, really.
It used to be the same with me. I had all sorts of excuses that i came out with: "genetics", "nothing works on me", "I may look like this but I'm all good", "it does not matter as long as I am happy", "You only live once", and much more.
What I Was Before
I was fat. Really FAT.... In fact i was OBESE. But I am not the tallest person you could find. I admit I am short (151cm/5ft). Being overweight and short did not help, but I did not care. I ate what I wanted, which was mostly junk food (because they tasted so good). Probably one reason why I did not care about my condition was perhaps because people around me accepted me for who I was. Don't get me wrong, I am not blaming them but because they accepted me for how I was (whether because they did not want to hurt my feelings or for any other reason), it gave me the idea that being FAT was okay. The other reason was probably because I am quite alright in sports that I was able to beat most of my friends in most games we play. That gave me the idea "I'm fat, but I can beat people in sports". So again, being fat is okay, I though.But i guess i let my love for food to go out of control. I went on like a food crusade, eating all sorts of food. (The fact that I am related to the tourism and hospitality industry did not help me, so i thought). And work was keeping me away from sports with my friends. My weight skyrocketed. For someone who is 5ft tall, for my weight to reach close to 100kg (220lbs) was not funny. My body fat percentage was almost up to 50%. Almost half of me was fat.
The Wake Up Call
The end of 2010 gave me a wake up call. I went for a footsal (indoor football) game, invited by some friends. I went onto the court and after about half a minute running around I felt dizzy and felt like fainting. I realised I was not so fit anymore (1st step), but I still thought it was something minor. I signed up for a gym in November of 2010. The true call came in December 2010 when one of the trainer asked me to run on the treadmill (I've always avoided the treadmill, opting for cross trainers; reason "i can't run because it hurts my knees and ankle"). I never liked running. So I was made to run on the treadmill on the speed of 7km/h and I struggled to last half a minute. I was grasping for air, things around me were getting dark; I was struggling for oxygen.That was when I admitted that I was FAT, UNHEALTHY and UNFIT. I was about 95kg at the time. I wanted to change.
Transformation
I started to change my diet, eating more healthy and started to go to the gym more regularly. I changed my lifestyle to adapt becoming more health conscious. Along the way I have had various challenges especially from people who were giving discouraging comments: "no point doing this", "it's useless", "I don't see any changes, just stop what you're doing", etc. But this time I was determined to prove people wrong. I tried various workouts and although it took me sometime, after a year i managed to reduce to 75kg. (a loss of 20kg / 44lbs). I've still a long way to go but I am still working on it.
Hence I created this site as a tribute to my effort in continuously transforming myself and to share what I have done to those that think it is impossible.
The Gym Monkey shares experiences, thoughts, ideas and experiences about fitness and healthy living in general. Who says being fit and healthy is not fun. I am by no means a fitness expert. I love travelling and I teach for a living. But I've taken one of my excuse and turned it into motivation. "YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE"