The new me

I had a very interesting conversation this morning with Rusty (one of my PTs) - he is someone who didn't know me before I started this journey. I have known him for 12 months, so he has seen my progress, but not right from the start. I have only been training with him for 4 or 5 months. He made a comment that I wasn't shy... at all!

That really surprised me because I have always considered myself shy, except with a few select people. I have moments of very little confidence. I hate going places where I don't know people. I hate going to parties, or arriving to meet friends at the pub by myself. I like to have someone to walk in with in case I can't find my friends! What I realised is that I am actually not that person any more. Sure I still have my moments, but most of the time I am happy and fairly outgoing. That really surprised me because I actually hadn't stopped to think about how weight loss has affected my personality.

I came back from a holiday in Italy at the end of June 2006. I had moved to Sydney from Melbourne in May and knew 1 person. After my holiday I started to settle in and realised I was so unhappy with myself that it was going to affect how I made friends, and therefore how I survived in a new city. My self esteem was very low and because of that I didn't feel like going out and meeting people. I was at an all time low and I had 2 choices. I could go home to Melb, or I could do something about it. I'm not a quitter so I decided to do something about it. I made 2 promises to myself - I would lose weight and I would not turn down any social invitation. I very nervously walked into Fitness First to have a look. I signed up for a membership and a 'triple pack' which is 1.5 hours with a PT. That's when I met Nathan, and that's when my life turned around. He was an awesome PT - he encouraged me, motivated me, taught me to love exercise and introduced me to alot of people. He even took me out with his friends so I could meet them.

That was over a year ago. Nathan has since left FF but I easily slipped into a training regime with Rusty and Dan (I couldn't choose between them!). I have made a nice little circle of friends, mostly from the gym and through people who go to the gym. I am much happier and I am loving life and the challenges it brings. And you know what... the person that Rusty knows is the REAL me. I just hadn't realised it!