Simply Kayla

I’m not here to tell you what to do. This (thankfully) isn’t my early 2000s yahoo forum, “Ask Kayla”. I simply want to tell a story that’s my own, although I’m sure many of you can relate.

The perfect body. It’s what I’ve always wanted since I had my first Barbie. But it took nearly 40 years to realize my goal should have been better habits. Our culture wants us to believe we can achieve the perfect body in an instant if we buy this food, this pill, this outfit. They promise instant gratification.

I think it’s simultaneously better and worse these days. Everyone is more aware and supportive of living healthy lifestyles. More importantly, there is more acceptance of different kinds of bodies. But not entirely. Instead of magazines and TV commercials, Instagram and other social media still feed us the promise of instant gratification. And I’ve definitely fallen for it.

Over the years, I’d obsess over trending workouts and diets. Which may have actually worked if I stuck with them. But just like I was promised, I wanted immediate results. Never patient enough to stay consistent, I was already trying a new diet, a new workout plan. But I never paid enough attention to nutrition and I never stopped to listen to what my body actually wanted. I was unfortunately consistent in eating pints of ice cream and buying sizes too small for me because that was the size I still saw myself as.

Anyways, like I said, it took a long time to realize this was not realistic or healthy. The shift in this realization did not happen overnight. Even when my body started to be in pain more frequently, I brushed it off – thinking it would just heal on its own. News flash – it didn’t. But as I got older, I saw everyone else get older. I saw my family start to age and face physical difficulties – it scared me, because I was just thinking present-tense, now. That’s when it clicked and made me start thinking of my body in the future. I wasn’t on a good track.

So what did I actually change? For one, I bought clothes that were actually my size. I was surprised by my reaction – being comfortable actually made me love my body more! Second, I started logging everything I ate with an AI, like Claude. I know many of you are against using AI, but I liked using this because it was free, and I could just talk to it. It helped me stay on track, motivated me, gave me substitutes for cravings, and new recipes with ingredients I already had in the pantry. Honestly, it was like a nutritional coach. Lastly, (and the hardest part), I stayed consistent with activity. I will tell you – doing 10,000 steps a day REALLY works. My problem was that I worked at a desk and found it overwhelming to complete that many steps in a day. What worked for me was to break it up – 20 min walk in the morning before work, 15 min walk at lunch, and a 20 min walk post dinner. What helped me stay consistent was when I realized I could get out of bed with no pain, I could reach down and put my socks on without my back cramping.

When I became more confident with moving, I signed up for a run club to have accountability. I signed up for strength-training group classes three times a week (paid in advance to help with consistency). When I had a good idea what foods I should be eating, I stopped logging everything (for me, it took 60 days to build the habit).

I haven’t shrunk down to the body I had been imagining all my life, or even to the one I used to have – but I feel so much healthier, I’ve gained new friends, and I understand my body more. I’m on a better track now and I’m really proud of myself.