Before I start sharing about my fitness journey, let me introduce myself. I am Akshita Kedia, a 18 year old student currently pursuing Bcom from Bhawanipur and actuaries from IFOA, UK.

I never really thought that I would be writing about my fitness journey because I have always been a very lazy person and working out “was” one of my nightmares. So it’s been just a year since I have started gymming and it has had a great impact on my life. So in 2016, there was some stupid trend on facebook where we had to put in our name and facebook would tell us what we are addicted to. But the only thing that facebook could say except  the million things that I was actually addicted to was ‘gym’, which was definitely not one of the things that I was expecting. And now few days back when facebook shared that memory, I was like okay, so now facebook knows more about what I’ll be doing in the future.

There was a point of time when I had gained so much weight that all of my relatives, friends would constantly taunt me and ask me to start working out. And now  when my father looks at me he feels proud of me, of what I have become and how I have transformed myself.

Last year when I got motivated to start gymming, I told my dad to buy me a yearly membership and he was like what’s the use, you are anyway not even going to go for a month (quoting him, “room se toh uthke bahar aaya nahi jaata, bas gym ka paisa waste karna hai”). But my mom constantly supported me and inspired me. (she is very beautiful and is still giving me a tough competition)

Now coming to what motivated me to start working out. When I was healthy, I always wanted to be physically strong like boys but never felt the need to and was also very lazy. But last year one incident changed my entire life, my mindset, what I thought about working out, everything.

30 May, 2017. I was travelling by metro for my tuition around 9-9.30 in the morning and I won’t really like to discuss about everything that happened but I was harrassed and on that very day I felt so weak, both mentally and physically. I didn’t know what to do. I felt helpless. And then I decided that I will start working out. Not just to lose weight but also to feel more confident and strong.

A month later I started working out, and trust me today when I say it, I can feel the difference. I have lost 11kgs and I am much stronger, both mentally and physically and I feel so peaceful after working out. If I don’t workout for a few days, I get irritated and start missing my gym.

The picture on the left is of 2017, almost 3 months before I began my fitness journey of a “not- so confident” and weak version of myself. Dealing with a poor mind and body relationship, I was in a dark place, and unstable mentally and emotionally. I thought “healthy” eating meant severe restriction or extreme diets. I really needed to make a change and then after 3 months I began exercising. Within days of being active, I felt an immense difference. Far before I saw changes in the mirror, I felt changes in my mind.

The picture on the right is of November 2017, few months after I started gymming. Self confidence and a strong mind was something I had then and that was all that mattered. Even I struggled at first, started and stopped at times, but everytime I quit, I began again, and now I’m here and there’s still a long way to go. I had no idea that implementing an active lifestyle would eventually have such an effect on me. And I am so proud of the girl on the left, drowning in insecurity and self-doubt, who made a choice, no matter how difficult it was.

To many of you it may not feel like I have achieved a lot, or lost a lot of weight, but that is not something that matters always. What is more important is that one feels confident and proud of their body shape, no matter what it is.

There is no secret to “transformation”. It is just hardwork, dedication and consistency. Of trying and failing but still getting up and pushing forward. Spending hours at the gym or maintaining extreme diets is not really necessary. All you need is a healthy mindset and to never give up on yourself.