Hey Y’all! Welcome back to Falling In Love With Fitness! I am so excited for today’s blog post! I will be sharing the story of how starting college gave me the boost I needed to start my fitness/weight loss journey!
The Back Story
Before I moved to Nashville to start college, I had tried countless times to lose weight in my life. Ever since I was a young girl, I was always bigger than my friends and classmates. It didn’t really bother me at the time, but that all changed when I started middle school. At this point in my life, I started becoming more aware of how I looked compared to others. Throughout middle school, I was active in sports so I thought that would be enough. I never tried to make a real change until high school.
During my freshman year of high school was the start of Covid-19. This caused everything in my life to stop. It allowed me to look at myself and realize I wasn’t happy. Before I get ahead of myself, I want to preface that every version of myself is beautiful, but my confidence was at an all-time low. At the beginning of quarantine, I decided to start working out because I had nothing else to do. COVID was also the beginning of the Chloe Ting craze that swept the nation, so I jumped on board. I started doing her workouts from YouTube and was having a good time. I also started going on walks in my neighborhood to add cardio to my routine. By the end of quarantine, I was actually starting to enjoy being more active, but I wasn’t consistent.
Once school started back up and I got back into my normal routine, I put my fitness on the back burner. Even though I was enjoying it, I got overwhelmed with the commitment that was required. Throughout the rest of high school, I tried other ways to lose weight. I took a weight-lifting class as my second gym credit, I started to follow a keto diet, and many more, but nothing stuck. I always got bored and quit when things got hard. By the end of high school, I was right back where I started with zero self-confidence.
Beginning of College
When I got on campus in the fall of 2023, I realized that there was no one telling me what I should and should not do. I was in charge of my own life, and I made my own rules. With this newfound sense of freedom, I was excited to start new journeys and see what Belmont had to offer. During welcome week, the campus gym was offering classes for freshmen to ease their way into the Fit Rec because going to a new gym can be scary, especially as a girl. My freshman-year roommate and I decided to try out one of the yoga classes together. It was a great way to see that the gym was nothing to be scared of, and it could actually be fun.
After that first class, I decided to go back by myself one day and just walk on the treadmill. I always loved going for walks, so I thought it would be easy to test the waters with something I already enjoy. It also allowed me to just see what else the weight room had to offer. I really liked my weight-lifting class I took in high school, and I wanted to get back into it. Even though I wasn’t really seeing any physical results yet, I could feel a difference. Just being more active and caring about the foods I was putting into my body showed me that small changes can make a big impact.
2024 New Year’s Resolution
After losing 15 pounds in my first semester of college, I realized that if I put my mind to something, I could actually do it. With this new confidence, I decided that I was going to make the ultimate New Year’s resolution. My goal was to lose 80 pounds by the end of the year. At first, that number sounded crazy even to me, but my friends and family did not bat an eye. They had 100 percent confidence in my ability to reach that goal if it was truly something I wanted to do. With their support, I knew the only thing left to do was start.
On January 1, 2024, I started my new year at the gym with my goal in mind. I knew this was a big challenge I was embarking on, but I had some strategies to help me along the way. One of the things that made the biggest difference in my journey was celebrating the small wins. I decided that for every 10 pounds I lost, I would get a reward. These were getting a new shirt, new shoes, new jewelry, and so on. This kept the process fun because it gave me something tangible to look forward to. Another strategy I used was adding fitness to my school schedule. At Belmont, all students are required to take an activity course, so I took Aerobic Walking. Taking this class at the beginning of my journey forced me to do cardio at least twice a week for class. The last strategy I implemented was logging my meals in an app. I used the My Net Diary app to track everything I was eating to make sure I stayed in a calorie deficit.
So throughout 2024, I used all of these strategies to ultimately fall in love with fitness. Along the journey, I tried different recipes, workout classes, and more to make sure I was enjoying the process. Even though I went into this wanting a physical change, I left with a lifestyle change. I have completely shifted my perspective on what losing weight has to look like. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if I am following a workout plan and diet that worked for you. If I am miserable doing it, I am not going to see results. I truly fell in love with the journey, and at the end of 2024, I met my goal of losing 80 pounds!
My Life Now
Looking back on this monumental time in my life, I am so proud of myself for never giving up. In the past, I would have stopped the second anything was hard. My 2024 New Year’s resolution wasn’t just about losing weight or physical results. It was about proving to myself that you can do hard things. This saying has turned into the motto that I use in every aspect of my life.
Since I reached my weight loss goal, I have accomplished even more physical goals that I never thought would be possible. In the summer of 2025, I ran my first ever 5k. Running to me used to feel like a form of punishment, but now it is something I actually enjoy. I love it so much that I ran my first 10k in February of 2026. I even signed up for my first half-marathon in April. Before my journey, I would have never been able to run a mile, let alone 13.1, but now I can. Not because of my size, but my physical health is ten times better.
While I am no longer on a weight loss journey, I am forever changed by the healthy lifestyle I created. Even though my confidence was at its lowest, I am grateful for the journey I embarked on to get it back. My weight loss journey ended up being a journey of confidence growth and physical health, all wrapped in one. Now I can share my story with others and hopefully inspire them to start their own journey.
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