I’m getting better at monitoring my diet to make sure I am getting the required macronutrients to support my fitness goals. It is tedious to have to measure how many calories I am eating every day, but I think I’m going to have to give in because putting on weight is a real challenge for me. Right now, what works best for me is having a very protein-heavy and calorically dense smoothie in the mornings. I’d be happy with gaining 10 lbs of lean muscle mass in 6 months. I’m going to shoot for about 2500 calories a day and weigh in to adjust accordingly after a month.

In my last post, I mentioned that I previously joined YYoga about a month and a half into moving to Vancouver. For the first month of my membership, I was pretty good with using it every day. I used it fairly frequently in the second month. By the third month, I was only going a few times per week. The timing for the classes I liked was on the more inconvenient end. If I went for a spin class in the morning, I wouldn’t be at work until 8:15 am at the earliest. I like to be at work super early so that I can leave early.

I decided that I needed more variety in my fitness routine. Running and yoga are very complementary, so I went with that. Towards the end of December, I went for a 10 km run with a running crew that meets in Yaletown every Sunday. Runners are a very friendly bunch. I had a really great conversation with another runner who was closer to my age. She explained her rationale behind her fitness routine and gave me some great advice on adjusting to my new life here. After my conversation with her, I started thinking about exploring group fitness classes.

About a month later, I joined Equinox after hearing about their famous group fitness classes. After working out at their swanky West Georgia location for the past two weeks, I don’t think I could ever go back to a regular gym. I love working out there because they offer a wide variety of classes and the instructors are phenomenal. My favourite classes right now are The Pursuit: Build/Burn and True Barre.

I have spin class in the morning. I need to go to bed now, so I can try to get 7 hours of sleep. In short, I love my new gym and I feel motivated.

In late August, I moved from Edmonton to Vancouver. It was the best decision I’ve ever made in my life. I love my friends and my family, but living in Edmonton made me miserable.

Moving here came with challenges that I wasn’t quite prepared for. I went from living rent-free with my parents to haphazardly navigating Vancouver’s exorbitantly priced housing market. My existence as the antithesis of a domestic goddess was not conducive to cultivating the perfect life that I desperately desired. I was overwhelmed and exceedingly frustrated with my own incompetence. Adjusting to my new life still is an ongoing challenge, but it was especially difficult in the last quarter of 2018. I didn’t want to show signs of weakness to my family or friends. I didn’t want anyone to worry about me and I didn’t want to be subjected to condescension. I kept my problems to myself.

There were some things that I wish I had handled better in the first two months of living here. In retrospect, these events forced me to learn accountability and how to become more resourceful. After everything I had to endure within those few months, it could’ve sent me back into a spiral of depression. I surprised myself with my resilience. In part, having a positive work environment allowed me to feel supported as I pursued my professional goals. I also happened to join YYoga at a very opportune time, both for my mental health and my wallet (they significantly raised the price of membership a few days after I joined).

I’ve spent the last few of my birthdays being disappointed or upset. I was tired of letting other people’s actions determine my happiness. My way of coping with the myriad of intense emotions I felt during that time was to gift myself an Ironman 70.3 race so I could focus all of my energy on the challenge of preparing for this physically and mentally demanding event. I want to be a strong and independent woman that doesn’t need a man to function.

Since then, I’ve slowly learned how to build a routine that works for me. I’ve learned that caring for myself always comes first. I’ve learned that sustainable change doesn’t happen instantaneously and that being patient is truly a virtue. I’ve learned to set reasonable expectations and push myself to challenge my own way of thinking to become objectively better.

This year, I want to document my journey as I pursue the goals I have set for myself. I want to reflect on the challenges, failures, and successes that preparing for a race of this nature will bring. I want to measure my growth as an individual in a tangible way. 182 days to go!

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. – Nelson Mandela