For as long as I remember I wanted a slim body. I would look around and single out all the people who had the body I aspired to have and I’d watch them eat countless meals and snacks and never gain a single ounce of extra weight. How did they do it? What was their secret? Why was it a secret?

A lot of my questions were left unanswered but that stopped being a particular concern of mine because in 2017, I became the vision of my aspirations. I was ‘slim’ (borderline skinny) and I was happy. But, my happiness didn’t last. I realized that the body I had worked so hard for wasn’t actually my ‘ideal body’. It was simply a body that I had been conditioned to want, as that’s what I had seen in mainstream media growing up.

I decided that I’d prefer myself with a little extra meat on my bones. Now here I am, 2019 Nicole, making active efforts to gain and maintain 62kg. Younger me would be so confused to know that weight gain efforts awaited her in the future.

My point is, when you embark on your wellness journey, although it’s important that you have a clear sense of direction, it’s also essential to keep an open mind and welcome change where necessary.

Wellness journey’s take you through a very interesting transition from who you were/are to who you would like to become. During this time, change is inevitable. As we grow, our perceptions and desires change to correlate with our growth. So rather than solely focusing on your physical appearance, invest more into the various other aspects of your change whilst still paying attention to your physical aspects. This way, you’ll get closer to your own definition of your ideal self and your ideal body. 

​-Nicole K

The second month of 2019 is in full swing. The month of love, black history month, you know how it goes. I know it’s not far-fetched for one to assume that a large percentage of people have already set aside a good majority, if not all of the things they had planned to achieve this year. All over social media you'll probably notice memes that go something like this: ‘Oops, I’ve messed up already. Guess I’ll try again next year”.

In as much as I find those memes and comments funny, we’ve made it socially acceptable to fail without remorse or desire to learn and build on the experience. It's important to know that failure is never a bad thing, as long as it is harnessed as an opportunity to learn and grow. However, if one fails, laughs it off and remains stagnant for the rest of the year then what have they really achieved? To put it simply, absolutely nothing!

‘We don’t plan to fail; we fail to plan’

It’s the same story with Wellness and Fitness related New Year’s Resolutions. During the first week of January, you have people overflowing with passion and desire to change and better themselves physically. Week two, these people often now realise that knowing that you’ve paid a month’s gym membership subscription isn’t enough motivation on its own to get them out of bed. Others are slapped in the face with changing food expenses after realizing that healthy diets are more like a investment as compared to a quick bite from their favourite fast food place. Week 3, wellness resolutions are out the window and we’re back to square one.

In order to stay on track you’ve got to remind yourself why you ever wanted to begin. Why did you want to change and why you should continuously make effort to pursue those changes? Motivate yourself to constantly want to fall deeper in love with yourself through the efforts you make to help yourself grow. It’s not easy but that's no surprise. It's precisely why the English language has a dictionary’s worth of sayings about how you’ve got to work hard and experience hardships before enjoying the fruits of your labour.
‘The calm before the storm’, ‘it’s always darkest before the dawn’, and many more…
 
I'm urging you now to push yourself. Get out of your comfort zone, exceed the limitations and boundaries that confine you and hold you back from becoming great.
​
Become the version of yourself that would inspire the younger you!

​-Nicole K