Activity Summer involvement with CAS – Catalina

August 4th, 2020 Since COVID 19 happened, the gym closed and I got really sad because going to the gym is one of my favorite activities to do in my free time. It makes me feel powerful and alive. With the reopening of the gyms I gave myself a goal. This year I went through a journey where I lost a lot of weight and my body changed completely. This summer I had a lot of free time and I wanted to feel more confident with my body after the big change. So I proposed myself to gain muscle and be more consistent with exercising and my diet. I have always struggled with food since I lost weight so going to the gym was not only a physical goal that I had but it also came with me overcoming my eating disorder and eating more to gain weight and muscle. I proposed to myself to go to the gym three times a week and wake up early at 8:30 to start my day off with exercise. I find that when I exercise in the morning I am more productive and positive and I just have a better mood throughout the day, so I enjoy making this a routine and sticking to it. In the gym I have a lot of friends that motivate me and the coaches are all so welcoming and supportive and I am so thankful to be part of that community of healthy and goal oriented people. Throughout summer I did notice progress in my body and my mentality when it comes to eating. I still struggle a bit with calories but I try to distract myself from that and remember that I need energy and that comes from the food I eat. I used to eat three tiny meals a day and I prohibited myself from snacking, but now I am eating bigger meals with snacks and I am proud of that. Many people don't understand the mental struggle I constantly lived with because it is different for everyone and it is hard for me to express myself in that area, so opening myself to my family was hard but possible. At the end of summer I can say I have definitely changed my mindset towards food and I am proud that my perception towards eating changed. Now I enjoy it and I stopped feeling less guilty, there are still days where I struggle a lot but that is part of the journey and I learned to love my body even if I felt “fat”. I also tried to stop making negative comments about food because it helps me trick my mind into thinking otherwise and it also doesn't make people around me feel bad. This is a journey that is still not over because I still want to gain more muscle and overcome my eating disorder completely so I will keep going to the gym at least three times a week even when I have school. I promised myself I wouldn't give up until I felt confident with my body and met my goals! Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance, Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, Identify your own strengths and develop areas for personal growth.