By MANYI ENO

Contributing Editor 

Every year, I say “This is it. This is the year I’m going to lose weight and get in shape.” 

I always start out strong, but eventually I completely stop and say, “Maybe next year I’ll be more serious.” 

Well, next year came, and the year after that. Like always I would start, then stop. It wasn’t until the end of my first semester in college that I realized how unhealthy and overweight I actually was and felt. 

My friends would say, “You’re not overweight,” but I knew my body and them telling me that I was not overweight didn’t help me lose any weight. They didn’t have to live in my body for the rest of their lives. So, I decided that since I was the one who had to live in it, why not take care of it? 

When 2013 began, I completely changed my whole lifestyle. I cut red and processed meats completely out of my diet and became a vegetarian. I started to drink water like it was my religion and I went to the gym every day except Fridays. I even cut my hair to have a fresh start, and I love it. My friends thought I was crazy for exercising so much and not eating meat, but I didn’t care at all. I wanted to take care of my body, and I wasn’t doing it because someone told me I should. It was completely my choice. 

I hear people complain all the time about some of the unhealthy food in the cafeteria, but they still continue to eat the same unhealthy stuff every single day. 

Ever since I have gone vegetarian, it has been hard trying to find something to eat in the cafeteria because they don’t have many choices, but I always find something and make it work. 

Even if it’s a peanut butter and honey sandwich every day at lunch, it’s a sacrifice worth taking. 

Another thing is that when people hear the word healthy or vegetarian, expensive comes to mind. I know because that was one thing I was also worried about. 

Yes, it can be expensive to live a healthy lifestyle, but there are countless ways to make the unhealthiness in foods healthy. For instance, instead of eating fries with ketchup, pour vinegar over them. The vinegar cuts down the carbohydrates in the fries. That may sound weird and gross, but I tried it once and I couldn’t stop eating them.

What I’m really trying to say is that it doesn’t take much to turn your life around. I’m not saying the whole school should go completely vegetarian, but that they should be more careful of the foods that they eat every day. 

And that doesn’t mean counting all the calories in your favorite ice cream or going to the gym after you eat a snack. Just pay attention to the portions of your food and watch what you actually put into your body on a daily basis. 

Do some research on healthy alternatives on your favorite meals and you will be surprised what foods are actually good for your body and how others aren’t. 

I learned that even though I would motivate myself to start something, I would stop a few weeks later and wouldn’t be any closer to my goal.  

Saying that I was going to do something over and over again to myself did not get me anywhere. 

Now that I actually stuck with my weight loss goal, I’m seeing ridiculously good results and I couldn’t be happier. Saying it didn’t make it so, doing it made it happen.