 Hi guys, welcome back to my channel. Today's video is going to be a story time slash background history about my weight and my weight journey. I thought it would give you a better understanding about where I'm coming from when I talk about working out and everything like that. Also, I just love talking to you guys so I hope you enjoy this video. If you're not already subscribed, it would mean the world to me if you would subscribe and turn on the little bell icon so you get notified every time I post a video. Today's question of the day is what is your favorite food? Starting off, I danced for a while. If you've been around on my channel, you would know that. I did dance competitively. I went to an art school and danced there as well. I've always been physically active. I really didn't have to watch what I ate. I always had dance. So I had dance on the weekends during the week. Dance was my life. I was always on the move. My stamina was so strong and high. I could get through long hours of dance and rehearsals. So I danced from the time I was three probably until, well, until I was 17, 18 because I still did dance at school. But I stopped dancing competitively around 16, probably sophomore year. I think I stopped dancing. It was fine still and I didn't gain a ton of weight because I was dancing at school. And even though my school dance wasn't as rigorous as my dance studio dance, I was still getting physical activity and it just wasn't that big of a deal. Before we jump into college, right before I graduated, I had a virus and a bacterial infection that came through my thumb because I picked at it so much and it just got infected. It was really bad and I got really sick. And after that, I never really got back to the stamina I had when I danced competitively. I feel like I got a lot weaker. And when I danced at my school, it wasn't as rigorous like I said at my school than it was at my dance studio because my dance studio was super challenging and it was just a lot more physical body movements. I don't know. But so I got pretty sick my junior year to my senior year. I just think I was, I had a lot of anxiety because life was changing and then I go to college. So when I go to college, I'm really high strong. I have a lot of stress. If you guys didn't know, I went to school for biomedical sciences and I wanted to be a doctor. That's a whole other story. But I went to the University of Central Florida. I did have a car on campus but I walked everywhere. So most of the time when you go to college, everyone is like, oh, you're gonna gain so much weight. You're gonna get the freshman 15. I had the complete opposite reaction to that idea and concept. I lost a lot of weight. I was probably my most skinniest when I was at UCF. I was walking to all my classes. In the Florida heat, it's super hot out here. So I was sweating a lot because I was walking to all my classes. And if you've seen the UCF campus, it's huge. So when I would have classes at classroom building one or classroom building two, I would walk all the way from the Hercules housing unit. And I was stressed because I had to make good grades. Like, you know, they weren't perfect but they were still really, really good. And I was always studying. I basically lived on mac and cheese and green beans and Subway. So also too, before I went to college, my mom's like, you need to try vegetables and eat healthier. Because again, we think that I got sick and I got the infection and everything because of my diet. I was also traveling during the summer between my junior year and senior year. And I wasn't eating the healthiest because I was traveling. My mom was like, you can get this if you don't eat healthy. And I think that's what scared me into eating really, really healthy. So I was like, okay, so I ate Subway a lot and I had macaroni and cheese and green beans in my dorm, hence why I have a refrigerator and microwave in my bedroom right now because that was from when I was in school. So I was not eating a lot because a can of green beans isn't that big. And then the small packets of mac and cheese aren't that big. And I would have some chips on the side or whatever. And then I also had Subway a lot. And then I also had Chick-fil-A. Those are like the three main things that I like lived on in school. But I didn't really eat a lot and I was walking a ton. So that was a big factor in why I lost a lot of weight. So I was looking great back in the day when I was in university. And then I switched my major. As you guys well know, I went to Valencia for my AS degree in digital media. And that is when I think I transitioned and kind of started gaining weight because I wasn't getting a lot of physical activity. I mean, to walk to a classroom like we just parked our car like right outside the building. And then we walked in and then the whole class we were just like sitting. And then I would just get back in my car and then drive home because I commuted. My physical activity levels were starting to drop. So I think that is when my weight started to shift and I started to get a lot less physical activity. That was the big turning point. Then after being at Valencia for a while, then I got on birth control. And this is probably when I saw my weight spike up. I didn't really think of it or pay attention to it at the time. But then slowly transitioning after starting the birth control, I started my new freelance position at the TV station I worked for. And that was a lot of sitting. Like the whole like shift was sitting and editing at a computer. So clearly I wasn't getting up any physical activity doing that except for going and walking to the bathroom and back. And at the time I had just started the birth control. And as you guys know, birth control contributes to your hormones and everything like that. And probably makes you a little bit more bloated and affects your body differently. So with the combination of the birth control and the new work environment, I was definitely not seeing any physical activity. And I did not stop eating whatever I wanted. That combination kind of sets you up for failure. So I was eating a lot of pretzels, funyons, Doritos, all of that stuff, which I haven't cut out completely in my diet because I love that stuff. But I definitely don't eat it as much as I used to. And I definitely watch more what I eat. But that is really why I gained a ton of weight and I just didn't feel like myself. I know you guys are probably gonna ask me, are you still on birth control? Yes I am because I just wanna keep my hormones in check and it's already started a pattern. And I talked to my doctor and she was like, just stay on it, just because. I don't know, I do wanna do an experiment. If I were to get off birth control, would I drop even more weight? I'm just so curious. But right now I'm not going to. I will update you guys if that happens. So stay tuned for that if you wanna know. I don't know when that's gonna be, to be honest. I'm just throwing it out there. Some of you guys reached out to me saying, you know, I can barely do a burpee from Chloe Ting and I have never really been physically active. That is totally okay. I was always physically active and that's why when I got out of being physically active, I could easily get back into becoming physically active. It took a little bit longer but it was a little bit easier for me because I had a background in that. So don't be hard on yourself. You can still grow as a fitness person and your fitness journey. So don't give up hope, keep pushing and you've got this. I hope you guys enjoyed this video. I hope it gave you some more insight and a good little background about my weight and my weight journey. I'm still on my workout and fitness journey. So it's definitely not something that you just start and then stop. It's a continuous journey. That's why it's called a journey. But anyway, don't forget to give this video a thumbs up, subscribe to my channel, answer my question of the day and I'll see you guys in my next video. Bye.