Bilal's Story

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  I have chosen to share my friend Bilal's story because he motivated me to change he is amzing a real source of inspiration read on:
  
  I still remember that day as if it was yesterday, the day I decided to take control of my life and not let it control me, the day I decided that the life I was living then is not the life I wanted to live in the future. As a kid, I was always overweight, I played a lot of sports, however no amount of sports would compensate for my disgusting eating habits; there were no limitations, I would eat anything and in grotesque amounts. I started working out in grade 10th, made some decent improvement but then I started college… I started work… and I completely stopped any type of physical activities. And that is when it got really bad. College came and went yet the fat remained, but I never thought much of it… I didn’t think it was that bad. In 2009 I started my bachelors in Civil Engineering at Concordia. I wasn’t very serious about university, I was happy as long as I passed my classes, until I failed one… I think that was the first eye opener; I wasn’t taking life seriously. This brings us to September 2nd 2010, I was lying in bed… got up…looked at my reflection and felt disgusted. I knew I was fat but I never realized how severe it had gotten. It was around 10 PM, I called a good friend of mine who had been pushing me to join a gym and told him I was ready to join. I had tried before, and I hadn’t been successful but this time it was different… I felt like this time, I was mentally ready to face myself. I signed a one year contract to Powerflex gym, little did I know, I had just signed to a much happier life. I didn’t know much about working out, so I told myself I would do only cardio and lots of it. That elliptical was mine, I was there…everyday and some days two or three times a day. And my friend, who did not need to do any cardio, was there with me…keeping my vision clear. When I didn’t want to go, he would get me off my ass. I saw results… not only physically but mentally as well. My grades in school skyrocketed. I would train 7-10 times a week, work 25 hours and attend university as a full time student. Its weird to say, but the gym gave my life a new direction. It was tough though because people didn’t understand my new appreciation for the gym or why I would pay so much attention to the food I ate. I started this journey weighing in at 260 lbs, 8 months later I weighed 175 lbs. But I looked sick… the mirror kept telling me I was fat so I continued loosing weight, doing endless hours of cardio and no muscle building exercises. I had lost all that weight, spent all those hours on the cardio machines to look sick…it took its toll on me. But I didn’t let that get in the way of the vision I had of a better me. I started eating more, doing less cardio and more weight lifting. That brings us to now, I’ve graduated from Concordia University and I now work full time, I am still in the gym 5-6 times a week trying to better myself and trying different approaches. I was no fitness or nutrition guru; I was a normal 20-year-old student who wanted a better life for myself but this time, I didn’t let all the excuses I had made in the past get in my way. I would like to thank everyone who helped me along this journey and special thanks to Mario Karaziwan for getting my ass in the gym everyday and keeping me motivated.