Himanshu Walia, 30, France
I recently moved to Paris from London with my family. Relocating with family is never an easy feat. It involved months of planning and, even then, it took us long to settle in here. As a result I wasn’t getting any exercise and living on junk food. Though I have always enjoyed an active lifestyle, I have never able to make it sustainable long enough for it to become ingrained.
This time around, I knew I had to change my habits.
I came across the Fabulous app last year, but couldn’t convince myself to use it long enough for any changes to happen. This year, the fabulous app caught my eye again when it was featured in the Play Store. I was determined and desperate to change my habits, and wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip through again.
I installed it and have been coming back to the app time and time again.
That being said, the hardest part initially was to trust the process, but all the letters I received during the “Unexpected Journey” were so powerful. The impact on my mentality was enormous, and is the reason I’ve been able to keep moving forward.
Though there were many times where I was ready to give a mental excuse to not get up early, do that workout or go for a run, I pushed myself. I started to realize all the knowledge I gained from reading every letter carefully made me more confident and apt for any hurdles on the road ahead.
At this point, I can’t think of starting my day without my morning ritual. Some of the habits are so ingrained in my lifestyle that they have become my second nature just like taking a bath or brushing my teeth every day. I just do it.
For example, drinking water and eating a healthy breakfast are so easy for me now. I have a set of good breakfast recipes, which I rotate through every week.
It’s easy to put yourself last when you’re a father to a 20-month old toddler along with a full-time job. But I learned that it doesn’t have to be this way.
Fabulous changed the game for me. Though I still have ways to go, I’ve learned to make time where it seems impossible to make time. Like finding an hour for myself to workout every morning.
When I feel like I am going off track, I read few letters again. It always helps set my mind back on the right path.
Mikala Henderson, 22, Canada
If I had to describe myself in one word, it would be that I am excitable! Maybe even a hype-woman?
I joined Fabulous because the app design caught my eye. The colors were so vibrant and beautiful. I had no idea that it was what I had been looking for.
I’ve always known that I needed to have a routine. Something to help me eat right, exercise, and to help cope with my depression and anxiety.
Never the one to juggle, I tried multiple times to make changes that would impact my life for the better. But it would always fail terribly. Mainly because I’d try to solve all my issues at the same time. My poor habits were getting the best of me, and even small stuff like getting up on time for events were a struggle. I felt like the worst hype-woman ever.
As it turned out, the colourful app I downloaded was a wellness coach! Starting it up, I only had one thing to do on my first day: drink water! The pacing was a lot different from my past attempts of trying to rush my solutions, but I’ve been grateful.
Now I drink water, eat breakfast, read, think about the obstacles in my day, tidy up, do yoga, get dressed, make my bed and celebrate my accomplishments…by 8am! But don’t be fooled. These changes came one at a time. Now my routine seems as natural to me as stretching when I first wake up.
The biggest obstacle in my journey still is getting other people to join me. I have people in my life who were at the bottom with me, and are still there. I want to be an example and have the energy and strength to hype other people as my mentors and Fabulous have done for me! They can get up, eat right and exercise too!
If you see a twenty-two-year-old girl dancing down your street, it’s me, doing my new exercise routine, come join me!
Alyshia Barnes, 18, Australia
I recently graduated high school, but decided to take a gap year before pursuing a career in writing. During school I developed some really bad habits. Eating rubbish, barely studying, exercising never. It just wasn’t good for me. I was blessed with genes that have left me naturally skinny. Though this is great it gave me an excuse to be horrible to my body because I looked ‘healthy’ so I always assumed I was.
It wasn’t until I noticed I was eating entire blocks of chocolate, needing a break to breathe after walking from one class to another, lacking concentration in activities I loved, and waking up still feeling yesterday pressing my eyes closed that I realized I was sick.
Feeling tired constantly was my biggest struggle at the time. So when I found Fabulous and embarked on the “unexpected journey” to feeling energized, I was excited at the chance to find a solution. I think even the simplicity of having a glass of water every morning helped significantly.
Since undertaking the energizing journey, I have taken steps that have not only maintained that energy but increased it to a level I never thought I’d achieve. I felt like Fabulous was my net. Previously when I failed to follow through, I would have to start at the beginning, but with this, each fall was only a stumble and I could recover easily.
I am actually shocked with how much energy I have now. I find myself wide awake every morning, dancing to the latest album by my favorite band, and it’s in this moment I realize that things are going to work out pretty well.
Henna Kuukannel, 26, Finland
My first journey with Fabulous began a few years back. Suffering from depression and chronic pains, I was surrounded by apathy.
I desperately needed a way to get out of my own head. That’s when I saw Fabulous in the “recommended apps” area of my app store. This was my first concrete step to recovery. Fabulous was very gentle in the way it introduced healthy routines to my life so it was easy to follow.
Little by little, I regained energy and became more active (though I still struggle with daily workouts). However, I’m learning that it’s just a matter of getting started, and everything afterwards gets easier.
Sometime last year, my health slumped as my double-lung transplants caught chronic rejection. I became increasingly disabled. It was a truly challenging time for me mentally, and Fabulous played a big role in helping me through that. I couldn’t leave the apartment and I was in terminal care, but still managed to find meaning in every day activities. Little chores to do. Hobbies to focus on.
I battled one last time for a place in waiting for new lung transplants and against all odds I’m here today; in great physical health, with healthy lungs. Every day I open Fabulous, I’m grateful for the strength it has given me, physically and mentally.
There’s still plenty of snow and ice on the local lake right now, but once it melts I’m heading towards a longer journey. One that focuses on exercise and encourages running outside.
For more Fabulous Stories, read here
