Before and after CrossFit by Anabel Ávila

It took me a while to decide to do this article. First, because it was hard for me to recognize myself in the before photo and second because I had few full body photos at that time. It's obvious that I didn't feel very comfortable with this kind of photos and I guess many of them simply ended up in the recycle garbage can.

With the passage of time I have learned to value change as something positive instead of finding fault with the girl in the photo on the left. To congratulate myself for the effort that goes into those years that separate one photo from the other. And also to understand how much I could help others by sharing my story.

So here we are, and don't be scared because you see a lot of information, a lot can happen in 6 years.

Beware of false before and after

First of all, I have to warn that all that glitters is not gold and I do not like to see people being deceived or false expectations being created. 

I'm not a big fan of the before and after photos we see on Instagram or online in general if they don't explain everything behind it.

If you don't really know that person's story, many of them can be surreal and you shouldn't believe them. Especially those that pretend to advertise a product and appear great transformations are supposed to be easy and fast. Do not believe at face value everything you see on social networks, unfortunately there are many people who have no problem to lie if they have a purpose behind it... $$$$ 

So don't wonder what you're doing wrong or hate yourself because you don't evolve like someone else you've seen, because you may be comparing yourself to a Photoshop or simply a story that doesn't exist.. 

From sedentary lifestyles to Bodypump

I currently do CrossFit and I am a follower of paleo dietBut this whole process of change started much earlier and it is important that we remember the beginning.

Here you have my before to an active, healthy and balanced life in all aspects of my life. My after, with a few pounds less, a few years more and a woman who feels strong and confident.

I think the first thing to emphasize when looking at photos like these is that no worthwhile change happens overnight. 

And gentlemen, if you are waiting for me to tell you the miraculous way in which I have gone from one photo to the other, I'm sorry to tell you that no tricksThere is only one way: exercise, healthy eating and a lot of perseverance. In numbers, about 10 kilos less and about 3 years more.

The change is quite obvious to the naked eye, but there have been changes beyond the physical ones. Changes that are not visible to the naked eye and that have to do with feelings.

Many of you already know my life, for those of you who are not yet up to date I will give you a brief review. 

In the photo on the left I had been living in Australia for only about 6 months, but I didn't need any more time to say: So long! The clothes I was wearing from Barcelona didn't fit anymore, something was happening.

I had stopped going to the gym as I used to do in Barcelona. In Australia I didn't know if I would stay longer, and when I renewed my visa for 3 years I said... head to the gym! 

Besides, I had been eating what I could, working in restaurants, without much knowledge of nutrition... And I guess the stress of being in a country looking for a living wouldn't help much either.

I remember that I had always been a rather petite girl, I had been weighing 49 kg for years. When I went to live in Australia I know I weighed 52 kg.

My first day at the gym in Sydney, I saw a scale and weighed myself. I almost had a heart attack when I saw exactly 60.9kg. I'm bad at numbers, I'm terrible at remembering names... that number will never be forgotten.

Well, Ihe decision was madewhich is undoubtedly the most important thing.

And if the decision to change my physical condition wasn't important enough, I decided to train as a Body Pump instructor. Now I had one more reason to get in shape, to become a good Body Pump teacher. 

Cardio, weight training and a light diet

I am a very stubborn person, the decision was made and no one would make me change my mind.

Now it was time to get down to work. I had to get back into the rhythm of the gym and try to learn something about nutrition. And right now I look back and see that I put in a lot of effort, but I was really lost. Looking for light versions here and there instead of eating real food.

My paleo version had not yet arrived, but the important thing is that I was willing to change and fight.

During this time I did a LOT of cycling and elliptical training, with the intention of losing the extra weight. Some weight training in the weight room to feel strong enough to do my Body Pump classes. Now I see that it's not the best combination, but I was very consistent and committed to my goal.

In fact in 2022, I did training and diet to lose weight after becoming a mother. At 6 weeks I lost 5 kilos so I advise you to read this post which explains the unique efficient formula for safe weight loss.

The process was slow, but rewarding, like anything you do in life that is worthwhile. There were days when I didn't feel like exercising, or eating right, and I wanted to do the opposite. There were days when my willpower won out and days when it didn't. But almost always my stubbornness won out. But almost always my stubbornness won out over everything else.

It took me a while to get my confidence back, to have a healthy relationship with food, and to understand that this was a lifestyle that I was going to have to carry with me forever. That I had to get comfortable with it because I didn't plan to go back to the old ways.

This was certainly my first change, but I have continued to change over time and I can see big differences again from 2013.

Before and after CrossFit

After 3 years in Australia, it's 2013 and it's time to go back home. Once in Barcelona I didn't manage to work as a Body Pump instructor. I had to focus on training in the machine room of the gym, but soon I noticed that something was missing.

I was looking for something to motivate me again and came across CrossFit. After discovering what it was like in the first CrossFit class and there was no turning back. 

As I savored what a CrossFit workout was like, the feeling it left me with after training, how the high intensity was getting me to improve my abilities and my body, I just wanted more. I wiped out my traditional gym membership and started ramping up my CrossFit classes.

When you enter a box your goal changes after a while. You stop focusing on weight loss and looking cute for the summer. Your new goal is to be able to do this, that, be stronger, faster, more resistant... And with all this training, the evolution is not only physical, but even more important, there is a mental evolution.

CrossFit takes your training to the next level, to performance. The aesthetics simply come on their own. 

All this together has made me who I am today. I have learned to believe in myself, to feel good inside and out, to look good and without complexes. That is thanks to the values that are enhanced in this sport, everyone who has tried it understands what I mean, CrossFit transforms you, whatever your starting point and your initial goal. 

One thing people worry about when they start this sport is how their body is going to change. If you Google CrossFit bodies you're going to come across CrossFit pros and it's going to scare you. Believe me it will be rare that you will find a person in your box who looks like that. CrossFit as a hobby is not the same as CrossFit as a profession..

Girls, don't be afraid of CrossFit. It won't make you look like boys, I've been training 5 to 8 hours a week for 3 years and my body hasn't lost any femininity, quite the contrary.

The Paleo diet

In this second stage, along with CrossFit, I learned more about nutrition (for real) and became a follower of the paleo diet. This undoubtedly made the difference once again.

If sport is fundamental, with an incorrect diet you will not be able to see the results you deserve, neither in terms of performance nor on a physical level.

For a while I was laying the foundations of this diet, without measuring, weighing or controlling quantities. When I saw myself capable, I followed a more studied planning and without a doubt it has been the icing on the cake. 

Losing weight and gaining it back

And honestly, a lot has happened during all this time. It has not always been linearI have lost weight, I have gained it back. I have learned and I have had to forget in order to learn again.

The goal has been shifting from losing weight to gaining muscle mass.

I have had to overcoming my fearsI am a very strong person, working on my weaknesses and building my self-esteem. Because bodies change as life progresses. We cannot pretend to be always the same.

You can also

I have shared my experience so you don't feel alone. Many of us have wanted to lose weight on our own with more or less success because we didn't really know how to do it.

If you want to get to the point, in this article you have the 4 steps you need to follow to lose weight: