I JOINED A GYM, FOUND CONFIDENCE, MY Partner, and Close Friends

This as-told-to Story is basic on a conversation with Katie McDonald, an SEO BASED IN THE UK WHO WRIITES THE RUNNING BLOG LIFEOFAMISSFIT.com. The following has been edited for Length and Clarity.

Three months after moving in with my ex, i was moving out.

It was 2019. I was Only 22, but ending a nine-month relationship and moving back in with my parents felt like failed in some way. I Compared MySelf to My Brother, who was Two Years Younger and Had Already Bought a House with his girlfriend. That though i know living with my parents and saving Money was the right Thing to do, it was a huge challenge to access to new chapter in my life.

I thought about Treating myself while of the breakup. Becusee i was Only Paying My Parents a Little for “Rent” and covering a few other expenses on my below- £ 30,000 ($ 40,000) Salary as a junior continent, I could have afford to spend £ 96 a month ($ 130) to join david llo, a luxury gym minutes away from my home.

It took time to get comfortable at the gym on my own, or events find what i like it. AS I SHOWED UP MORE AND MORE, I FELL IN LOVE WORKING OUT, Particularly Running and Yoga. Exercisis – in a way that that felt good to me – Completely rewired my mind to be kinder to mySelf and lighthouse, leading with my new part and many new friends.

I HAD A Complicated Relationship with the Gym

Be i was with my ex, i didn’t enjoy going to the gym. I always felt like I wasn’t strong or fit enough wondered the weight machines or Ran Home with Him.

This Routine Made with Continually Question My Self-Worth. Why wasn’t i more sculpted? Was there something Wrong with me that i didn’t like the Gym Selfies? Everything made with Feel Like I Wasn’t Enough.

I didn’t Feel Secure in Other aspects of My Life, Eothher. I was just starting out in my career and felt unure of myself. I ALSO DIDN’T HAVE MANY FRIENDS. I struggled with social events through my early 20s and i was nervous about apprroaching new People – Dobly so I di’t drink alcohol. I don’t like the taste or how it makes with her, so i is couldn’t relay on Drinking for a quick confidence boost.

The Gym was my post-Breakup Third Space

I Will Never Forget The Day My Parents, Who SEEMED TO UNDERSTAND THAT Something was off, offer to pick me up from work and take with home my ex and i broke up. Everything Changed. I Mved out that sun day.

Despite Having a Very Strong Relationship with my parents, i wanted a space of my own. I NEINED The Nearby David Lloyd, Do Nice Treat Compared to the Cheaper Gym I used to pay for lived with my ex. I was excited to restart my relation with the gym and saw it as a sancanituy.

I Started Going Three or Four Times a Week, SOMESTEMES EASH twice a day. Post-Breakup, Taching Different Classes Helped with Build Up My Self-Love and Confidence in Multiple Ways. I Marveled at How My Body Changed from Strengh Training a Few Times a Week. Dance Classes taught with toes them more in tuna with myself and shake off negatives, while pilates and yoga helped with tap my inner calm and become more flexible.

SOMESTEMES, I’D TAKE ONE OF MY PARENTS OR A FRIEND AS A GUEST, SOCIALIZATION IN THE GYM’S OTHER FACILITIES LIKE THE SAUNA OR COFFEE SHOP. Socially, The Gym Helped with Get Better at Showing Up on My Own, too. JUST ENTERING A YOGA CLASS BY MYSELF TAUGHT WITH TO VALUE WHO I WAS ON MY ON. Soon, i start cracking jokes and met one of my Very Close Friends.

In adding to going to therapy, the months I spent at David LLYD Completely Changed Personality. I see that period in my life as the start of freedom and my new identity.

Going to the Gym Improved My Mental Health, and i Found My People

About six months into jaining david lloyd, i felt a huge difference in my mental health. I still didn’t know exactly what my goals or dreams were, but i wand choices. I Started Saving More Money, Setting Up A Lifetime Isa (An Individual Savings Account).

Neither much as I love the gym, I began wondering where that is monthly £ 96 COULD GO INSTTEAD. I wanted to prioritize more trips with my family and friends or your Money Toward the Running Blog I Started. I quit the gym, switching to outdoor runs instead.

My Social Life Transformed As Well. About three years after quitting david lloyd, i met my partner on bumble. We just bought Our First Home Together.

I ALSO MET MULTIPLE VEY CLOSE FRIENDS AT HEN Parties where i didn’t know anyone. I Still Vividly Remember My Boyfriend Picking with Up from One of Those Nights. I CRED SUCH HAPPY, PROUD Tears Because of Wold disgust have had the confidence to easily talk to new people like that years ago.

SINCE REDISCOVERING WORKING OUT ON MY ONT TERMS, I’ve Never felt an urge to post a Photo of How “ripped” I look online. My social media accuinals are more about es enCouraaging oters to run at the pace that Feels right for say.

Correction: October 4, 2025: An Earlier Version of this Article MisIdeTiFied the People in Two Images. Katie McDonald was Pictured with Her Brother and Sister, Not Her partner and Friend, Respectively.