“Your tribe

may change.”

Me, last year? I was getting dinner and

drinks often with friends, vegging out

with family, and going on foodie vacays

with my boyfriend.

Life could not be more different now. And...

because of that, my relationships are too.

As my fitness improved and I got hooked

on early-morning training, I found myself saying

no to nights out. “When you prioritize your

health, those things become less appealing,”

explained my strength coach, Adriana Couvillion.

As bad as I felt for bailing, seeing how far I’d come

(I can’t even remember my last glass of wine!)

reinforced that it was all worth it. “When you

have goals in mind and are looking to take care

of yourself, the person in your life who needs to

come first is you,” Adriana reminded me.

Yes, there are friends I don’t see often, but

there are also those I’ve grown closer to through

our mutual goals. Our “nights out” now? More

like Barry’s Bootcamp and brunch—and I love it.

As for my boyfriend, my doctor, Gabrielle

Lyon, DO, warned me: “Relationships can move

you toward your goals or away from them.

And personal goals can move you together in

a relationship or create a divide.” It makes

sense. Thank fully, my BF rose to the occasion,

supporting me along the way and even stepping

up his own fitness game. Together, we’re stronger

(in every sense of the word) and healthier (our

next vacay is to a wellness retreat—who are we?!).

The trickiest relationship to navigate was the

one with my parents. I followed Dr. Lyon’s advice

on how to approach my journey with them: “Don’t

make a big deal about it. Execute your own plan

and be unwavering.” That meant

firmly declining drinks and dessert

when I visited, and asking them to go

on hikes with me instead. After they

saw the shift in me, I started getting

texts about their own healthy meals

and early-morning walks. Now,

my dad needs smaller belts and my mom calls

me her health inspiration.

Nothing along this path has been easy, but

seeing the changes in the people that mean the

most to me makes me so proud and even

more committed. We are never looking back.

Michi jacket, michiny

.com; Beyond Yoga bra

and leggings, carbon

.com; Tretorn sneakers,

us.tretorn.com; Apple

watch, apple.com

MARTA TOPRAN,

BEAUTY DIRECTOR

Follow my

journey on Insta

@martatopran.

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WELLNESS JOURNEY

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JUNE 20 19 WOMEN’S HEALTH / 9