With Christmas basically here and New Years right around the corner I have decided to start thinking of some new goals. As I sit and reflect, I thought it would be a good time to share with you all my fitness journey up until now. I have a lot of people ask me, or simply be shocked when I tell them my history.
My entire life I have been relatively petite and active; I come from a long line of short women, myself being the tallest at a whopping 5’4”. I took dance lessons when I was about 7 (not the biggest fan of that, it was more my sisters thing) and started cheerleading when I was in the third grade. Throughout my school years, I was a cheerleader. I was on our local athletic association team until high school, I was on a competitive team, and in high school I joined both the football and competitive cheer squads. At times I was on three teams at once, I stayed busy. I attempted softball in high school, but quickly learned that was not for me. Although I kept active, I had absolutely no sense of a good diet. Between fast food or nothing for breakfast, pizza and a cookie for lunch, grabbing a large french fry and coke on the way to cheer practice and ending the night with a late (however usually home cooked) dinner… I definitely did not eat healthy. But you have to love fast metabolism, because I managed to stay pretty small.
Then came college. I stopped cheerleading all together. I moved into my freshman dorms and basically lived off of microwave meals and fast food. Luckily my college had a pretty amazing gym, and I lived on campus, so I did manage to go there a couple times a week. I was determined NOT to gain the infamous freshman 15, and for the most part, I didn’t! Sophomore year came, and I moved off campus. I got a kitchen and could cook real food (I always loved to cook)! But the midnight McDonald’s runs with my roommate were definitely not helpful. I still managed to go to the gym a few times a week and work out with friends, but definitely not as much as I should have. The weight slowly started to creep on.
Next came my downfall, Junior year. I moved again, a significant distance from campus. I became a full-time employee at my job, took night classes, and again had an ultimately crappy diet- lots of unnecessary fast food. I had a gym membership but would only occasionally go when my roommate and I would make a pact (should also mention my job was literally next to the gym). I completely neglected myself. I became depressed. I was also dealing with a lot of family and personal issues at the time which led me to take some time off from school. I then continuously made bad decision after bad decision. I was not in a good place.
In March of 2012 I went in for a routine eye exam so that I could get new contacts for an upcoming New York trip I had planned (I am blind). During the exam my eye doctor was looking at my eye and told me I needed to see an ophthalmologist as soon as possible. I told him I was leaving for a trip in a few days and he called a doctor and had me seen that same day. The ophthalmologist took one look at my eye and told me I needed to go to the ER right away. Scared and alone I had no idea what was going on. Turns out that I had what is called papilledema, which is basically swollen optic nerves in the eye- usually caused by brain pressure/a tumor. This is why they sent me straight to the ER. When I got to the ER, they admitted me. They ran multiple tests and scans, and after 3 days they still did not know what was causing the swelling- luckily, I did not have a tumor! They finally decided to do a spinal tap to test my fluids, and sure enough they were slightly high. When the doctor came in to explain everything to me (nicely of course) she explained to me that my fluids were high and causing the pressure due to me being overweight. I was at my heaviest weight ever… coming in at about 170 pounds. She told me basically that I could lose weight, or I could possibly go blind. That was all I needed to hear.
I took my trip to New York, and I came back a determined. I stopped taking birth control (my estrogen levels were also really high) and that helped me quickly lose my first 10 pounds. I rejoined the gym, hired a personal trainer twice a week and got to work. Within a year I was down 40 pounds (23% of my body weight)! However, my diet still was not the best (something I still struggle with at times). I was living on my own at this point and funds were tight. I ate home most nights, but you could tell I wasn’t giving my body the proper nutrients it needed. After a few different personal trainers, I found one that I stuck with for a while and he really helped me get my nutrition better. Sadly, he did move away, but I also was ready to switch up my workout routine. In 2015 I joined a bootcamp near my home. It was low weight and more cardio, a lot of HIIT workouts. It was great! It was just what I needed to switch things up. I really enjoy group workouts because it helps motivate and push myself. I stayed with that bootcamp for about 2 years, but noticed I started to plateau. I needed something different, more challenging.
That is when a friend of mine introduced me to Hardcore Fitness, where I am now. It was exactly what I was looking for. Group workouts, but with more weights. My weight throughout this time pretty much stayed the same, within about a 10-pound window. When I joined this new gym, I decided to try their 60-day challenge. I mainly wanted to do it to meet people, but also to help me with that stubborn last couple of pounds I wanted to lose. On the challenge I lost about 15 pounds and a few inches! I really leaned out, I felt great! Since then (about a year later) I put back on about 10 pounds, however I have gained a LOT more muscle. I really have been focusing on getting stronger and not looking at the scale. I workout to feel good. It is my escape. It has helped me through a lot of things, including depression, and I just truly enjoy it. I eat healthy for the most part but won’t say no to pizza or ice cream. I continuously push myself and try new things- such as my running club.
Yes, I started working out again for my health… but now that I am healthy and know I will never go back to that person I was- I work out for me. I don’t care if people think I look “manly” or think a weight is too heavy for me. As long as I am happy, that is all that matters! Oh, and just to prove them wrong, I’ll pick up that weight 😉
To see my story and a bunch of other amazing women’s journeys… check out my friend Danielle’s amazing site: https://www.dontbebeautiful.com/
