One of my earliest memories was being teased for having fat thighs. I was 5 and I was probably only 10 pounds heavier than my classmates. I put myself on my first diet at the age of 9 and lost 30 pounds. Thus began 26 years of dieting, dramatic yo-yos, tens of thousands of dollars on pills, programs, books, doctors, clothes, and sick days.
Today I'm 35 and I'm under 200 pounds after peaking at 322 pounds. I've removed 70 of those pounds since December 1, 2014. Before joining FBBC and doing TT workouts, my life was completely out of control. I was in physical and terrible emotional pain. My joints hurt and I was always tired. Even though I knew processed and fast food was poison, I fluctuated between medicating myself with sugar, carbs, and alcohol and extreme juicing and fasting. I prayed for self control, but almost daily I'd fail and drown the ever familiar feeling of failure with more food tranquilizers. My only solace was sleep. But then I'd wake up with anxiety and the vicious cycle would start all over again. I truly didn't want to be alive.
No doubt, my husband felt desperate for me, so he bought me a 6 week package with FBBC. I hated working out, but I dragged myself to that first class. The trainer, Brent Neevel, was surprisingly nice (I was expecting an intimidating drill sergeant) and I felt safe and motivated to keeping coming back. Slowly but surely, I embraced the 30 minute workout, and now I don't quite feel oriented to face the day without some form of physical exercise. What a transformation from my days of TV marathons on the couch!
A couple of weeks into this 12 week challenge, I injured my knee and I went in to see a doctor because I was experiencing scary dizziness and numbness in my hands. The diagnosis: multiple co-infections connected to Lyme Disease. My reaction was fear and frustration because I was finally feeling stronger and seeing results. I was strongly advised to lower the intensity of my workouts because my immune system needed to use all my energy to fight the Lyme. Being stubborn, I didn't listen at first, but it soon became clear that I needed to listen to my doctor and my body. We started treatment and I focused on what I could do best: super clean nutrition. I basically follow The Adrenal Reset Diet for my specific blood type with a very Paleo focus.
Now I workout 3-4 times a week. I do my best, which is not super intense right now, because if I push myself more than my best, I am excessively fatigued and I get dizzy. I haven't used a drive-thru in 8 months and I love cooking with organic, fresh ingredients. I love the TT workouts because they are functional and the 30 minutes is over before I know it.
The biggest transformation I've experienced is mental. I can think clearly and my attention span is much better. My moods are higher and I'm looking forward to the future with optimism, curiosity, and confidence. I no longer feel like a hostage of food cravings and I enjoy moving in my body. I still look at my body with criticism because I have loose skin and I want to keep sculpting and refining the work I've done, but I can choose a new perspective on those imperfections: they're battle scars of a 26 year war I've waged with myself. Now I want to empower others who are still in the trenches of fad dieting and be a source of hope and information. These days I go to bed good tired and wake up with gratitude.
