I never thought I was overweight or unhealthy; I was always a pretty active person throughout growing up. I played soccer all throughout elementary up until first year of college, ran track, and played volleyball. I remember in 7th grade being extremely thin for my age and I tried desperately to put on weight. Genetically at that point I physically couldn’t, and being so young, my parents didn’t want me going to the gym. It wasn’t until late high school/ early college I noticed my metabolism slowing and then came the eating out and the parents not cooking for me anymore, it was time to grow up.
Like most college kids that first year out of the house is pretty rough, you don’t know how to work a stove or what you should be eating. Shortly after came the drinking and partying and eating junk food especially sugar just to stay awake to study. I was depressed, overeating, and I was homesick
I got a job right out of college at a fashion magazine and absolutely fell in love. I went to school for fashion marketing and all I wanted to do was be a fashion editor. Working at a couple of fashion magazines was definitely the most stressful job I’ve ever had. I wound up gaining more, got no sleep, but I did join a gym. Going to the gym wasn’t helping because I wasn’t sleeping enough or eating right. I definitely gained the most weight between the ages 19-21 years old. The heaviest I weighed was 135lbs. now I know that doesn’t seem like a lot but I was 135lbs. and 5’3. But I knew I lost most of my muscle and gained weight. The most important thing was that I wasn’t happy with what I saw in the mirror or how I felt. I literally was the “fat” girl on the floor at the magazine, and I saw the looks I was getting. I was going to the gym twice a day just to get some results while working two full time jobs and I was simply exhausted.
My friend wound up working out with me because she wanted to lose weight and saw I was getting results from whatever I was doing. I started training her and giving her some tips on things that worked for me. I got certified as a personal trainer in the mean time just for my own personal knowledge and to see if I could better myself. My friend wound up losing 30lbs. in two months and she still to this day looks absolutely fantastic. She told me “I think this is what you should be doing.” I found out the long way the fashion world was simply not for me, but I wasn’t going to give up on my love for writing. I interviewed for a personal trainer position and got the job on the spot, and I shortly quit the magazine after that. I trained my butt off to prove to the other trainers I belonged there and I knew what I was doing even though this isn’t what I went to school for.
Three years later I’m the fittest and happiest I’ve ever been. If you told my old self I would be a personal trainer I would have never believed I would wind up working in the fitness field.
Don’t get me wrong there were definitely bumps in the road, this past May I broke my foot and just thought my career was over. This injury has made me stronger and more knowledgeable about my job. I’ve never been injured before so I never felt that I could relate to my clients in that way. I’m almost back to using the same amount of weights that I used to use before I broke my foot. But my clients still saw me pushing on through, even when the boot and crutches.
The point is #TransformationTuesday is for everyone to recognize all the different transformations everyone goes through and that no one is alone in this. We as humans all go through transformations whether it’s just eating better, having better self esteem, moving, changing jobs, starting a family, or just growing up. For me my transformation was eating healthier and just be happy, and I found that through helping others achieve their goal. The healthier I was the healthier my clients could be and look up to me as a fit-fluential.