Hello everyone I am new to the forum.
Some people here may know me already. I am figure competitor who has competed on the National level with the USBF natural federation and now I decided to crossover to the NPC federation. I am currently prepping for a NPC this weekend The Mid-Florida Classic and so looking forward to the offseason, so I can grow more muscle for the Southern States and Florida State National Qualifer next summer. I just got my first taste of the Tampa Bay Classic and it was an awesome experience. I had a blast! I didn't place in the top 5, but it was an experience, so hopefully I will get better placings at the Mid-Florida Classic this weekend. I am in the mist of finding a new trainer/nutritionist to help me to take my physique to the next level for these shows.
More on me:
All my life I was naturally skinny. I never really ate much and was always active. I never considered myself having an ED, until I looked reflected back on my eating patterns in the past in high school. After losing my grandmother, I went to college and gained over 50 pounds in 8 year time frame, while in school. I wasn't as nearly as active as I was in high school. I also ate more and drank alcohol. I yo-yoed for 8 years trying to revert back to my old ways in high school. I tried everything from yo-yo diets to diet pills, laxatives, water pills...all in the sake of trying to lose weight and nothing worked. I owned over 85 exercise videos and workout out like a dog and nothing. I looked like I was getting fatter the more and more I exercised. At one point my mom asked me if I was pregnant because my belly was getting bigger and bigger!
While in school, I lost my mom to heart disease. After finding my mom dead, I felt like my life was over. My mother's death opened up my eyes to the fact that I could die of a heart attack, because I was getting heavy side. I was about 165 + at the time. After my mother's sudden death I got more and more depressed. My doctor put me pills to help cope with my depression and I gained a lot of weight from the pills because they were weight gainers.
After I got married I my husband and I decided to go on a diet together. I managed to lose 22 pounds on the Body for Life program. I did two Body for Life challenges before I decided to compete in a figure show. Doing a show was always something I always wanted to do, so I decided to compete with USBF federation. I hired a trainer and he helped me to lose 22 more pounds for the show. Surprisingly, I was able transform my body from 24% body fat to 11% in 12 weeks! For a total of 52 pounds in less than 11 months!
The Lord has done a lot for me and I thank the Lord for all the blessings that He has bestowed upon me a beautiful husband, family, and my health. From this whole experience I have learned that anything can be achieved through hard work, determination and dedication. I now realize that there are no such things as quick fixes. Quick fixes are only temporary, but lifestyle changes can last a lifetime. I transformed my body from a size 14-16 to size 0-3 and it was a long journey but it was so all worth it! I learned a lot about myself. I have gained confidence and gained such a wealth of knowledge through this experience. Another plus I can even sing better now that I am in shape. I want to be a role model to inspire, motivate, and encourage others to believe in that can transform their bodies and live a healthy life.
