My Fitness Story: The Struggle and The Comeback

I should start out by saying fitness has always been a curtail part of my life. I started swimming competitively at the age of 6, and continued through 4 years at a Division 1 University in Wisconsin. I was always able to eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted without even thinking twice---it was AMAZING! What was not so amazing was my first year after my college swimming career came to an end. I found myself continuing to eat the way I did while I was swimming 4+ hours a day. Lets just say my body was not very happy with me, and when I finally look at myself, I realized I had gained a good 25 pounds. I was shocked---how could I not realize what was happening?

The moment I stepped on that scale, I panicked. How did this happen? How am I going to get back to where I was just a few months ago? I was so mad with myself, I vividly remember going through my pantry throwing away a sleeve of Oreos, graham crackers, and left over candy from a friend's birthday. I wish I could say I took healthy steps in losing the excess weight, but my clementine for breakfast, apple and non-fat cottage cheese for lunch, and an egg white omelet with broccoli for dinner was not a sufficient amount of calories to keep my body healthy and nurtured. Not to mention I was doing Insanity workouts and swimming for exercise every night. Maybe I would allow myself to have a Dove chocolate square if I was really craving it….maybe.

The weight fell off at a rapid rate. Within a month and a half, I lost 30 pounds and was down to 107#. I could tell friends were concerned, not only because of their glares as I measured out exactly 6 tablespoons of liquid egg whites, but also because of my quick body transformation.

In Spring 2012, my best friend and I moved to Chicago. I had come to terms with the fact that I did not need to lose anymore weight, and that I should probably gain back about 10 lbs. This is where things went south again. I mastered quick weight loss, but had no idea how to gain weight at a healthy rate. We ordered pizza, drank wine and martinis on the regular, and I cut down on my workout regime. BIG mistake.

Fast forward a year…lone and behold, I was back up almost 30 pounds. UGHHH! I thought to myself, "here we go again!" I had a long and emotional talk with Kristen (my best friend), and it was decided- I could not take the weight loss route I had once obsessed over. Sure, I lost all the post swimming weight I had gained plus some, but it just went right back on once I stopped. It was time to do this the right way---healthy/filling meals, positive motivation, and efficient workouts.

With the amazing support of my friends and boy friend, I can proudly say I have lost 15 pounds in the past 6 months…in a healthy way. I created this blog not only to share my story, struggles, and progress, but to also inspire others in the same position. I know what it is like to yo-yo with weight, and the toll it can take on a person not only physically, but also mentally.

Just remember, you are beautiful and are capable of so much more than you could even imagine!

xxoo

Shannon