12/12/2023
Was there ever a time when you woke up one day, looked in the mirror and felt disgusted at who you saw? Wondering how food and alcohol took over your life? Wishing food wasn’t your enemy. You want so much to change your behavior but can’t seem to? That’s me, where I was a month ago and I knew I needed to make some changes before my Dr tells me too.
Growing up I’ve always had an addiction to food and since I didn’t have a weight problem eating wasn’t an issue. I would sit down for dinner and eat so much spaghetti or pork chops and mushrooms, family favorite dish to the point of throwing up. As I got older, I started to develop low self-esteem and living in a small community there was so much peer pressure to be thin. Instead of changing my eating habits I resorted to making myself throw up so I wouldn’t gain any weight. I was a glutton.
When I was 20 my best friend’s husband wanted to train in bodybuilding and do couples competitions. I had the body composition for it, and I loved weight training so of course I was on board. We would meet at the gym 4 times a week and we had a strict eating program that consisted of chicken, fish, rice and broccoli, egg whites and low-fat dishes. At the time I followed Cory Everson’s eating plan for bodybuilding. I was in the best shape, and it felt amazing. Then life happened and we stopped. They moved to Georgia to start their family and I started mine. Did I continue that path, no I went back to food. I dream of those days often.
Now in my mid 50’s my addiction has gotten out of hand. I know certain foods will cause inflammation or restless leg syndrome, but does that keep me away? Nope. I will enjoy now and deal with the consequences later. But I need to start thinking about my health. I need to turn those dreams of the past bodybuilding into reality. So I have set a long-term goal, and that’s becoming a bodybuilder.
With my husband’s support I joined a local gym and hired a personal trainer to keep me motivated and we are in the process of creating healthy eating habits. They know my long-term goals and are excited to see where this will lead me. I’m excited as well and I would like to share my journey with all of you. I hope you enjoy my story.