I just wanted to take some time to share my journey and how I got to be where I am now.
I'm going to try to keep this as short as possible!! Those of you that know me know that it's near impossible!! Haha.
Ok, so I started personal training my freshman year of high school. I broke my ankle, and coming back from that injury, I started working with a trainer. I absolutely loved it, and as I trained with him all through high school, I realized that I had a great love for fitness and saw myself transform outside, but there was still a great discontent that I had with myself.
My whole life I've always struggled with losing weight. I was always told that I was overweight, obese even, and that I needed to work harder because I was heavier. My family on my mom's side never bought into the healthy lifestyle and the importance of investing in that (although my mom has transformed mentally and physically over the past 10 years!). My whole life I was around the mentality that if you eat more, the better it is. Eat when you're happy, eat when you're sad, eat when you're stressed, eat when your bored, eat when you watch a movie...eat eat eat! "Sometimes, you just need to eat!" (And the fact that I'm 1/2 Italian doesn't help! Haha).
Went to college, stopped working out, ate whatever I wanted, lived away from home, basically the shit hit the fan. Graduated in 2009 and gained about 25 lbs over those 4 years. Went to grad school in NY right after college, and the beginning of 2010 I started working out again. I went back to my trainer I had in high school, because I was home in CT a lot, but then moved to NY in Aug. 2010. I worked out by myself for the next year and 1/2, and saw absolutely no results.
In Dec. of 2011, I decided that it was time for a big change. I got to a point where I was sick of who I was, how I was, what I looked like, and how I felt. I hit a point in my life where I thought to myself, "Well, I guess this is it. I guess I'm destined to be fat." I had my eye out for a trainer, but refused to work with just any trainer...and didn't have the money. I told my mom, in the midst of tears (which is not unusual lol), "I'll do WHATEVER I have to do to lose weight. I want to...I just don't know what to do. I've tried a bunch of stuff for years and nothing has worked! What am I supposed to do? It's impossible for me to lose weight. Someone tell me what to do and I'll do it." Low and behold, that's what happened.
In the beginning of Jan of 2012, we were promoting a Zumba event in NY and I was reaching out to local Zumba instructors. I reached out to one in particular who responded with, "Sure, I'll definitely help...I have a bootcamp class that morning, so usually my students are exhausted, but I'll e-mail them and let them know." It then dawned on me that he potentially does personal training as well. So I inquired, to which his response was..."Are you seriously looking for a trainer? Because we work hard and get results." Those words joyed my heart! I told my mom, and she said, "Well, don't get your hopes up. Do you have enough money?" I said, "I don't care; I'll find a way to make it happen! I WANT RESULTS!!"
The day after the Zumba event, I started training with Chris Power. After the first session, I knew that this was going to be fantastic, although come to find out many months later, Chris didn't feel the same way! LOL.
Here we are, 10+ months later, and my life has drastically changed. I have lost 30+ lbs, gone down like 5 pant sizes, gone through 3+ wardrobes, and am in the best shape I have ever been in my life. I am now at a place that was only a dream to me a year ago...something that I began to believe was never attainable. My philosophy going into training was, "I'll do whatever I'm told...what do I have to lose?" Well, weight...and clothes...and the idea that my genes were preventing me from being who I dreamed of being.
There was a lot missing in my life before training with Chris...my belief in myself, enjoying working out, and having someone who knew how to get me where I wanted to be. I know that I owe it to myself and that I put the work in, but it goes deeper than that for me. I feel like I owe it all to him, because it wasn't about just losing weight. It was about overcoming deep seated ideas and faulty thinking that I've had my entire life. It was about overcoming the labels that were put on me just because of how I looked. I've realized that physical empowerment causes you to be better in life...which I knew, but seeing it played out so significantly in my life gave it a whole new meaning. I used to think that my genes were the problem...."My whole family struggles with losing weight...it's just how it's going to be for me, too!" I was giving in.
Success in fitness (or life) is about being determined. It's about having the drive and willpower to work through the obstacles, trusting the person who you are working with, and finding someone who MAKES you BELIEVE that your hard work WILL pay off!! It's about having someone by your side reminding you of the very reason you started training. And most importantly, it's about finding someone who is as committed to you as you are to your goals!!
That's the short of where I've been...but let me tell you that hard work does pay off!!! I have found some of the most amazing people along this journey and am surrounded by people who are excited to see me reach my goals...people who push me to be better! Hitting walls shouldn't stop us from moving forward; it should give us MORE determination to overcome them! Setbacks along the way shouldn't cause us to give up; it's a chance for us to come back and smash through them! Keep moving forward...dig deeper; aim higher! IF YOU WANT RESULTS...GET THEM!
#teamhulk #teamshehulk
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