How did I get here?
I posted this “before and after” photo in one of my blog posts earlier in the week and someone asked me ..
“What was the turning point for you? What triggered you to make that physical change?”
Firstly I forget that not everyone who reads this blog knows my “back story” heck most of the time I forget that people occasionally read my ramblings 😉
So here we go ..
Once upon a time there lived a girl who was an average size, she did aerobics classes back when people wore leotards over leggings, lifted some weights “to tone” and had even toyed with the idea of being a bodybuilder she had also played badminton since childhood.
(Yes those are Jordans AND scrunchy socks!)
Then she met a man, they fell in love and she got fatter and fatter with each year that passed but the man loved her regardless and the weight never interfered with her day to day life.
One day a friend introduced them to the game of squash and the girl was good at it even though she was fat thanks in large to her hand eye co-ordination, ability to read the game and her “touch”.
She won club championships; she won tournaments and her club team won the regional championships and went on to take on the best of the best at the Nationals.
(Henderson Squash Club E Grade Team)
One team stood between them and the finals and the “fat” girl was playing in the number two position. The number one player lost relatively easily and then it was time for her “skills” to take on the “fitness” of the opposing player.
It went down to the wire – 2 sets each ..
She lost ..
And from that point on the team fell apart and went down easily.
“She” is obviously me and I was gutted. I lost, I never lost and losing is not something I take well (or lightly).
I asked my coach why I lost and what I had to do to get better and without hesitation he replied
“Lose 10 kgs – she out ran you”
So that was that if I had to lose weight to ensure I didn’t lose I had to lose the weight – simple.
(104 kilos!)
At that point I weighed in at 104 kilos which on my “statuesque”160 cm frame is a lot.
Within a month the first 10 kgs had come off easily, all I did was stop eating takeaways (Wendys three times a day apparently is not the way to stay slim) 😉
From there I basically just kept going ..
I exercised more, I drank less alcohol and I ate better and my weight continued to steadily decrease. I recall telling people at the time “I was told I needed to lose 10 kgs, so I thought what the heck lets make it 35)
(On a losing streak)
I got the 35 then the 40 and then the same friend that got me into squash said “Let’s do a body sculpting competition” and I thought “yeah why not”
That’s the time I learned what “real dieting” is 😉
In 2002 I stood on stage in my very first bodybuilding competition. I placed 2nd and I loved every minute of the day. I liken it a bit to giving birth – the joy of the day (and the food) soon makes you forget how horrid the lead up to the day is!
(I’m smiling cause I ate chocolate) 😉
I competed for a few years, I took a couple off then returned to the stage but during all of my competition years I yo yo’d. I don’t handle deprivation very well so I would indulge too much post competition. I could just never find that happy medium, couple that with a warped brain that now thought that minimal fat is “normal” and anything other than minimal fat is “fat” it was a pretty mind f**cking time in my life.
I even had some spare time up my sleeve so I got divorced and found another husband. 😉
Thankfully my trainer and friend Miss Jo always pulled me back to the lean side when I called out for help and it was her I turned to after the birth of Elias when I was only 2 kgs shy of tipping the 100 kg mark.
It was at that time that this blog was created. I documented my post baby weight loss journey for all the other new Mums going through the same struggles. I posted it all .. the ups, the downs, the injuries (what’s new), the triumphs and my eventual return to the bodybuilding stage.
(October 2009 98 kilos – June 2011 58 kilos (competition weight))
That was just over three years ago. I did 3 shows post kids and then decided I enjoyed eating dessert more than the bright lights of the stage so I’ve moved onwards and upwards but thankfully not outwards.
Since the birth of Elias I’ve kept the weight off (give or take a few kilos worth of dessert here and there) oh and the weight of the new boobies, those have got to be at least a kilo 😉 but I haven’t had to deprive myself (too much or too often).
I’m happier, healthier, stronger, fitter and faster than I have ever been before.
I may not be a fitness model but I’m something way better ..
A role model!
Till next time
