What Is a Fitness Model?

I love receiving questions from people wanting to enter fitness modeling or general interests in the sport itself.  While I am no longer considered a novice in the sport, I am certainly not a veteran or a pro.  But I cannot help but feel a sense of pride when I am asked questions about fitness modeling and hear myself speaking in a way that suggests I’ve been in the sport for years.  I can only speak on what I’ve researched (and I did a lot of research before getting into this) and what I’ve experienced.

So, for inquiring minds, fitness modeling is modeling one’s physical form or physique.  Think of body building competitions or Arnold Schwarzenegger.  When you enter fitness modeling competitions you are competing with others in your desired division.  These divisions include bikini, figure, physique (men and women), fitness, and body building (men and women).  Each division has a different body type requirement:

·         Bikini (female) – usually seen as lean, visible muscle definition but not more muscular than other female fitness division.  Bikini fitness models are classified as exotic, curvaceous, sexy and flirty. 

·         Figure (female) – well defined and visible muscle definition.  While female figure competitors are not as overly flirty on stage during their posing, they are still considered appealing to the eye due to size, shape and sculpting of their muscular form.

·         Physique (male and female) – muscle shape, size and proportion are determining factors within this division, for both men and women.  Muscle size is a size down from body building.

·         Fitness (female) – this is a size down from figure competitors.  They are leaner in size but still have relative muscle definition that determines their overall ranking. 

·         Body Building (male and female) – muscle size, shape and proportion is the largest of all categories. 

Depending on your size, ability to gain muscle mass and compete determines what division you should be competing in.  I chose bikini because of my body type, ectomorph.  I decided, for myself, this division was more along my speed and one I could keep up with in training, rather than trying to gain massive amounts of muscle mass to compete as a figure or physique competitor.  This worked out for me.  This is not to say everyone is cut out to be a bikini model.  Some may chose figure or women’s body building.  It is the same for the men’s divisions. 

The decision should ultimately be yours, one that you will have no regrets and feel happy throughout the entire training and competing process.  After one of my competitions, I saw a fellow bikini competitor crying when we got off stage.  I spoke to her coach to find out what was wrong with her.  The young lady felt as if she did not do as well as she had hoped and wanted to quit.  After learning she was unhappy with her body development and how the process was not as enjoyable as she thought it would be, I asked her if she thought bikini was the division she wanted to compete in.  She thought about it and said no.  We sat and watched most of the show until it was time to get back on stage and she said became mesmerized by the figure competitors.  I told her she may want to consider it but to make sure the decision and experience was one she would be content with.  She agreed to take some time to think about it but would do another show in the figure division. 

Your body takes time to develop and mature.  The same can be said about your mental state around body building/fitness modeling competitions.  Competing is not for everyone.  I can honestly say I never thought I would like fitness modeling but have grown to enjoy it more than I ever thought I could.  One word to best describe fitness competitions: exhilarating.  You meet like-minded individuals that have prepped just as hard if not harder than you for their 15 minutes (if that) on stage to pose and smile.  Some of the things to take into account when prepping for a competition is:

·         Tanning (2 coats and a touch-up)

·         Hair and makeup (women)

·         Jewelry (women)

·         Suits

·         Diet prep (6-8 weeks)

·         Posing

·         Training

It can be thrilling but also overwhelming, and it takes a person that is willing to jump through all the hoops to give their body the shine they’ve worked hard to prep for.  Ask yourself, can I do this and is it worth it?  What am I getting into this for?  The decision is yours.

Bored Eaters

I'm bored. I have nothing to do and nowhere to go. All my friends are busy and I am, essentially, stuck at home, alone. What to do?  Plop on the couch, watch trash T.V. or a good movie and eat, eat, eat.  Pizza sounds good, salty, buttery popcorn is always good, cookies are a great sugary treat, and how about washing it down with a thick milk shake or a soda.  Funny thing is, I’m not really all that hungry…
Sounds typical, right?  Nothing else to do except sit around and eat.  You’re not hungry, you’re just vegetating (no pun intended).  When you're bored you instinctively become what's called a "bored-eater". You fall into this rut where you have nothing to do and you're at home with an abundance of unhealthy foods and snacks.  They’re accessible and available for massive consumption because, let’s face it, you made it that way by purchasing them.  So what are the reasons behind bored eating?  I am naturally inquisitive (notice how I said inquisitive and not nosy), so I asked a few people and came up with a few good reasons:

1.      Nothing to do – this is clearly obvious.  If you have nothing to do and nowhere to go, of course you are going to eat.  We sit at home in front of the television or behind a computer and automatically feel as if we have to snack.  Solution: get up and do something active.  Exercising at the gym or the park is a great way to stay healthy and in shape. 

2.      Everyone else is doing it – sigh; “when in Rome do as the Romans”.  I used to think it was ok to drink beer when I was in social circles because I wanted to “break the ice”, so to speak, and seem relatively interesting instead of the bored one of the group.  Solution: do not give into the temptation of eating unhealthy just to fit in.  If you are bored and you resort to bad eating habits in social circles just to relate, you may want to look at those circles a little closer.

3.      Depression – I hate to hear people say they eat because they are depressed.  You are in an unhappy state of mind, you are trying to deal with your emotions and in the process, searching for something to soothe or comfort you.  What’s more comforting than chips, cookies, or pizza, things that taste good and will seemingly recharge your neurons?  It is easy to turn to junk food when you’re in an emotional state because it won’t turn on you.  Or will it?  When you fall into bad food patterns it seems harder to get out of them.  Solution: observe the pattern you are creating when in an emotional state of mind and turning to food to cope.  The overeating inevitably leads to weight gain and, undeniably, holding onto that emotion.  It is better to deal with the emotion than to associate it with bad eating choices.

4.      It’s time to eat – I find it funny when people throw time under the bus.  “Time isn’t on my side”; “time is moving too fast”; “I never have enough time”; “the time is now”; “it’s time to eat”.  Time is innocent.  We use time as an excuse for so many things and do not realize if we use it correctly, it can benefit us.  Solution: listen to your body and ask yourself “is it really time to eat or am I just eating because I have nothing else to do right now?”.  There’s nothing wrong with eating at specific times. Body builders and athletes have to do this all the time for muscle growth and retention.  But eating on a schedule and eating at a specific time just because there’s nothing else to do at that time are completely different. 

There are more reasons why people are classified as bored eaters.  I found these to be the most interesting.  There should be no reason a person should eat unhealthy due to boredom.  There are many methods of removing yourself from that bored state of mind, it is a matter of finding what works for you.

What Does Your Body Type Say About You?

Ever wonder how someone can lose or gain weight faster than you?  Or how a person can gain muscle and look shredded by practically looking at a set of dumbbells, while it takes you much longer to gain even a “bump” in your biceps?  I get questions all the time from people wondering how I stay so lean.  I used to remark it had a lot to do with my genes.  However, I realized it was mostly due to my body type that it was harder for me to gain size, muscle and ultimately remain so thin.  Knowing and understanding your body type helps you become more aware of your body and the nutritional needs and workouts to remain healthy and reach your fitness goals.

Let’s breakdown the 3 different body types:

·         Mesomorph – One word description: muscular.  Mesomorphs can gain muscle relatively easily than any other body type.  They are considered the most energetic, athletic looking body type of the other two, being physically capable to perform several activities.  Their thick, muscular bones are credited to their rectangular shape.  Mesomorphs have well-defined chests, shoulders, buttocks, thighs and calves.  They sound like Greek Gods, don’t they?  Well, there’s always a flaw somewhere.  Mesomorphs aren’t the most flexible, and even though fat is distributed evenly throughout their bodies, if they are not active or involved in some form of physical activity to maintain their muscle size and shape, they can become overweight.  As a result, it is imperative that mesomorphs are conscious of their diet, consuming low-fats and low-calories.

·         Ectomorph – Better known as the slim Jim’s of the body types, are lean.  Ectomorphs have a high metabolism and cannot gain weight easily.  They are usually tall and slender (some may even say lanky with long arms and legs), with a delicate build, narrow hips and pelvis.  Ectomorphs do not receive as much love as the other body types because of their build and ability to burn calories when they sleep.  As much as people think ectomorphs have an edge in the competition, gaining muscle mass or size is very difficult.  Specialized workouts and a high-calorie diet is essential for ectomorphs muscle and weight gain. 

·         Endomorph – Soft and curvy, endomorphs tend to be very shapely.  Endomorphs have the most body fat and prone to excessive weight gain than the other two body types.  Weight is distributed to middle and lower half of their bodies.  Endomorphs are typically shorter and stockier, slow metabolism, and not-so well defined muscles.  To lose weight, endomorphs are encouraged to include cardio and weight-lifting within their fitness routine, as well as a low fat, low calorie diet. 

So, based on that information, if someone were to look at me they would see that I am an ectomorph, as clear as the blue sky.  I am sneered and jeered quite often because of my ability to eat relatively anything I want and not gain weight as quickly as others do.  I had to understand why this was so and how to educate others on what they needed to do to reach their fitness goals.  I never knew about body types, but when it was brought to my attention everything finally made sense.  I could look at someone and have them describe to me their eating habits, their workout regimen, and their weight and determine what their body type was and what was needed to reach their goals from a nutrition and fitness standpoint.  It’s all about educating yourself and educating others that helps you understand your health journey and working with others to create their own.  Know your body type, listen and observe what your body is saying to you.  You have to live with it every day.  You might as well understand it, learn from it, and pass your discoveries on to other people.

Corporate Woman by Day, Fitness Freak by Night

I live your average, everyday corporate lifestyle between the hours of 8:30 am and 5:00 pm.  During competition prep season, I like to prep my meals for the week on Sunday evening.  I grab my containers, which contains my lunch, snacks, protein shake, another meal, and an extra meal just in case I do not make it home for dinner, and off to work I go.  I usually take up the most room in the refrigerator at work, and I’m ok with that.  I would try to remain inconspicuous and act as if I’m not the owners of all the food containers but, ideally, my initials are conveniently marked on the corners of each container.  My brilliant idea, so no one would suddenly feel the urge to “eat healthy” and snag my food.  Nonetheless, I’m eyeballed each time I step into the kitchen.  No one can understand how someone of my stature, 5’8, 130 lbs, could put away all that food in 8 hours.  “Oh, what ya got there?” “Moving in, are we?”  I avoid the glaring eyes and cute comments and proceed to the refrigerator to stock my food.  I have found that if I tuck my food away in the food crisper drawers, no one notices.  When it’s time to eat, my reminder goes off, and off to the kitchen or my desk drawer I go.  Whenever I’m meeting in someone’s office, my mental clock goes off and I have to ask the time.  If it is feeding time, I politely but hungrily say, “It’s time to feed the beast.  Excuse me.”  And I leave. 

I had a hard time coming to grips with the fact I had to eat every 3 hours, and be ok with it.  I did not eat that much regularly so I wasn’t sure how I would be able to do this during work hours.  I am fairly busy at work and I have been known to skip a meal or two, but I did not think my healthy lifestyle and my work lifestyle could co-exist.  I tried to eat healthy at work, substituting cookies and chips for fruit and veggies, and I thought that was enough.  I was so very wrong.  If I did not eat on a schedule, every 3 hours, it showed in the gym and posing practice, and I could not let that show on stage.  Not to mention the fact I was a bit self-conscious about bringing in so much food and hogging space in the fridge, and also smelling up our kitchen with my fish (I do not microwave my fish), eggs, or vinegar salad dressing.  That changed.  A colleague came to visit our office from another office one day and she confessed to me, after we both shunned the cupcakes and cookies my job had on display in our break room, that she too was a fitness competitor and showed me that she had packed a whole day’s worth of food in her cooler.  I couldn’t believe it.  Not only did she look amazing but she didn’t let her busy schedule or comments from anyone stop her from bringing in her competition prep meals.  I said right then and there I would not be ashamed of bringing in a cooler and truck loads of food into work.  I wouldn’t care how it looked, how awful it smelled, I was going to bring in my food and eat on a schedule. 

After 5:00 pm, it’s beast mode in the gym time.  The makeup, corporate-pleasant attitude and corporate casual attire are stripped.  My hair gets pulled in a pony-tail, covered up by a hat, tights or shorts on, sneakers, and a grizzly bear is before you ready to do some damage.  If I really wanted to be dramatic, I would put some of that black paint under my eyes, but that’s a little extra.  If I’m on schedule, I have my snack or protein shake while I’m there.  If I did not eat, I’m something of a handful with my trainer, or anyone for that matter.  If some of my work associates or even some clients saw me in the gym, they probably would not recognize me or would be very shocked to see hidden under all of the corporate clothes, this “skinny chick” has muscles.  I am extremely focused when working out.  There are times when I “zone out”.  I’m talking no one else is in the room, it’s just me and the weights.  My trainer isn’t even there, just a voice in the distance. 

When I’m focused and on a schedule, I feel much more content.  For those who think you cannot balance work life with a healthy lifestyle, I’m here to tell you that is false.  You can, if you really want to. It takes finding what works for you and setting a strict schedule for yourself, and ultimately sticking to it.  I had a hard time managing stress at work because there were times it would spill over to my workouts.  I found when I eat, take my breaks when I’m supposed to, decompress when I have to, do not skip meals, and work hard in the gym, I’m able to handle things much better.  Try it out and you’ll definitely see it works.

Your Health and Fitness Should Be About You and No One Else

I've mentioned in earlier posts my reason for turning my life over to health and fitness.  For those of you who have not read those posts, let me fill you in.  My mother suffered a major stroke 13 years ago that rendered her somewhat paralyzed on her left side.  I say somewhat because she can still walk and talk but she hardly has any movement in her left arm (she's left-handed) and she walks with a limp. She was able to fight back, however, and even managed to drive and continue living what she deems an active lifestyle; church activities, store runs, attending school events with my niece, etc.  June and July of last year, my mother suffered multiple mini strokes back to back, which affected her speech.  She has days where she sounds clear and other days where she sounds tired and sluggish.  Nonetheless, she's still a fighter.

I wasn't sure how to react or what to be mad at.  My gene pool (my mother's mother suffered a stroke many years ago and died), myself for not knowing what to do to help prevent my mother from having the multiple strokes, or my mother for not slowing down enough and taking care of her health the way she should.  I decided none of the above options were good enough reasons to throw a tantrum and curse the world over, so I decided to take stock in my own life and see what bad habits I've inherited or picked up along the way and how can I change them.

The change would be for me.  It doesn't seem fair to my mother to say I'm changing my life and making it healthier and incorporating an active lifestyle that involves heavy exercising and getting into a sport like body building to keep up appearances, something you were not able to do for me or for yourself.  That's a pretty rotten way of thinking.  I thought I was giving my mother credit by saying her stroke and bad eating habits were the reasons I became more health and fitness conscious, but realized it only highlighted her condition and put her in a negative light.  At least that's what I felt it did.  She may not be a body builder but she's a fighter, and her strength may not be in lifting a 35 lb. bar over her head or doing bent over rows, but it is her willingness to not let this illness drag her down to the depths of despair and inevitably take her life.  She wasn't giving up for herself.  No one or nothing else was a factor in her decision. 

Having learned this, I decided I had to do this health and fitness thing for myself.  Many people do not understand why I'm doing it in the first place, and in actuality, my parents don't either.  For me, that motivates me that much more to push and do it for myself.  No one else will understand what you're doing until they see the end results and eventually it makes sense to them.  Your reason for turning your life over to whatever suits you in a positive way primarily starts with you.  The story behind it and the motivation to keep going is secondary.

The Joys of Being an Ectomorph; My Body Type

As I've stated in earlier posts, I am an ectomorph.  I was not made known of this until I started taking fitness more seriously and got into fitness modeling.  At that point, it was important to learn my body. I couldn't figure out why I could not gain weight or keep muscle, no matter how much I ate, how much I lifted, and how much I prayed for the weight gain (exaggerating).  I dismissed it and said it must be genetic, so I better eat all I can now because when I get older it is not going to be the same.  This was easy to do, but being that I was now competing and showing off my body against other females who could pack on more muscle in a day than I could in a month made me more alert and wanting to know more about my body and what I needed to do to gain size.

The basics: an ectomorph body type is lean/skinny, less muscle mass, small bones and joints, high metabolism, and essentially, everyone hates you because you are this way.  Maybe not so much the latter, but not much of a stretch.  Because your body is already lean you have sort of an edge in the competition, but not by much.  You still have to gain and maintain muscle mass.  This is probably the hardest part. 


Because our bodies naturally burn a lot of calories and our metabolism is high, ectomorphs are advised to keep cardio training at a minimum.  Cardio is still essential, but it can include certain types of cardio workouts such as circuit training or HIIT style (kettle bell swings, push ups, sprints, etc.).  These should be kept to at least 30 minutes. Workouts such as dead lift, lateral pulls, jump squats with the bar, dumbbell curls, calf raisers, bench press, squats (the list goes on and on) are vital in muscle growth, in addition to eating the right nutrients and supplement intake (amino acid, protein shake, creatin).  Some are against ectomorphs taking supplements because our bodies do not need it.  However, if you are in a sport like body building or just want to gain it is essential in getting them into your system because of how it works consistently with your workouts and dieting.  At least for me it does.

One other challenge I continued running into was eating.  I did not know what to eat, how to eat, when to eat, etc.  All I knew was that I had to eat properly because my brain has been trained that when your body feasts on improper eating habits (fried fatty foods, high sodium, high glucose, fructose, sucrose, dextrose...sugar) it will suffer and the end results, at least the ones I've seen in my family, are not good.  My mother suffers from high blood pressure which has resulted in her having multiple strokes.  I saw this and immediately wanted to change my eating habits and maintain an active, healthy lifestyle.  Everything comes with a price.  Literally.  The price of organic vs. non organic is about $5, and that is not an exaggeration from the stores I shop at.  Or taking organic out of the equation, a box of cookies at $2.50 vs. a bag of kale chips at $5.60.  Seriously, if you don't grow your own foods you're liable to go broke if you live on a budget and trying to eat healthy.  This is a sacrifice I was willing to make for competing.  The key to remember for ectomorphs is we can essentially eat what we want, in moderation of course, but smart and healthy.  Breaking up large meals into smaller portion sized meals throughout the day is beneficial.

 

At the end of the day, ectomorphs are rare and unique in true form.  While our bodies, for the most part, appear lean and lanky, there are tricks of the trade to learn in order to even out our body, and by that I mean shaping it into a form that suits us.  My form consists of tightness and definition, one that I am proud to say took hard work to develop, so naturally I cannot go back to the way I was just to start over again.

Fitness Is My Boyfriend

All my ex's and the guys waiting in the wings for me, please pay very special attention to this message. I have a new boyfriend named Fitness (fancy isn't it 😉). We were kind of "talking" and "just friends" for a while until sometime last year when I made my feelings known that I wanted more of a serious commitment. He agreed and said he would do anything it takes to keep me right; mind, body and spirit. Doesn't that sound like a keeper?? 

So here we are, a year and four months later, and we're still going strong. Don't get me wrong, we've had our blow-ups and I've almost ended the relationship a few times. But something in me won't give up on us. It's all in how he makes me feel, not to mention look. I feel and look better than I ever have in my entire life, and I owe that all to my boo, Fitness (such a fancy name!). We've done things together I never thought I could do or even wanted to do.  He's kind of wild and exciting, spontaneous. And he wears me out 😝!  Sorry ladies, he's allllll mine!! I know I won't be giving him up without a fight, because he taught me how. 

So to my love, my heart, I say I love you with all my aching muscles. I will never cheat on you nor will I give up on you as long as blood pumps through my veins. Our bond is as strong as two 45 lb plates resting squarely on my shoulders as I squat. You planked me with your love and I reciprocated by bench pressing your heart to mine. You don't consider me a dumbbell when I do an exercise wrong. Instead, you arm curl me to your chest and show me how to do it right. You're not easy on me, though. I can handle that. You're my iron therapist on days when I have issues, and my beast on those...other days. I'm a lucky girl to have such a strong man in her corner 😉. 

When will the aching stop?

I've been working out non-stop for roughly a year.  Before then, my workouts consisted of an aerobic class here, a yoga class there, pole dancing to spice it up and kick boxing, just to throw in a little variety.  Nothing ever stuck.  But once I turned my life over to complete fitness and decided I needed to workout on a more consistent basis, I hired a trainer and got serious.  At that time, I didn't have enough motivation to workout myself, so getting a trainer seemed to be the most logical thing to do.  I knew my body would ache for awhile because I was just starting out and my trainer felt I could take it because of my boyish frame and athletic build (giggle).  There would be days where my arms wouldn't move.  They would lock at the joints and my muscles were extremely tight.  Other days my legs were weak as water and I had a hitch in my giddy-up.  It literally felt like my body ached from my eye lids to my toenails.  As the weeks went by and my body became more susceptible to the workouts, the aches and pains gradually wore off.

Now that I'm in fitness modeling, the workouts are more grueling, intense and rigorous.  The days where my arms were unmovable and I wreaked of Tiger Balm were upon me once again.  I couldn't figure it out.  I thought since I was becoming more fit and active that I wouldn't have to feel as much pain as I did when I first began working out.  But I realized that I've only been doing this a year and the weights my trainer put on me were increasing. Nonetheless, Tiger Balm is readily by my bedside and I stay soaking in a hot bath on those particular days. 

I couldn't help but think, so this is what it's like to be an athlete? It hurts like hell but I guess if I'm going to be a part of this life the aching won't stop for a while.  I think I can get used to that.  It hurts so good, but I would never tell my trainer...

Stress is for sissies...take it out in the gym!!

If stress is for sissies, I'm one of the biggest sissies in the world.  When I'm stressed, it seems as if the whole world is pressing on my shoulders and I can't do anything about it.  When it's there, it seems to hang until it tires itself out and I can finally relax and get peace, but that comes at a price.

My first fitness modeling competition was a disaster.  First off, I didn't want to do the show.  I was actually talked into doing it by my trainer and my coach.  I decided to go through with it anyway because it would be good "exposure", whatever that means.  Needless to say, I was stressed beyond recognition.  Not only did I feel as if I didn't have everything ready for the show (bikini bite, supplement intake, hair done, makeup, suit, hotel reservations, tan, need I go on??) I had an even bigger issue to deal with in the form of mother nature and her monthly "check-in".  I tried explaining all of this to my trainer, who happens to be a male, and he looked at me as if I had 12 heads.  Why couldn't he understand what I was going through and why I was lashing out the way that I was?  Because he's a man and they don't understand anything.  Simple as that.  Hormones raging, nerves jumping, pressure raising; this was the perfect storm.  Needless to say, I was devastated and angry.  I was heavy, puffy, sloshy, and did I mention STRESSED?!  But there was nothing I could do at that point but deal with it.  I no longer had control over the situation.  The only thing I could do was get one thing done at a time, ignore my trainer for the moment, and find some inner peace to get through the weekend.  I learned from that instance what I needed to do if I was ever faced with a difficult situation like that again.

When I'm stressed, I have a tendency to get very anxious and everything I can think of comes tumbling down on me and, for the moment, I lose control.  I felt this very recently right before my third competition.  The stressed started at work and spilled into the one place I get relieved from stress, the gym. My iron therapy, as it's so aptly called, was not working.  The stress continued to mount each time someone tried to "make me feel better".  I tried holding it together because I didn't want the effects of my stress and aggravation to be an all out shouting match.  I remained calm and held it together as long as I could but I still didn't feel better.  I rushed through the workouts only to be more aggravated.  I was crumbling.  Self-doubt began to weigh on me about my next show and how well I would do and look and everything else I could think of that would add more pressure fell on me.  Finally, I said enough is enough.  This is ridiculous.  That night, I sipped my dandelion root tea, said a few prayers, and went to sleep, with hopes that everything would smooth over the next day.  And it did.

Stress is a beast. It's not fun when you're going through it, but coming through that storm is the greatest feeling.  A sense of relief and peace is restored and you feel complete again, regaining all control that was inevitably lost during your sissy rant.  When I feel I don't have everything together for my competitions, I use everything around me to build my stress and it begins taking a toll on my body and my performance.  I didn't realize until this last competition.  This is probably the most difficult situation I've had to undergo since graduate school, and because I feel as if there is no one I can go to that will hear and understand what I'm going through (besides the people who are also fitness models and coaches) it makes it that much harder.  That's why it's so important to have support going through this and thick skin.  Nonetheless, this stress thing is just something that I have to work through if I ever plan on getting to the top and getting any better.  I have to hold it together, somehow, and not lose control in the process.  How can I call myself a fitness model then act like a sissy?  Last time I checked, sissies didn't have defined muscles and washboard abs...I'm just saying.

It was fine as long as I was drinking beer and eating burritos...

When I first told my parents about my fitness modeling journey it was over breakfast.  I had waited a few months before I decided to tell them and at that moment I just blurted it out "I'm going to be doing fitness modeling.  What do you think?"  My mother nodded her head and my father murmured something inaudible.  I looked from one to the other, shrugged my shoulders and I went on eating my eggs.  Deep down, I know they care but because it is so out of the norm for them (they're both very old fashioned; bred from the south, smothered and covered) they're not sure how to react.  They figured if it's not something I studied in college and took an interest in earlier in life why should this be something they should take an interest in now, while I'm in my late twenties?  In their defense, I've never stayed on board with any other hobby, always quit.  But that's because it was never something I wanted to do.  This is something that I  can say, as an adult, that I'm not being thrown into, that I love and that I'm good at.  So now when I visit my parents, they always have to ask what can I eat instead of what do I want to eat.  I just tell them to have enough chicken, fish and veggies in the fridge and I'll supply the rest.  I have to travel with my supplements, protein shakes and other food items in a cooler.  All my parents can do is shake their head.

I wasn't just getting this reaction from my parents though.  Pretty soon, most of my friends that I would hang out with caught wind of my new lifestyle and soon started to slip away.  I'm not going to lie, in the beginning it bothered me.  All the hangouts and cookouts I once were invited to became far and few.  But then I started posting pictures of my progress on Facebook and Instagram.  Now, all those friends that mocked me were suddenly telling me how good I looked and they never knew how much my body had changed.  I had a few supportive friends and I was happy for them but the ones that turned from me when I started on this new journey were ones that had my attention.  I couldn't understand why everything seemed to be ok when I was drinking and eating as badly as they did but as I turned over a new leaf I was removed from their inner circle.  I slowly came to realize that misery indeed loves company.  I had always heard that phrase, understood the meaning but had never encountered it in my everyday life.  It's so funny how certain things in life turn into a lesson.

In the not-so beginning.....

The way I viewed my body is the way most people view a three tiered wedding cake adorned with diamonds and jewels, or a classic piece of artwork hung in the finest museums for all to marvel.  I figured because I was in my roaring twenties, a size four, 135 lbs soaking wet, tall, lean and mean, that my body was something to be mesmerized by and praised.  I was oh so wrong!

My friends and I liked taking beach trips and I would say to myself, "Dre Dre, if some people can walk out here with everything exposed and nothing left to the imagination why can't you?"  So I used what God gave me and my parents enabled and strutted.  Every surface my feet touched down on became my runway.  Oh I was lean and mean all right, but I had the softest, squishiest looking body that was point and laugh worthy.  I had no definition to my body.  And my belly took on a life of its own and became known to me as 'Biscuit' because of my love and obsession for bread. "Yeast will make you bigger," they said.  Ha!  The only place it made me bigger was my belly.  But that didn't matter.  I saw a svelte looking twenty-something with a wiggly booty, stick legs and pigeon toes.  And my goodness I loved a full body picture!  I couldn't stay out of the camera. 

I reflect on all of this now, looking at the progression my body has made thus far compared to how my body looked then, and I have to shake my head and laugh.  My personal trainer put it to me in a way that made me fall on the floor laughing but also made me think.  He said I held the most fat in my back and my stomach and called me a chubby skinny girl.  Ok, that's an oxymoron.  How in the world can I be classified as skinny but then be considered chubby?  But when I thought about it more, it made sense.  This is definitely no offense to anyone but I did have chubby girl tendencies.  I hid Hawaiian bread under my seat and would eat it freely when I was at a stop light.  Or I'd eat chips and salsa right before a yoga class.  I'd even eat a loaded chicken burritos after pole-dancing class and act like I just ate a light salad.  I can go on and on.

There are many contributing factors that play a part in my body transformation but it had to start with transforming my entire thought process and what my idea of a good looking body really is.  I had so many people tell me that I looked good and there was nothing wrong with me.  I was tall and skinny so I could get away with just about anything.  I started believing this and lived my life accordingly.  It took me reprogramming my mind to reprogram my image.  It started inward and progressed outwardly. 

This journey I've been on in transforming my body and lifestyle to a more healthier state has been bumpy, aggravating, hungry, hard and comical, all the more reason to share with others that may be able to relate or inspire.