From the very second I was born, there was no getting around the fact that I was going to have to be a fighter all my life. I literally was born not breathing, so yeah, I’ve been fighting since day 1. I was bullied all of my childhood for being the weird, quiet, fat kid. I grew up with an alcoholic father who tortured us and blamed me for his downfall. All that, combined with growing up in a culture where most family get togethers revolved around food and me using food to also cope with my depression, led me down a dark path.
So, there I was. 24 years old in the doctor’s office, 300 pounds, and she told me I needed to be on blood pressure medicine. It scared me so much. So, I did what any “normal” person would do. For a 6 month period, I basically starved myself & lost 100 pounds. Looking back, I can finally admit I had an eating disorder and it was absolutely the wrong way to do it. As you would expect, I gained most of the weight back because I didn’t change my mind. I didn’t figure out why I was doing the things that I was doing.
5 years ago, my life completely changed. My family moved to a new house, so we could get a fresh start. As I was going to work one day, I realized that I now lived a minute away from a gym. I was curious, but it took me a month of driving by before I finally was brave enough to go inside.
I walked into RevFit Gym for my first bootcamp on September 6, 2016, and at the end of the camp when I was on the floor next to the toilet barely conscious, I said to myself, you let yourself get to is point, so it’s time to change, because you are never letting yourself get back to that point. This journey has been crazy at times. All the pain, blood, sweat, and tears, but it has absolutely changed my whole life.
I’ve lost about 68 pounds at the gym (all together around 127 pounds) & gained 20 pounds of muscle. Don’t get it twisted though. It’s not about what I have lost. I have gained so much more. I had a dead end job, I hated who I was, and I didn’t think I would make it past 30. Now, I’m 32, the happiest I’ve ever been, with a job I love (RevFit Manager & Spin Instructor), & most importantly, I’ve found my purpose in life. To be the beacon of hope that if I can literally go through hell & still survive, absolutely anyone can. You just have to believe, take the leap of faith, and always fight back.
Thank you to everyone who has been a part of my journey. To my family, I love y’all so much. It’s been a hard couple years, but I couldn’t do it without y’all. My crazy gym family, I don’t even care about my journey anymore. What I love is watching y’all succeed & transform your lives. My RevFit work family, I’m so grateful & constantly inspired by our trainers/instructors. Finally, thank you God for everything. The good & bad. Everything that has happened has molded & shaped me to the person I am today. I’m only human. We all fall. We all fail. The important thing is what you do after. Are you going to stay in the darkness of negativity or are you going to rise up like a phoenix & find your light?
