My name is Rachel. I am a 20 year old student, studying to be a Holistic Nutritionist. I found my love of fitness when I was 17 years old. After spending several years of my life being overweight and unhealthy, I decided to make a change. I stopped with the over-processed and over-marketed "diet food", and began to eat clean and exercise daily. But before I make this sound like it was a "piece of cake", let me tell you that it was most definitely not!
Growing up as a child, I was known to eat a Double Big Mac, Supersize french fries, Dairy Queen Blizzard, a couple chocolate bars and a bag of chips.... all in one night. This didn't seem not normal to me... I thought it was the thing to do! All this delicious food at my finger tips and you expect me to believe in a thing called MODERATION? Hah! I don't think so ;)
Soon, I found my weight catching up with me when I was 16. I knew I wanted to get healthy but junk food was a huge addiction of mine. I mean, who really wants to eat carrot sticks and do cardio? Isn't that what being healthy is all about? The summer of 2009, I somehow managed to kick my butt into shape. I ditched the fast food and ate more salads and "clean food". I also started to go jogging *scary*. I think it was the end of summer when I began to let the whole getting healthy thing go to my head.... I was afraid to touch any unhealthy food and god forbid miss a day of exercising. That's right people, I got up at 3:30 AM weekdays to get my workout in before school... and never missed the weekends either! I became physically and emotionally tired. I went from 160 lbs to 109 lbs in less than a year. I was lacking in the sleep department for sure but couldn't kick my addiction of exercise. I ate normally, lots of good clean food and the odd treat... but my exercise and food intake could not balance to maintain my weight.
At school, I received lots of nasty remarks. People thought I was anorexic or bulimic, too skinny, skinny minny, chicken legs... etc! I however did not let those comments hurt me. I stuck to what I thought was right and carried on with my routine. They didn't know anything about me so I figured their opinion did not matter. I am so grateful now for my positive attitude and self love, otherwise I may have turned into a depressed teenager. The summer after I graduated, I knew I wanted to gain some weight. I was not happy with how skinny I truly was anymore. Sure, the thought of fitting in a 0 or 00 pant size made me feel good, but I did not "look" good.... I wasn't a healthy weight. I've since put on about 20 lbs. That is made up of muscle and fat. It was hard to see my weight go up, but I knew it was for a good reason. My thighs have always been my biggest problem, and I loved having a fist-sized gap between them. Now, that gap is filled in with MUSCLE... and I love it <3
If I could go back and tell my 17 year old self one thing, it would be to not obsess about calories or missing a workout. You need a good night's sleep to go HAM in your workout. And if I could go back and tell all those nasty people who spoke about me behind my back, it would be to never speak out of jealousy or feel like you have the right to put somebody down. 17 is a very vulnerable age and while it did not bring me down ever, it can definitely bring someone else into a dark place. Nobody wants to be judged, rejected or hurt. Unless you know the person, you have absolutely no place in saying they look too skinny, too fat, ugly, etc. Everyone should focus on their own bodies, their own lives and loving themselves.
I'm proud to call my body mine. I have put it through a lot! You only have one body, so love it everyday. <3
***Please feel free to contact me at rach.oppelt@hotmail.com for any questions regarding Nutrition, Fitness, Sports Nutrition, Veganism, etc. I am a Certified Holistic Nutrition (will be Registered soon) Specializing in Sports Nutrition and would be happy to hear from you!
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