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Vital
Stats
Name:
Stephanie Althea
Location:
Ontario, Canada
Email:
stephanie_althea@hotmail.com
Height:
5'7"
Weight
Before:
215 lbs
Dress Size
Before:
18-20
Weight
After:
135 lbs
Dress Size
After: 4
Why I Got Started
I was extremely
obese
as a
teenager.
At 15 years old, I weighed 215lbs. I was teased a lot at school, and
ended up dropping out, spending my days watching TV, shoving food in my
mouth the entire time. I would literally sit on the couch for 9 hours at
a time, eating entire packages of cookies and 10-packs of pudding cups.
I would watch old
"from geek to chic" episodes of Jenny Jones and Ricky Lake, and I would
cry, wishing desperately that I could grow up to be one of those
beautiful girls. I wanted men to pay attention to me, I wanted to wear
pretty clothes, and I wanted to be happy and popular.
I Wanted
To Be Happy & Popular.
I come from a family
of obese women; most of the ladies in my family are over 300-400lbs, so
my mother would try to console me, saying I was going to grow up to be
beautiful, but that our family's genetics would never allow me to be
skinny, and I'd have to accept that. I sunk lower into depression,
fueling that all-too-common binge cycle.
I Sunk
Lower Into Depression.
Eventually I
realized that I could not possibly live the rest of my life like this.
My stomach hurt from the volume of food I was consuming, I couldn't
climb a flight of stairs without getting dizzy, and at 15 years old, I
was having heart palpitations! The idea of living this life for 80 more
years was unacceptable, and I had to do something about it. This was my
life, and I was going to live it on my terms!
I Couldn't
Live My Life Like This.
How I Did
It
I didn't know what to do, so I did what felt natural: I cut out junk
food (I was eating
Wendy's
twice a day at that point), dropping 20lbs almost immediately. I added
just 10 minutes of walking a day, and another 20lbs melted off! I
increased the duration and speed of my walks, and walking turned into
speed walking, which turned into jogging, and within two years, running.
The proudest day of
my life was when a boy from high school, who once told me I had "more
rolls than a bakery" not knowing who I was, asked me for my phone
number!
A Proud
Day.
I lost the rest of
the weight through long-distance running. I couldn't describe the
euphoria of being physically able to run- I felt so free and light. I
ran my whole first half-marathon with a grin on my face. My body looked
great, and I was skinny, but I was still jiggly. One afternoon, I was
watching TV, and saw a documentary on teenage bodybuilders, and I was
entranced.
What an interesting
culture this was! I liked the discipline of it all. I hopped online to
learn more, and stumbled across
Bodybuilding.com.
Talk about a life
changing moment! Over the next few months, I immersed myself in every
article I could find. I started to build my own home-gym, slowly adding
equipment such as a treadmill, free weights, and a stationary bike.
I also copied the
exercises on
bb.com, marveling at the muscles just popping out on me all of a
sudden! My energy increased, and I found renewed passion for fitness and
life - next thing I know, I'm on stage in a bikini contest, in front of
hundreds of strangers!! (I definitely never saw that one coming!)
What
Supplements I Took
Whey protein
after workouts, and in my coffee, and a
multivitamin
every day, with extra doses of
Vitamin C.
Sample
Week Of My Diet
Weight loss in the first few years was slow, because I had no idea about
the impact of food! I started out just cutting out junk food, and within
the first two years, slowly evolved into eating clean foods - lots of
fresh
fruits and
vegetables!
I didn't learn about
the benefits of protein until I discovered
Bodybuilding.com; the
nutrition section
was the best thing to ever happen to me. Turns out it's not genetics
that makes my family obese, it's simply lack of education - I
honestly didn't know what a
carbohydrate
was; I knew "protein"
referred to meat.
Education
Is The Key
By implementing the
information I gained on
bb.com, I really saw results FAST - I leaned out, and the jigglies
went away! I wasn't a saggy bag of cardio bones anymore!! I really urge
you all to read as much as you can!
I Wasn't A
Saggy Bag Of Cardio Bones Anymore!
I'm a creature of
habit, so my diet is fairly similar, day-to-day. Sunday's are my "rest
day", and I like to indulge in either bigger helpings of my favorite
foods, or a little treat (usually chocolate!)
Monday-Friday:
(off-season)
6:00am (pre-workout)
8:00am
(post-workout)
-
1 scoop of
Optimum
100% Whey
-
1 Royal Gala
apple (my favorite food in the world!)
-
1/3 cup oats
OR 2 slices of whole wheat toast with low-fat natural peanut
butter.
10:00am
12:30pm
-
Veggies
-
A protein
source (tofu, soy, whey, occasionally chicken, though I'm mostly
vegan)
4:00pm
6:00pm
-
Medium salad
-
1/2 brick of
firm tofu
8:00pm
Sample Week Of
Training
I weight train 30-45 minutes, 5 days a week. Cardio is 6 days a week,
and varies between 35-60 minutes. I like to train my abs while I'm
weight training, in between sets, as it keeps my heart rate up, and cuts
time!
I Train
Abs Between Sets.
Stephanie
Althea.
Suggestions For Others
If you only take two things away from my story, let them be this:
-
Research until
your eyes glaze over!! Knowledge is your most powerful tool; you do
not need to buy into the hype diet-of-the-day, and as-seen-on-tv
products if you know how your body works and why your body works the
way it does!! Plus, you can gross people out with all the wonderful
poop facts you'll find.
Knowledge
Is Your Most Powerful Tool.
-
Eat 5-6 small
meals per day. In fact, forget the word "meal", just graze on
(healthy!) foods all day long. I know a lot of you will swear that
eating less food will make you skinny, but if you take into account
my number one piece of advice (research!) you'll find out that your
body is like a wood stove; you have to keep a log on the fire all
day long to keep it alive.
Keep A Log
On The Fire All Day.
It's okay to be a
little wary; I was too! But then, I tried it, and the weight came off so
quickly, I was an instant believer!
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