Introduction!

What up FITFAM? Hah....Me from a year ago would punch current me in the face for using the term "fitfam." Boy, have things changed around here. I decided to start this blog after searching the internet over and over for some honest information on the reality of going from obese, to competition material.

In 2009, I weighed in at 225lbs. Yes...225lbs. I wore a size 33 jeans and a DD bra. I also had horrible self esteem and would hide behind baby doll dresses and baggy sweaters. (my fear of the oh-so-dreaded muffin top kept me away from jeans.) Here's some photographic evidence for you...

Between 2010 and 2011, I dropped down to 150lbs. I did this by going on an extremely low calorie diet, which I now know isn't really the safest or healthiest way to go about losing weight. The diet was extremely restrictive. Only 800 calories a day, with absolutely NO cheat meals. I worked out 5 days a week, and did mostly cardio with some light weight training mixed in here and there. I would do triceps kickback after tricep kickback and could not figure out WHY I wasn't gaining any strength or muscle! I missed out on parties, dinners, birthdays and other events in order to avoid temptation. Sure, I lost a ton of weight and got to a point where I felt pretty good about the way I looked, but eventually realized that this 800 calorie diet was completely unsustainable.

By 2012, I had gained back quite a bit and weighed in at around 170lbs. Then I discovered instagram. I started following  bikini and figure competitors like Amanda Latona and Leah Peters. I saw that these women were consuming twice the amount of calories I was, and looking TEN TIMES BETTER! I started doing research on bodybuilding.com and talking with other women on the forums. In May, 2013, I started lifting heavy. I remember the first time I stepped up to the smith machine, my legs were shaking. I felt like an idiot. I stood there for a few minutes with this confused look on my face and waited for the bulky dude next to me to start his reps so I could watch and learn how to use this foreign machine. I thought, "here goes nothing!" and loaded a 25lb plate on each side of the bar, stepped under it, and did my first squat. HOLY CRAP. It was love at first squat. I LOVED the feeling of pushing this heavy weight up and down and up and down. I felt strong and empowered and motivated. I didn't want to stop. Day after day, I would come back to the smith machine and squat until my legs gave out. From there, I added dead lifts. I would spend all night on bodybuilding.com watching how-to videos and enter the gym the next day eager to try out my new moves. Eventually, I felt like a pro! I was eating more and somehow weighing less. I dropped from 170 to 145 in about 4 months. I could see definition in my legs (my problem area!), I had shoulders and biceps and, dare I say it...ABS!

So what's next? I am planning on competing in my first Bikini Comp this coming summer. I'm shooting for the NPC Metropolitan in April in the Amateur Bikini Division. Here's my first progress picture at 13 weeks out! I'll be posting progress pictures, recipes, stories and struggles over the next few months. I hope that somewhere out there, there's a discouraged gal who reads this and realizes that with hard work and dedication, anything is possible!

xoxo - Sarah E.