This week’s Transformation Tuesday come from
Stephanie Wimer of Strong Figure. I’m an ambassador for this strong group and
am excited and happy to share Stephanie’s Story.
Here it is in her own words.
I grew up in the country. I didn't have a lot
of neighbors and while 23 acres of land was a lot to run around on, honestly, I
never did much running. A little basketball in the yard or riding circles
around the house with my bike was about all the exercise I ever got as a kid.
I preferred Barbies, writing poetry, and
reading The Nancy Drew Files. As I grew up, not much changed. I wrote in my
journal every night. I read every Lois Duncan book in our school library. And
while most kids laid by the pool all summer, I watched soap operas in my room
and finished my Christopher Pike mystery collection.
No one made me exercise--ever.
No one made me eat healthy--ever.
Of course, my parents "tried" to
get me to eat my vegetables but no one ever really forced me to eat anything I
didn't like. I grew up in the south so most of our vegetables were actually battered, fried,
and served with a side of bread. Everything was made with mayonnaise and sugar. And when it wasn't homemade,
food came out of a box with a side can of Pillsbury biscuits. Sure, the corn, cucumbers, and tomatoes from
the garden were probably awesome...but as a kid, I didn't care much for any but
the corn...in which I slathered in butter.
I played volleyball and tennis in high school
and that was it. Nothing extra--no extra weight lifting, summer skills
practice, AAU teams, nothing. Just one season here and there and whatever
happened, happened. I wasn't particularly good at any sport so by the time I
got to college, I avoided all of them as best I could. I even avoided my health
class--sitting in the last row of the class--yet I still remember more from
that class than most that I took that year. Or all four years.
When I started college back in 1999, I was a
small, shy, 130-pound freshman without a clue about life and the real world. I
remember my health professor told us that if we didn't start working out
regularly, we would indefinitely gain the "freshman 15."
"Whatever," I thought. I was
walking all OVER that damn campus every day. That had to be enough right?! I never
exercised a day in my life and ate pizza, chicken nuggets, mac-n-cheese, pasta,
chocolate milk, and orange juice regularly. I didn't have any problems.
But college food was SO MUCH BETTER than
anything I ever had before. I could eat whatever I wanted whenever I wanted and
as much of it as I preferred! I was a regular at the fettuccine and bread-stick
bar, as well as the chicken wraps, Chick-Fil-A, and the super cool vending
machine that spit out hot fries and cappuccinos. (Don't forget, I had never even
had vending machine food before college. To me, this was incredible.)
I bought snack bars between meals, and on
long days, I'd buy bagel sandwiches and lots of coffee--full of sugar--to keep
me awake to finish my homework. I don't think I partied as much as the typical
kids in my school, but I had my fair share of "too many drinks and late
night pizza and/or Sheetz take-out."
By the time I graduated, my five-foot short
frame weighed almost 170 pounds. Just to reiterate, that's double the freshman 15
plus 10 more.
When I was somewhere between 22-23 years old,
I decided I needed to figure out how to lose weight. I first tried weight
watchers, and I'll have to admit, even though I'm not a "fan" of the
WW method anymore, it was this diet that got my brain spinning. I became
obsessed with learning about food.
Of course I didn't do anything
"right" for the first year...maybe more. I'd save all my
"points" for a slice of pizza and eat nothing else the rest of the
day, or I'd eat a crap ton of 100-calorie brownie bites--you know what I'm
talking about--because they were just one point on the WW scale. I had gone
completely low fat, high carb, minimal exercise; and while yeah, ANYTHING works
to lose weight when you're coming from doing NOTHING, eventually you get stuck.
So I got stuck.
And that's when I started reading and
experimenting and even going to the gym. I joined our local Gold's Gym and
became a cardio fanatic--I pinned my Dan Brown books to the ellipticals and
sweated out a few chapters. I even "bumped up" my training by adding
in Pilates on Saturdays. Whoa! Go me!
And the more and more that I read about food,
the more and more fascinated I became with it. I experimented with whole foods,
vegetarian foods, soy foods, Atkins diet, South Beach diet, Zone diet, eating
meat substitutes, and I even tried being vegan for about four days. I couldn't
take it.
I can't possibly tell you about my years
between 23 and 28 because it was nothing but experiment after experiment after
experiment. I yo-yo'ed my weight ALL over the place. My mystery reading turned
into nutrition reading. I literally tried everything.
One day, Erik, my co-worker at the time who
had listened to me talk each and every day about food and weight, just came
right out and said, "Look, you're eating too many carbs, and not NEAR
enough protein."
"Protein...like meat? Won't that make me
fat?"
"No," he said. "You need to
read labels differently. Eat only the foods that have TWICE as much protein
than carbs. You'll lose weight, I promise."
DO YOU KNOW HOW FREAKIN' HARD THAT IS for
someone who only knows about "low-fat processed smart choice frozen
cuisine meals"?!?!
And then, do you know what he had the nerve
to tell me to do next?
LIFT. MORE. WEIGHTS.
What?! Does this guy have a clue?
Only because I had plateaued for so long and nothing else was working, I let
Erik have a go with this grand idea of his. He said that he needed to get back
into the gym himself and that if we lifted together, maybe we'd have enough
motivation to continue.
So guess who fell in love with big weights?
ME!
I started focusing more and more on weights and less and less on food. Well, I
take that back, my focus on food was even greater than before but this time I
had a clue. High protein, low carb, moderate fat; It was working.
This guy, this plan, these weights, and this
style of eating completely changed my life. I'm not exaggerating, either. I'm
not the same Stephanie that people knew before. The Steph that existed before
the age of 28 is nothing more than a memory. This new Steph, in my opinion
rocks.
Here's what changed for me:
I became proud, confident, and stronger than
I ever imagined.
I went from being the elliptical book reader to the girl that was asked to
start training and teaching classes.
I found that one passion that I had looked
for my entire life but had no clue where to find it or what it even was.
I became a coach, a personal trainer, a group
fitness instructor, and the owner and writer of my own health and fitness
website.
I get to motivate someone every single day.
I get to train with athletes that inspire me,
every single day.
And as much as my life is awesome right now,
don't think it was easy or even that it was fun for me to change so much about
my life.
I changed so much (in my opinion for the
better) that I lost several friends. Well, people I thought were friends.
People I still run into occasionally, who have nothing to say to me.
I got divorced (partly) because I changed so
much.
I moved away from small town I thought I
would live in for the rest of my life.
When I changed my life, one of the hardest
lessons to learn was that you can't change the people in it. They're either
with you, or not. I had to leave a lot behind.
But what I have now is my health; Amazing
friends, a job and career that I love, a website that is taking off in the
fitness world. I get to be that person that others come to for advice. I get to
be strong. I get to design lifting programs for my gym and my friends. I get to
compete athletically, and I get to wake up every morning loving every single
moment of my crazed day. My life revolves around exercise, nutrition, good
health, and still--a great book.
But the best part? I've still got Erik right
beside me, supporting me the whole way.
Often, I laugh when I think about it. Erik
told me years ago that I needed to start lifting weights and I thought he was
crazy. A few days ago, he had me correct his front squat positioning. It's
amazing how much can happen, how much can change in a matter of a few years and
a lot of hard work. Transformation Tuesday might be an awesome before/after
picture for the world to see, but for the people who've had to experience it
first hand, it's the transformation of a lifetime.
Please visit me on my website: http://strongfigure.com and
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Until next time,
