Angela's Transformation
As a busy working mom with nonnegotiables, Angela is thirty pounds down, and loving life.
My relationship with food turned unhealthy in middle school, when I realized I was bigger than all of my friends and likely always would be. I wasn’t ever able to share clothes or shoes. I was taller than all the boys until the summer after 8th grade, when we moved from the East Coast to the West Coast. I immediately felt like I stood out, as silly as it seems now. Everyone seemed thinner, prettier, and way BLONDER than me. I battled bulimia beginning my freshman year of high school all the way through college. At 5’10, I fluctuated from as low as 135 lbs. to over 200 when I graduated college and got married, seeing the most success in maintaining a healthy weight when I severely restricted calories and worked out like a boss.
My highest weight was reached while pregnant with my first child. When he was born, I weighed 285 lbs. I made a commitment to my lifelong wellness when he was about 18 months old, and after a year of severe calorie restriction and deprivation, I reached my then-goal weight of around 180 pounds. If you throw another baby in the mix (a girl this time) and the industry trends around shakes and intermittent fasting, you can fast forward to about a year and a half ago where I pretty much decided something had to change. I was STILL yoyo’ing even after thinking that I knew what I needed to do to get back to a healthy weight. I set my goal at #balancewithfoodby40, even though I had no idea what that meant. Even though I had ‘conquered’ the eating disorder, I still had a very unhealthy relationship with food. Even though I was able to solidify fitness and its place in my life, becoming a certified gym rat only allowed me to attempt to out-exercise a horrible diet.
The truth is that at first, I judged people who did macros. It was ALL THE RAGE at my gym and I turned my nose up to it, because it sounded like another way for me to deprive myself. I felt that way because I didn’t take the time to understand it. While all of that brought me TO macros, what kept me there was my homegirl Chelsea and the macro mafia she has created. Oh, and the results too. Because #duh.
I went into this being VERY clear with Chels on what my non-negotiables were. I wanted to eat the way I want to eat-I didn’t want to be told what to do. I told her I refused to give ANYTHING up-nothing could be off limits to me. I would rather drink my carbs than eat them, and I will NEVER shoot a tablespoon of olive oil at the end of a day to hit my fat targets. When I started officially with Chels in September of last year, I was 6-months in to a new job in a new industry after 8 years of working from home full-time, and with that came a 43 mile commute twice a day. I’m a corporate America mama with a 14-year old son who is in the throes of puberty and a 10-year old daughter who thinks she is 18. Free time? HA! Who has free time? I wasn’t working out as much because I missed my gym tribe and there aren’t any mother effin’ classes at 4:30 AM. I required flexibility and someone who was going to let me do ME. And Chelsea said “you do you, boo.”
I now work out on average 4-5 days a week on my Peloton, adding heavy weighted circuits a couple days a week. I confidently know that consistency in tracking and a commitment to putting the work into my food is the key to my success. I brought my inner food prep goddess out of hiding, who had laid dormant for a few years, and brought her out to hang almost every Sunday. I was reminded how much better I feel when I eat better. I was reminded how much more boss-status I would feel on Mondays when I handled myself on the weekends. I entered most of my food the night before, ALWAYS entering wine first.
Starting weight in late August: 199.8
Current weight: 170.
30 lbs. down in less than 6 months.
It was slow. And frustrating. The scale is stupid. It robs you of your joy and your confidence in yourself. But weighing-in daily and tracking averages week over week was a new concept to me and one that I am so glad Chels introduced me to. It gave me extra success measures, in addition to other NSV’s (non-scale victories) like having to tighten a watch or buy new pants. I was able to accomplish my goal even while doing a whole bunch of fun things, like camping and beaching and Waste Management opening and brunching and LOTS of other things, all during which I DID NOT TRACK. I drank my weight in Prosecco at the open. I ate copious amounts of pizza and drank craft beer while in San Diego. I ate at my favorite Mexican restaurant in Yuma a few times and actually DID track that…it wasn’t as bad as I thought…huh.
I crave balance and harmony in all areas of my life as I move into my 4th decade. I couldn’t be happier about where I am at in life, and I’m so grateful for all of the people in it who support me in my success. While I don’t think my journey to being lifelong homies with food is quite complete, I know that I’ve reached a point of balance that many people struggle to reach, and I’m sharing my story for EXACTLY that reason. I am an example of someone who was able to reach her goals while LIVING her life. While I certainly had my struggle bus days, for the most part, I applauded every effort and awarded myself grace for my less than stellar moments, which is something I have never been able to do. I relinquished the control that the scale had over me and took control back over how I individually measure my health and wellness.
All my love to all of the mafia and anyone riding the bus to struggle town. Give yourself grace. And love. You are already so enough and so amazing. Remember that.
And thanks to my girl Chelsea. Love you big.
Inspired by Angela’s story and want to experience the same? Maybe you know someone who’d like to join you on the journey? Check out Betyou Can Macro’s Individual & Couple’s coaching options below!
