Growing up I was always the athletic one and I loved running around playing any sports and challenging myself physically, however, I was always shorter than most of my teammates with a stockier build. In my own brain, I didn’t look like an athlete. I knew I had strong legs and broad shoulders but I didn’t really fit into the mold of what great athletes looked like. Still I practiced my sport every day and ended up playing golf in college on a scholarship. I was proud of my abilities and logically I knew my body and its athletic strength had gotten me to that point, but I was always ungrateful for it, tugging at my uniform, wishing it fit me more like it fit my teammates and wanting to be a bit taller with a bit narrower shoulders or a bit skinnier. In may of 2016 I graduated and started working right away, instead of going from class to practice or to a team workout I was going to work and then home eating and watching Netflix. I became even more ungrateful for my body. I wanted to be more active but my self confidence was at a low and I didn’t have a team obligation to workout anymore.
In August last year my sister-in-law and I found figures on Groupon in search of more affordable barre class options. What I found was a community of women aspiring to be better versions of themselves through health and fitness. I started by taking a couple of barre classes a week and mixing in power sculpt and weight training. I started feeling better about myself and more comfortable in a gym environment than I had ever been. I started trying more and more classes and pushing myself to new limits in front of new friends. Playing on the golf team, I was surrounded by women working individually toward a common goal. The Power Intervals class with Maria feels kind of like that, women working as individuals towards the common goal of a healthier life cheering each other on in the process. Power Intervals is now my favorite class and Maria has helped me see and unlock the potential I had all along.
The real change in myself came when I learned how to fuel my body for my workouts and my goals by seriously counting my macronutrients. Once I started dieting based on what my body needed instead of what my brain wanted my body transformed. Since March I have lost 18 lbs while still putting on muscle and getting stronger than I ever allowed myself to think was possible. I don’t weigh less than the girls I used to compare myself to, and I probably never will, but I have the best body composition I have ever had and more self confidence every day. My journey is no where near over, this photo is not my after its my during. With the help of Figures and the amazing women I have met there I am officially addicted to bettering myself, and I want everyone around me to feel the same. If I have learned anything at Figures it is that there is room for every woman at the top, so lift your girls up.