I'm Just Like You

Mostly. I mean, I've tried everything there is under the sun until I found my way.

Here's my story...but grab some coffee, water, or wine because it's a long one!

I'm from a small town in Louisiana but moved away when I was 13. I became an ARMY brat then and moved around a few times. I married stupid young and became divorced young but no children. I gained a lot of weight during my married years and became aware of my weight for the first time during my marriage.

I was one of the lucky ones growing up. I had a brief period in Middle School where I thought I was over weight but I wasn't bullied about my weight nor was any emphasis otherwise put on my weight. I quickly forgot about it. I was never truly aware of my weight during high school. I ran track and cross country in high school (very slowly haha). I didn't become aware of my weight until my marriage when my ex-husband would constantly tell me, "If only you'd lose that pooch then you'd be perfect...".

I was 118lbs.

That's when I began trying different "diets". I weighed about 130-135lbs at the end of my marraige but I ended up losing a lot of unintentional weight during my divorce. It was emotional. I went through depression. Anxiety. Life was turned upside down and sideways. I began drinking a lot. My weight stayed fairly consistent though, even with a diet of cereal and soup (most definitely not recommended) because I danced a lot on the weekends with friends and sporadically went to the gym.

I enlisted in the Air Force in 2005. Going in to Basic Training I weighed about 125lbs. After Basic, I lost about 4lbs total in the beginning and gained 2lbs of it back at the end but I lost 2 pants sizes. I went from a 6/8 to a 4/6.

My weight gain began again with working shift work with the Air Force. After Tech school, where we learn our job, I began drinking again since we could at that point. I went back to a 6/8 pant size. Then, I went to my first duty station at Buckley AFB in Aurora, Colorado (right outside of Denver). I worked 12 hour shifts, rotating from Days (5am-5pm) to Nights (5pm-5am). You’ve heard of the Freshmen 20, right? Where you gain at least 20lbs your Freshman year of college. Joining the Air Force and working that kind of schedule was like the Freshman 20 for me. I didn’t know how to adjust my eating habits to reflect my new job and schedule. I drank all the Monster’s and Coke’s to keep me awake. I ate all the food because when you’re tired your body thinks it’s hungry. I drank alcohol all the time because it's what you did to decompress.

In 2007 I was “voluntold” to become a Physical Training Leader (PTL). That pretty much began my love of leading people through exercise. I had to come up with plans to keep our Flights Airmen in shape for our Physical Training (PT) test and ensure they pass said test. If they did not, it was not only on them but on me as well.

I did not immediately go into a personal training career, however. After my six year enlistment, I worked for two contractor company’s, one of which brought me to Orlando, Florida. While the work I did was very interesting, working 12 hour shifts, or even an 8-10 hour shift after 5pm, no longer interested me. That kind of work is hard on the body and mine, especially, did not like it.

In 2009, I fractured my ankle but was told for an entire year that it was just a sprain. For an entire year I went to so many different Physical Therapists and doctors about my foot. I couldn’t run efficiently and certain exercises aggravated my “sprain”. I did not adjust my eating habits to not being able to workout like I had been.

Finally, in 2010 after requesting another opinion on my ankle, I found out it was actually fractured and had to have surgery. My surgery took place in May of 2010. I was not supposed to walk on my ankle at all for 30 straight days and then I was to only put light pressure on it. Physical Therapy began again and I began to get better. That whole time though...I never once adjust my eating habits to not being able to workout at all. I’m sure you can guess what that meant… A 20lb weight gain on top of the 20lb Freshman 10 I’d already gained. That wasn’t even my heaviest. Overall, I would gain 45lbs on my small 5’2” frame throughout the following years.

170 pounds would be my highest weight.

Not even my heaviest weight. - 2011

I struggled through the years to lose the weight and would yo-yo in my diet and weight loss even though I worked out constantly from the Air Force. Once I got out in 2011 my constant workouts ended as I no longer was forced to workout.

December 2012—A photo was taken of me that really showed me my weight gain. I decided then and there that I would start working out again consistently and adjusting my diet. I dedicated myself to run a 5k race a month for 12 months. I ended up doing way more than 12 5k's! I was losing a few pounds and some inches. I felt great. I was doing everything I was supposed to do and had even changed my way of eating. I was eating baked skinless, boneless chicken breast with broccoli and sweet potatoes for dinner. Plain oatmeal with a little honey and a boiled egg with turkey bacon for breakfast - not all at once haha.

One 5k Race A Month for 12 Months

April 2013—I went to my doctor for my annual checkup and the blood work showed my triglycerides were 298 (it’s supposed to be below 150). My cholesterol (good and bad) was off and my blood sugar levels showed I was pre-diabetic. All of this after changing my eating habits and working out more again. I was so disappointed and confused. My doctor put me on a Statin, Bayer, and Niacin for my cholesterol. I wasn’t even 35 years old yet. I HATED it. I hated the way the statins made me feel. I was scared. My entire family has a history for heart disease. My cousin, who is only a year younger than me, had to get a pace maker. His mom, my Aunt, had already had many minor heart attacks and some major ones as well. My dad had issues and had surgeries for clogged arteries and all that.

Fast Forward to 2016… I’d only stayed on the statin for a year. It barely touched my triglycerides and cholesterol. My diet yo-yo’d. I tried everything. Then in March of 2016 a friend posted an article about eating Ketogenic. I did all the research, y’all. For days and weeks, I spent my extra time looking into it. Finally, at the end of March, I thought, well. I’m either going to die from not eating enough fat through the current diet or I’m going to die from eating too much fat. So, I gave it a shot. Three months later my triglycerides went from 215 to 111 after only three months of eating ketogenic. The rest of my cholesterol numbers were in the normal range and so was my blood sugar levels.

So, that’s the way I mostly eat. I say mostly because I’m human and still crave sugar. I know I could give up cupcakes and would no longer have those cravings but what kind of life is it without cupcakes??? I now have bacon for breakfast every morning and enjoy a cupcake on Friday’s if I want one. If I don’t, I know there’s always next Friday. If I have a craving for something in the meantime, I remind myself Friday is coming!

You see, I’ve been there. I’ve gained weight and lost it. All of this has lead me to my journey of where I am today.

Today, I am dedicated to helping others get to their own happy place. While I can’t recommend a ketogenic diet to everyone (and I actually don’t), I do recommend you keep trying to find your own way of eating that brings you to a healthy place.