My Story

It was a *CLICK* moment at the age of 21 and 350 pounds that would change my life forever.  

I was born fat.  I grew up in a home where food, family and fun were the center of our lives.  At the ripe old age of four I was already having weight issues and seeing a nutritionist about the problem.  Being the baby who looks like there are rubber bands in her arms and legs is adorable...at 15...it's not so adorable.  I used my goofy sense of humor and positive outlook on life to build a "funny fat girl" schtick that helped me survive middle school and high school.  If people were laughing WITH me, they couldn't laugh AT me.  

I had Duodenal Switch surgery in 2010 hoping that this would be the answer.  A month after surgery my weight loss had slowed down to a slow crawl and I was devastated that the surgery had failed me.  Luckily, it was another click moment that made me realize that it wasn't the surgery that was going to fix me.  I was the problem and I was also the solution.  I needed to change my LIFE.  I started reading everything I could get my hands on.  I wrote a list of all of the bad behaviors that I had and everything that I knew I needed to change and I got to work.  I went down the list one thing at a time and week by week I modified behaviors, cut out bad habits and educated myself about the surgery, about a healthy lifestyle and fell in love with the gym.

In 2012 I reached my goal weight of 150 pounds and decided that I needed another big challenge.  I fell in love with the gym and working out and decided that my new challenge was going to be bodybuilding.  I was going to compete in bodybuilding.  

By Senior year of high school I ate my way to 280 pounds and was desperate to lose weight.  I begged my mom to let me have the lap-band surgery and in 2006, I went under.  I successfully lost 50 pounds and quickly gained it back due to my college diet of pizza, instant mashed potatoes, alcohol and ice cream. 

At the age of 21, I was 350 pounds and had successfully failed the lap-band surgery.  I was flying home to Chicago and didn't fit in the airplane seat.  They made me buy the seat next to mine and then I still needed the extender seat belt.  There I was, sitting in my own ugly tears, snot running down my face, embarrassment smeared all over me.  I made a decision right then and there that I would never feel that way again.   I was 21 years old and I couldn't walk up a flight of stairs without feeling like I was having a heart attack.  I couldn't even put on my own bra or shoes.  I needed to change.

Not only was I going to compete in bodybuilding, but I was going to become a personal trainer so that I could help others feel this amazing.  I studied with the National Academy of Sports Medicine and received my certification and one year later, on June 7th 2015, I was named Women's Physique Champion with the United Fitness Events Federation. 

I wanted to keep inspiring others and helping others reach their goals.  I fell in love with the process of change that goes along with being successful with bariatric surgery.  It wasn't the surgery that saved my life.  It helped a lot but it was my dedication to changing my lifestyle that saved my life.  In 2016, I received my Behavior Change Certification through National Academy of Sports Medicine to further my education.    

Surgery is not the "quick fix".  It isn't even the "easy way out".  It is a TOOL.  I want to help others utilize their tool so they can live the healthiest life possible.