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 By: Stephanie Althea
Name: Stephanie Althea
I was extremely obese as a teenager. At 15 years old, I weighed 215lbs. I was teased a lot at school, and ended up dropping out, spending my days watching TV, shoving food in my mouth the entire time. I would literally sit on the couch for 9 hours at a time, eating entire packages of cookies and 10-packs of pudding cups. I would watch old "from geek to chic" episodes of Jenny Jones and Ricky Lake, and I would cry, wishing desperately that I could grow up to be one of those beautiful girls. I wanted men to pay attention to me, I wanted to wear pretty clothes, and I wanted to be happy and popular.
  Click Image To Enlarge. I Wanted To Be Happy & Popular. I come from a family of obese women; most of the ladies in my family are over 300-400lbs, so my mother would try to console me, saying I was going to grow up to be beautiful, but that our family's genetics would never allow me to be skinny, and I'd have to accept that. I sunk lower into depression, fueling that all-too-common binge cycle.
 Click Image To Enlarge. I Sunk Lower Into Depression. Eventually I realized that I could not possibly live the rest of my life like this. My stomach hurt from the volume of food I was consuming, I couldn't climb a flight of stairs without getting dizzy, and at 15 years old, I was having heart palpitations! The idea of living this life for 80 more years was unacceptable, and I had to do something about it. This was my life, and I was going to live it on my terms!
 Click Image To Enlarge. I Couldn't Live My Life Like This.
I didn't know what to do, so I did what felt natural: I cut out junk food (I was eating Wendy's twice a day at that point), dropping 20lbs almost immediately. I added just 10 minutes of walking a day, and another 20lbs melted off! I increased the duration and speed of my walks, and walking turned into speed walking, which turned into jogging, and within two years, running. The proudest day of my life was when a boy from high school, who once told me I had "more rolls than a bakery" not knowing who I was, asked me for my phone number!
 Click Image To Enlarge. A Proud Day. I lost the rest of the weight through long-distance running. I couldn't describe the euphoria of being physically able to run- I felt so free and light. I ran my whole first half-marathon with a grin on my face. My body looked great, and I was skinny, but I was still jiggly. One afternoon, I was watching TV, and saw a documentary on teenage bodybuilders, and I was entranced. What an interesting culture this was! I liked the discipline of it all. I hopped online to learn more, and stumbled across Bodybuilding.com. Talk about a life changing moment! Over the next few months, I immersed myself in every article I could find. I started to build my own home-gym, slowly adding equipment such as a treadmill, free weights, and a stationary bike. I also copied the exercises on bb.com, marveling at the muscles just popping out on me all of a sudden! My energy increased, and I found renewed passion for fitness and life - next thing I know, I'm on stage in a bikini contest, in front of hundreds of strangers!! (I definitely never saw that one coming!)
Whey protein after workouts, and in my coffee, and a multivitamin every day, with extra doses of Vitamin C. I now take Crantastic Razz Fruit Blast Isolate from 4Ever Fit.
Weight loss in the first few years was slow, because I had no idea about the impact of food! I started out just cutting out junk food, and within the first two years, slowly evolved into eating clean foods - lots of fresh fruits and vegetables! I didn't learn about the benefits of protein until I discovered Bodybuilding.com; the nutrition section was the best thing to ever happen to me. Turns out it's not genetics that makes my family obese, it's simply lack of education - I honestly didn't know what a carbohydrate was; I knew "protein" referred to meat.
 Click Image To Enlarge. Education Is The Key By implementing the information I gained on bb.com, I really saw results FAST - I leaned out, and the jigglies went away! I wasn't a saggy bag of cardio bones anymore!! I really urge you all to read as much as you can!
 Click Image To Enlarge. I Wasn't A Saggy Bag Of Cardio Bones Anymore! I'm a creature of habit, so my diet is fairly similar, day-to-day. Sunday's are my "rest day", and I like to indulge in either bigger helpings of my favorite foods, or a little treat (usually chocolate!)  Monday-Friday: (off-season)
6:00am (pre-workout)
8:00am (post-workout)
10:00am
12:30pm
4:00pm
6:00pm
8:00pm
I weight train 30-45 minutes, 5 days a week. Cardio is 6 days a week, and varies between 35-60 minutes. I like to train my abs while I'm weight training, in between sets, as it keeps my heart rate up, and cuts time!
 Click Image To Enlarge. I Train Abs Between Sets.
 Click Image To Enlarge. Stephanie Althea.
If you only take two things away from my story, let them be this:
 Click Image To Enlarge. Knowledge Is Your Most Powerful Tool.
 Click Image To Enlarge. Keep A Log On The Fire All Day. It's okay to be a little wary; I was too! But then, I tried it, and the weight came off so quickly, I was an instant believer! 
Stephanie Althea Recommend this article to a friend by e-mail here! Visitor Reviews Of This Article!
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