I Don’t Have The “Skinny Gene”

Published On: Mar 24, 2017

I know some of you are probably reading that blog title and cursing me under your breath (or out loud at the screen) but it’s a weighted statement. Pun intended?

My entire life up until my second year of college I was an athlete, soccer being my main sport. I even played Division 1 my first year at FAU – until I got a taste of what “college life” was really like (and it wasn’t 2 a day practices or curfews). Needless to say, I only played one year and the athletic metabolism I had built up over many years quickly diminished.

EQ: Freshman 15 + entering your Twenties x Genetics / No Sports = 30 Unwanted lbs

I DON’T HAVE THE “SKINNY GENE”
Posted on Mar 24, 2017
I know some of you are probably reading that blog title and cursing me under your breath (or out loud at the screen) but it’s a weighted statement. Pun intended?

My entire life up until my second year of college I was an athlete, soccer being my main sport. I even played Division 1 my first year at FAU – until I got a taste of what “college life” was really like (and it wasn’t 2 a day practices or curfews). Needless to say, I only played one year and the athletic metabolism I had built up over many years quickly diminished.

EQ: Freshman 15 + entering your Twenties x Genetics / No Sports = 30 Unwanted lbs

I felt like I was discovering how my body worked for the first time. I learned over the next few years that I easily fluctuate in weight and it’s easier to gain the pounds than to lose them. I learned that I don’t just gain in one area, I distribute the weight evenly but it becomes the most noticeable in my face. I learned that I had to start being more mindful of what I ate and drank and how much and at what times – no more 3 am Taco Bell runs.

Fast forward a little. I was able to get to a place where I was content with body and I didn’t have to workout or diet 24/7, I just had to be active and actively aware of intake.

Fast forward again to getting engaged and spending a year doing hot yoga and eating like a bird until my wedding day.

And again two years later to becoming pregnant with my first child. I was back to a healthy and apt weight of 135 when we found out we were expecting. I’m 5’6 by the way. The day I had Jaxon, the scale that morning was 198. I gained 63 lbs and while yes, some of it was water weight and my 7 lb 14 oz baby, the rest was extra. Luckily, Jax was a great eater, so breastfeeding around the clock helped me lose the majority of the weight fairly quickly. The saying goes “9 months to put it on, 9 months to get it off” – well at 10 months postpartum I had not lost all of the weight, but I did find out I was pregnant with our second child! Surprise!

I tried to be more conscious of how much weight I was putting on this pregnancy but still managed to gain 45 lbs with Phoenix. The weight after he was born (at 6 lbs 8 oz) did not come off so easily with breastfeeding. I was not happy with how I looked or felt. I was aware that I had just had my second baby in under two years, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to feel like myself again and to wear my clothes again, the ones I hadn’t been able to wear even before becoming pregnant for the second time.

To make an already long story shorter, at 4 months postpartum and after weaning Phoenix, I decided to join Orange Theory. This is not a sponsored endorsement for OTF, this is just what I did. I chose a circuit training gym over a standard gym because I honestly did not and still do not have the motivation or knowledge to workout on my own. I wanted a place where all I had to do was show up and I’d get a full body workout lead by an instructor. My husband was the driving force in making sure I got my ass to the gym 4 times a week and wouldn’t let me give up even with my constant complaining about not seeing results. I felt like that meme where you workout one day and expect to be fit AF after.

Nick told me when I started to take a before picture from every angle and to do that every 30 days. He also said that it would take a solid 90 days before I would be able to see the transformation for myself. Best piece of advice he could have given me was to take those pictures because although other people were complementing me on the changes they saw, I couldn’t see them until I began comparing my before and after photos. If you take anything away from this post – let it be that if you are starting a fitness journey or even if you’re already on one – have half-naked photos to use for proof and motivation to keep going, because IT’S WORKING! As I mentioned earlier, I played sports until my twenties but I’ve never been as pleased with my body as I am now at 32 years old with two kids!

Although I love OTF and attribute it’s workouts to the couple of abs I have for the first time ever – I think any type of full body workout could help you achieve these results. The key is frequent, consistent workouts and being selective, not super strict, with your diet. I honestly could and should eat a lot better but one thing at a time, lol. I currently just try to drink a lot of water, stay away from fast food, the kid’s snacks, carbonated drinks and anything with a lot of sugar.

And the photos! The photos made me aware of the changes, proud of where I’d started and pushed me to go even further.

Please comment with any questions you might have! I am not a fitness or nutrition guru in any way, shape or form, I only have my experiences to speak for.

Flexingly,

Stacie

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