The Road to Skinny-Part 1

Once upon a time I was a bookkeeper.  Yes, I had this happy little desk job and I worked 9-5 and had a little cubicle in an office with no window and strangely resembled the movie Office Space.  At this point I hadn't dieted or watched what I ate.  I drank beer, smoked butts, ate pizza you know, the healthy type of girl. My normal weight to walk around (without exercise) was 138.  138!!!  I wore whatever I wanted and didn't think twice!  Beach in a bikini bahh!  Not even a question.  I owned like 50!

Then one day I decided I wanted to change.  I wanted to get healthy.  I had started hanging out with a group of people who went to the gym and did their idea of healthy eating.  I wanted to give it a go.  I was 21 and started trying to run around the neighborhood.  Funny thing is I grew up in Boston.  Now, in the above paragraph I fessed up and said I was a smoker....in Boston....IT'S F'N COLD!  I literally almost threw up the first time I went running.  I thought I broke my lungs!  So, I took my broken lungs and started at a gym on this crazy elliptical machine.  I didn't even know the name of it!  I knew I had a similar effect of broken lungs but no frost bite to go with it.  Bingo!  Now I'm a cardio bunny!  1 hour on the elliptical?  No problem! Once I quit smoking lol!

Now I'm working out, I'm trying to research in magazines what eating healthy actually is, I'm quitting smoking, going to the gym and then I find pro wrestling.  For the first time in my life I'm actually decent at a sport!  See I danced for about 10 years and sports just weren't my thing.  Give me some ballet shoes and I'll plie like a mofo but throw a ball to me and we're more along the lines of Marsha Brady in that amazing Brady Bunch episode.  

I LOVED WRESTLING!  The training was a little tricky being one of the only girls but I kept going back and working as hard as I could.  I wasn't super strong so I tried learning more about weights from the boys.  The only thing was boys (no offense) like to lift for boy muscles.  i.e. arms, chest, shoulders and back.  You aren't going to get much more than that lol.  But I didn't know anything so I followed and kept up as much as I could.  Just when I thought I was doing well and getting my groove someone used the term SkinnyFat on me.  I didn't quite understand what that meant.  How can I be Skinny and Fat???  Then they were kind enough to elaborate.  "Well it's when you're skinny but jiggly".  Yes, this was said to my face and numerous times.  How the F*&k do I fix skinny fat???  So I went to work and listened to every bit of advice I got.  "You need to eat more to get muscle" "You're already pear-shaped so don't work your legs.  They'll get bigger."  "You need more cardio to tighten up"  "You need to eat less to lean out"  "You should try Atkins.  You get to eat bacon!"  So starts my lovely road to skinny....

At the beginning of wrestling I was known as the little girl.  The one everyone threw around.  Yeaaaa  I'm 5'8.  It's pretty awkward to throw around a girl my size even if she weighs 138 lbs.  After awhile I got better at my craft and was able to actually hold my ground some.  Then I started to get some weight on myself.  Traveling became a big part of my life and I lived on and off in Mexico for a year and a half.  It was amazing!  I loved it!  AND....I was able to get strong and put on some muscle while I was there since my main focus was wrestling and working out.  When I came home I was a different lady and proud of it!  My wrestling style had changed along with my body.  No more skinny fat for this broad!  I was feeling confident until one day when I was going to send in video of what I thought was good work and a fit looking chick and my trainer turned to me and said "Do you see those girls on TV?  Do you seriously think you look like that?"  How do you answer that???  You know he was asking for a reason.  So I never sent the video.  I then decided I would again see where I could get info on how to "eat healthy".  

Through my research I found out about competing.  How amazing was this???  I get to workout, eat healthy, get the look of the girls on TV and I get onstage (where I love to be) and look like a barbie.  And wait!  No one is going to punch me in the face???  BRILLIANT!  I'm all in!  I was lucky enough to meet a young lady who was getting her nails done at the same time as me and she was tan.  Oh I mean tan.  And cranky!  LOL!  My guess right away was she must be a competitor.  Lucky she was and I didn't look like an idiot when I asked her.  LOL.  She gave me info to a woman who was close by and had a smaller team.  I reached out to her and bam!  I was getting ready for my first competition.  

I've added some photos from this time and will be doing Part 2 of my Road to Skinny soon.  Hope you enjoy!!  Love any feedback : )