I’ve actually had several times in my life when I’ve “let myself go” or become overweight allowing hurdles to get the better of my health and wellbeing. In other words, several journeys of overcoming challenges to get back into shape. I don’t have the usual “one-off” ground breaking transformation story that you often hear about. In fact, it’s far from that…

Here’s the thing… as our lives change, we face various stumbling blocks – and depending on how you deal with them, they can affect your health, fitness, self confidence for the better… or in some cases the opposite – of what feels like obliterating your ability to function.

My weight yo-yo’d up and down from my early teenage years through to adult hood. And now, at 42 yrs old, I am still customising my program to suit the changes my body has experienced over the years. But at least I know what I’m doing now.

Even though I was athletic throughout my school years, I still went through the awkwardness of chunky (as they like to call it) teenage weight gain. Being a sprinter I went from being skinny to stocky. Then yo-yo’d between overweight, curvy to slim between 16 yrs old through to my twenties.

As a teenager I felt pretty insecure about my body. I used to try and make it appear like I “fitted in” with the crowd. But I never did. It got me down. The teenage girls and young women that were involved in my circle of acquaintances “so to speak” were competitive and bitchy when it came to physical appearances… and I didn’t know how to handle, what seemed like, the ongoing insults being flung about. I wasn’t used to that type of social environment.

My parents, although very loving, were very staunch in their Christian beliefs. And to be honest, I was worried that wearing clothing that showed a lot of skin would send me straight to hell. So when I wore a mini skirt and halter neck top, in my late teens – I hoped I looked good but also felt guilty or “bad” for wearing it too. I had a lot of body issues. And didn’t know if everyone felt like that, or if it was just “me”.

Obviously being tempted by everything that my parents had warned me about, I found myself wanting to have “fun” like everyone else seemed to be doing. Sporting activities became less frequent. I was far from street savvy. When people in my social group made dumb decisions, I went straight along with them. Being bought up in such a different world… I was trying to figure out what was “normal”. I had no idea what laid ahead of me and that my “world” would go from one extreme to the other.

At 19yrs old I was involved in a motor cycle accident.
(I was the passenger.)

The person driving did a wheelie at high speed, showing off. I had no idea he was going to take off so fast or drive like such an idiot either!

As the front wheel of the bike went up, the bike turned over. The driver flew off the bike unharmed. But I was stuck under the motorcycle and dragged, skidding along the road for over 200 meters. My clothes were torn to shreds from my body. My motor cycle helmet split as my head hit the curb… and the motorcycle was a complete wreck.

All the skin on my back from the base of my neck down to my butt was full of blood and gravel from the road. My right ankle and foot had a massive gaping hole in it (I could actually see inside it) and the inside of my right knee was heavily burnt from the exhaust pipe of the motor bike. The hospital that the ambulance took me too didn’t bother x-raying me. They sprayed some numbing stuff on my back – it didn’t work – then put a bandage in my mouth and told me to bite on it, and then used a scourer (that you scrub pots and pans with) to scrub the stones and crap from the road from my back and then stitched up my ankle and foot…

I was in so much pain. The hosptial staff just phoned a taxi, half carried me to the front door, loaded me into the taxi and ordered the driver to take me home, with no pain relief or medical advice as to how to take care of my injuries.

I was in another State, I had no family there, no medical insurance (due to a dodgy private medical cover officer, who I’d been paying my cover too, but she decided to do something else with it). I didn’t want to worry my parents. The folk that shared the house I was living in were too busy partying and incoherent 24/7 to notice my situation. Within weeks of not being able to walk properly and consuming Cyder (alcohol) for pain relief, I went from being slim to very overweight – fast!!! The muscle had depleted so much in my injured right leg it looked like skin and bone. So I had one huge overweight leg and one super skinny leg that looked like it had been mauled.

Nothing fitted me except sarongs and caftans. I sunk into depression. I was on crutches, and to get my leg to move I had to fling it out to the side. On days when it was too painful to walk, I would crawl / drag myself along the floor to get to the toilet or bathroom. I still had stones and crap stuck in my back. My foot swelled up and where I had my stitches… it burst open…

This wasn’t where I saw myself being at 19 years old!
I hated my life.

The following day I received some shocking news… One of my good mates from my home town, was killed in a motorcycle accident by a drunk driver – he was decapitated. I was absolutely devastated. After spending days crying and wondering “why” this horrible tragedy had happened to someone like him. It made me think about how ungrateful and selfish I was being. This lovely guy had lost his life at the hands of a drunken idiot. And I was still alive. I should be grateful my injuries weren’t worse. I should be grateful I’m still here and counting my blessings that I got another chance. I needed to pull my head in and focus on getting better. And consider just how precious life is.

Around this same time, one of the best things that ever happened
to me occurred.

I had never owned a dog before, I wasn’t allowed to own a pet growing up, but seeing this poor defenceless animal who was going to be put down if I didn’t take her in… there’s was no way I could let that happen. I fell in love with her immediately. And said I would take her. Her name was “Girly”.

Luckily I was able to ask my landlord if he could:
a. teach me how to look after my dog and
b. contact anyone who might be able to help me treat my injuries.

After getting medical attention we found out that I had numerous fractures in my foot and ankle – which weren’t picked up because the hospital hadn’t x-rayed me after the accident. And that the hospital had actually left stones and gravel in my foot and ankle wounds which were causing more damage… and that infection had kicked in. I made it my goal on that day that I was going to get the hell out of this rotten situation and get me and “Girly” back to my home state and town. I have to tell you, when I think back now, being so naïve, I’m shocked that I made it all happen.

Sure, enough, I followed through with my decisions. This was my first real experience of being really overweight. It was a sad way for it to come about, but I can tell you this. When you are desperate to make something happen, no matter what, you’ll do it – especially when something or someone you love to bits is involved – meaning “Girly”.

I got better fast. Between my physio – two real freebie sessions, the rest was total improvisation at the place I was living, which consisted of my landlord helping me walk laps around the backyard, while “Girly” ran around me playing , – and simply just desperately wanting to get the hell out of there, I got my butt home. But not without some hiccups (I’ll tell you those in a moment). And at that stage in my life, I had no idea, or fitness knowledge, about how to get into shape. I just knew that what I was doing totally sucked and it needed to change. Me and “Girly” needed to be far away from this.

At that stage, due to injuries, I wasn’t allowed to fly. I figured I could catch the bus home (4 days, driving 24 / 7 ) and fly “Girly” home to Mum and Dad before I left, so she’d get there faster and safer. Things didn’t go to plan. The bus place changed the times. “Friends” who I genuinely thought I could trust said they would put “Girly” on the plane for me. I was crying and they promised me my beautiful puppy would be fine and with my Mum and Dad in no time. If I only I knew then how full of crap they were!

Counting down the hours on the bus I phoned my parents from a public phone booth (no cell phones back then) expecting them to say my “Girly” was playing at their house. She wasn’t – there was NO record her. Mum and Dad said they were making enquiries… and for me to phone them the next day. I felt sick. I was devastated and furious.

The next day my Mum contacted a local church near where these “friends” were. They went to the house asked for “Girly” and put her on the next flight. Unfortunately the airport staff put her on the wrong plane! 5 days later after being on the other side of the country she arrived home. I can’t tell you how HAPPY, relieved, excited I was to see her. My beautiful girl, even throughout what lay ahead for us, she was with me til I was 29 years old – and got to meet and spend a lot of time with my lovely husband – he adored her as much as I did. She was my absolute best friend. Losing her, in her old age, has been one of the most heart wrenching losses of my life.

In the years following that, I went from skinny through to overweight – twice – putting on around 20 kilos (45pounds) each time! Even though I would have a good time, party, spend time with friends and make out I was happy etc… The whole weight gain / weight loss thing really got me down…

The truth was, I still didn’t really feel that confident in my own decision making or where I was heading in life.

I found myself in a series of emotional roller coaster relationships – I seemed to be drawn to that type of person. I was miserable. In fact the only time I genuinely felt happy was spending time with “Girly”. As it seemed, other than my family, she was the one loyal buddy I had.

The disrespect my boyfriends had for me, their abuse, their infidelity was something I had become accustomed too. The doubts and the self destructive beliefs I had of myself, I convinced myself they were true. It was after some really hurtful comments from my partner about me and my body, that I finally realised I was a doormat and I’d let myself get to that point. It was my fault. And I needed to figure out what I was going to do to change it.

I decided that I needed to take more control of my life – and not allow folk around me to dictate who I should or shouldn’t be. I wanted to be confident within myself. I wanted to look and feel fit and healthy. I had no idea how to go about getting into shape and decided I needed to find out.

Then, by absolute total chance, I met a Personal Fitness Trainer. She came into where I worked. She was an Australian bodybuilding competitor. She was ripped. I’d never seen anyone in real life as toned and lean as her. I wasn’t exactly into the fitness scene but I couldn’t believe how awesome she looked. I basically asked her, how did she get to look like that? I would love to look like that. What did I have to do?

She said if I was interested I could start with her in a couple of days, as she had a vacancy in one of her group PT classes. I blindly jumped in. I figured I had nothing to lose at this point. I looked and felt like crap.

I went to the gym where she trained her clients and booked myself in. Within days I had started the personal fitness training sessions. Boy, was it intense…

I had NEVER done walking lunges before in my life and swore
they were from Hell!

After my very first session I had to phone my mum (Aussie spelling) to come pick me up and drop me off at my place. As I couldn’t drive because my legs were shaking so much. I left my car at the gym for two days.

My poor Mum wanted to know what the “heck” I had done at the gym to cause my legs to go like that.

Truth is, I didn’t want to look unfit or make a fool of myself in front of all these fit people. So I “winged-it” – trying to be a hero – and ended up over-doing it. Learn from my mistakes — there’s nothing wrong with being determined but what I did was plain stupid.

As the weeks went by – the workouts were super tough – but the difference in my body was awesome – I was so impressed how fast the results were kicking in.

I could see my shoulders and arms changing. My legs were first to show the most change and then eventually my midsection.

My friends and family noticed the difference in my body and my attitude to life and couldn’t believe the changes themselves. Most of my friends that had joked and scoffed that I wouldn’t go ahead with this “whole training thing” were totally gob-smacked by my results and staying power.

I bought some second-hand gym equipment to put in the spare room at my place – so I could train in between my job and workouts with my trainer. It was the first time in ages I’d felt really alive. I was loving it. It really proved to me how real the changes could be by sticking to my training plan.

I went from a size 14 Australian (United States 12) down to a size 8 (United States 6). All the cool new clothes I could wear was fantastic. I had more energy, felt more alert. And wondered why I had waited so long to take action when I could’ve been feeling like this for years.

Within the next 12 months I left my job, broke up with my boyfriend and had chosen that I wanted a career in Personal Fitness Training. Once again… it brings up the point of how, when you’re passionate about something, you’ll make it happen. It was challenging making tough decisions – but I did it. And I can tell you it turned me into a fitness warrior. It give me confidence to stand up for what I believed in. You can ask any of my old clients from years ago… I made them work their tail off. As much as I cared for them, I tolerated no excuses. My goal was to get them their results and make them feel just as empowered as I had felt.

For me, personally, being able to sculpt my body and others via diet, resistance training and cardio was exciting, rewarding and just plain awesome!

Here’s the thing… not you, nobody should have to feel like they’re stuck in a slump with their body. I know what’s it like to look in the mirror and think how unhappy, overweight, depressed and out of shape that person is looking back at me. I had felt, and convinced myself, in the past that I was a loser. It’s like a different type of pain… a hurt that eats you up inside. It’s easy to just accept that version of me, you or whoever as being what is true and accurate. But really it’s not. I know it was my own self-belief that put me there. My own self destructive thoughts talking me into believing I was that person.

If I can get into shape. You can too. It’s a fantastic feeling seeing your body change because of the effort you’re putting in. And it’s a hell of a lot better feeling than giving up on your dreams of getting into shape.

Since then I have changed from various fitness goals, written myself new programs according to whatever I’ve felt I was specifically after. I trained many clients, in fitness centres, my own private PT business and then online with VFT.

From then until now it’s shown me how genuinely possible it is to attain the fitness results you want – you just need to know how to get your mind around it – and quitting isn’t an option!

In the following emails we will cover how YOU can bring about Your own transformation…

And I’ll share with you part 2 and 3 of my fitness journey.

Years later, I never saw this coming… But it challenged everything I had come to believe in life – and shook me to the core.

It makes me feel emotional and churned up just thinking about these next 3 events … I wasn’t going to share this with you, but felt it was important as part of this journey that you’re taking with this report for you to hear this.

Talk to you in the next email …

Take care
Mandy
VirtualFitnessTrainer.com
VFT – NO BS Fitness!