At the heaviest weight of my life I topped the scale at nearly 300 pounds. While this is not a healthy weight for pretty much anyone, all of those pounds were hanging on to my 5’4” frame, making things especially uncomfortable. Having been overweight the vast majority of my life and never one for even trying diets, I suddenly realized that my weight was on an uncontrolled upward trajectory.
I decided to take control of my weight and my life and, at 21-years-old spent, the next few years whittling just over 100 pounds off of myself.
And then I hit it. The plateau. Men and women alike who are on fitness and weight loss journeys have experienced the plateau and how physically and mentally frustrating it can be. My reaction was calm at first, until my personal plateau turned into an added pound here and there. Then, I panicked.
I slashed my calories to no more than 1,200 a day no matter what activities or exercise I engaged in. Cardio took over my life, but with such a low calorie intake it became more and more difficult to sustain long runs or even a mile alongside my trusty running partner — my dog. That deprivation led to cycles of binging and even harsher calorie restrictions that only fueled more weight gain. Headaches hit every day like clockwork and fatigue dragged each of my limbs as I struggled to push through the days. I was eating less, exercising more, and felt worse than I ever had.
And here enters Kayla. It became obvious that whatever I was doing not only wasn’t working, but was actively making things worse. I contacted a personal trainer who contracts at the gym I attend and set up an initial meeting. When Kayla looked me straight in the eye and said, “You’re not eating enough,” I was shocked. Turns out, she was right.
Not every person has access to a personal trainer, so I invite you to read along and follow my journey with a personal trainer. In every article I’ll address self-image, nutrition and eating habits, fitness routines, and my personal progression as aided by a personal trainer.
Writer Bio
Caitlin Lane is a writer and runner who lives in Tucson, Arizona with her husband and 2 kids. When she isn’t brewing coffee or buying more books than she can read, she blogs at All About Growing Up and Becoming a Famous Author and tweets @ifyoureadreamer.