19 years ago after having my daughter, I pounded on the weight, going from 140lbs to 216lbs. Three years later came my son and my weight wasn’t budging. I could not shake the weight for the life of me.
DOCTORS HAD TOLD ME I WAS TOO BIG FOR MY BODY FRAME. BUT IT SEEMED LIKE NOTHING I DID WORK.
Six years ago when a co-worker began a weight loss challenge at work, I joined in. I’m a very headstrong person and I like to succeed. In 9 months, I lost over 80 lbs in the challenge. I loved what I did to myself and I felt good about myself again.
My daughter is a champion track athlete, and I always used to push her and challenge her. After I lost the initial 80 pounds, she turned the tables: she challenged me. She said to me ‘Let’s see you do something you always wanted to do, and let’s see how easy you think it is. I told her that I would really like to compete in a figure contest one day. Sort of a bucket list item.
BUT I REALLY DIDN’T THINK I WAS GOOD ENOUGH.
My focus became building muscle, but two years into it my husband and I divorced. I had hit rock bottom and wasn’t feeling good about myself and the weight was starting to come back on. Finally, after two years on my own as a single mom, I knew I had to pull myself back together and get Tammy back for myself and my kids so I could move forward. And the only way I knew how to do that was to continue to pursue my goal of competing. I lived in the gym every day after work pushing weights, not really knowing what I was doing – I was just lifting weights and doing some cardio. I had a lot of people ask me at the gym if I was competing; I said ‘no’, and they said “you should”. But I really didn’t think I was good enough. I still felt like that big girl and I felt that I had lots of work to do to myself before I could even consider standing on stage with my body in a bikini.
My life has changed so much in the past year and I couldn’t be happier. I met Asha Belisle of Excel Fitness and Nutrition Inc. and joined Team Excel. Within five months of training with my coach, she had me on stage. I competed in the Muscle Beach Fall classic in the open figure, placing 5th, and I placed 2nd in Grandmaster figure (over 45). With my coach and team’s constant encouragement I have surpassed my goal and have fallen in love with the lifestyle of being fit and healthy. With the support of my family and friends, I will be challenging my previous accomplishments on stage by competing this summer at the age of 47 in ABBA Provincials and CBBF Nationals.
So many years ago I never thought I would be where I am now… fit, healthy and strong…inside and out. I went from an overweight, unhappy woman who didn’t think anything of herself, to a lean and healthy confident woman who is not ashamed to strut her stuff.
During the time that I put my health and fitness first, and I lost many friends that didn’t understand my commitment to this lifestyle. In turn, I’ve gained more friends that not only understand but are on the same path as me. As the saying goes, positive attracts positive!!
This lifestyle of eating and being healthy, fit and strong has given me a new outlook on life and made me a better person for me and my children.
I wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t have the support of my two fantastic children, Hailey and Colby, and my family and friends for the encouragement and support when I was having those bad days, second guesses, and “hangry moments”. Lastly, I could never have done this without the support and guidance of my coaches Asha & Rob Belisle of Excel Fitness and Nutrition, who gave me the knowledge and tools to guide me to my better self.
THIS LIFESTYLE OF EATING AND BEING HEALTHY, FIT AND STRONG HAS GIVEN ME A NEW OUTLOOK ON LIFE AND MADE ME A BETTER PERSON FOR ME AND MY CHILDREN.
