Rebecca and has been a wonderful, dedicated member of the CrossFit Eminence community for years! She is a consistent face in the gym, and we love that she trusts us to keep her and her family healthy and fit. Recently, she needed just a little accountability and consistency in her diet, in order to take her performance in the gym to the next level. She joined the CrossFit Eminence Summer Shred Nutrition Challenge to help her get back on track and never looked back! Even through major changes in her life (she bought a house!), she was focused on her goal - as she knew that her fitness and nutrition, working together, would give her the best overall results that she was looking for. Read on, for Becca's story!
Becca's journey to a healthier self
I used to be very overweight and very unhappy with my body. I’m not going to body shame anyone, but for me this was not happy or healthy. I was miserable. Never felt pretty. Hated being in photos. Didn’t feel like myself. And then I hit my breaking point after having my daughter. I was drinking wine every night and eating an unhealthy diet, and I was bigger than I had ever been. I was depressed and lived with chronic back pain that made just getting out of bed in the morning difficult. My daughter was 4 months old when I joined a bootcamp at a little gym called CrossFit Eminence. To be honest, I had no idea what CrossFit was, and the gym was super intimidating. At the time I really didn’t even have the money, but I knew if I didn’t do something I was going down a very bad path.
Fitness and nutrition working together
CrossFit did not change my life overnight. But it was a start. I couldn’t even run a 250m run when I started. Gradually I began to trust my body and to gain muscle and confidence. But even with CrossFit, I was still not happy with my body or my weight. I did CrossFit for 3 years and increased my confidence and skill, but other than that I didn’t really make any lifestyle changes. I knew I needed to change my diet to lose the weight. So I worked with a nutritionist at the gym and began learning what my body needed to be healthy and also how to form new habits. The weight just disappeared. I lost over 70 lbs and went from a 2XL to a medium. I was finally able to love my body and wear the clothes I wanted. And my performance in the gym just took off.
That was over 2 years ago, and while I haven’t gained that weight back, I also have been inconsistent with my diet and gradually became unhappy with my body again. I was still 50lbs lighter than I used to be, but my clothes didn’t fit right and my progress in the gym was stunted. I needed to get back to focusing on my nutrition. Putting in the time at the gym wasn't enough, and I wanted to see the results!
Accountability and consistency
This challenge was not my first nutrition challenge. I already knew what to eat, what not to eat, when to eat, and how to portion my foods. This was not anything I didn’t already know. But what I needed was the accountability and the consistency. I have a tendency to give up if I get off track or with a big change in life. Well, life is always changing and there will never be a perfect time to do something. This challenge was no different. We decided to sell our townhome and buy a house. The real estate market is crazy right now and the stress was intense. It was also hard because to show our home to buyers, we basically had to make it look like we don’t live here, so my kitchen was basically a show kitchen for almost a month. That combined with working from home (temptation to snack all day!) and working a mostly sedentary job, made this challenge difficult. But instead of giving up, I worked with Coach Dee to get back on track and to not be so hard on myself for not being perfect.
Consistency over perfection
Boeun and I had to extend our cut 2 weeks to get our results, but I say better late than never! We have both obtained some big goals, and I am grateful to Bouen, to Coach Dee, to the others in our Challenge group, and all the coaches for their ongoing support. I ended up losing 15 pounds total this time around, and am able to fit into my clothes and be happy with how I look and feel. I’m also feeling a lot better at the gym and crushing workouts again! Consistency over perfection is the key!
