Debby’s Story
Let me tell you my story and perhaps you will not feel so alone in the struggle to lose fat and get fit, because in some ways my story is probably quite similar to yours.
There was a time (thank g_d it is now a long time ago. Think 30-35 years!) that I struggled with body image, a sugar gumball addiction, and the quest to be perfectly thin. Of course we all know now that ‘thin’ is not very ‘in’, but being healthy and fit is.
I didn’t have a very good relationship with food from the age of 16-21. In fact, food, and the thought of it, controlled me.
This was back in the ’70’s and ’80’s (yeah! The olden days!) when the media force-fed us the fantasy that non-fat food would make us healthy and fit.  Yeah, well, look how well that worked out for the general population!
But perhaps it’s not too different from what you experience in today’s multimedia world of wellbeing. If fact you’re probably asking the same questions that I asked back in the day, when I embarked on my journey to become the fittest, strongest, healthiest, and perhaps the leanest me I could be.
Do your ears ring with questions like these?: What’s really healthy? How many carbs should I have? How much fat? What’s a bad carb? What’s a good carb? What’s the  perfect meal plan to lose body fat and look great in a bikini or board shorts? What diet’s the best diet? Why am I always tired in the afternoon? Why do I crave sugar and sweets, and how do I stop it?  WHAT SHOULD I EAT!
Sounds familiar, huh! Feel free to put your question here:____________________ .
Back In My Day
It wasn’t always this way for me, though. Growing up I was a healthy, fit and very athletic kid. But in my teens I was very disordered about my eating, bordering on the line of it being quite serious. I was still very athletic throughout this period, but I didn’t eat enough, and I was wreaking havoc on my metabolism and hormones.
I was 16 when this began. I was 21 when I turned it around and decided to heal my relationship with food and build my body back up… from bones to brawn. And so I began my life as a bodybuilder. You can read a little bit about it here and here.
In my senior year of college I joined a gym outside of the University of Michigan system, found a trainer, and surrounded myself with science-y fitness nerds so I could gain as much knowledge as I could. I learned the skills of weight training and good programming; I researched food and nutrition; I trained with those more knowledgeable than I was; and I committed myself to practicing these new learned skills, and creating new life-long habits.
At this point in my journey I put my energy into training with weights and eating what we were made to believe was ‘healthy’. Most of it was common sense healthy! But, this was the 80’s. You know, less fat was good, and ‘fat free’ meant freedom to eat more carbs.
I had not yet learned to hone my diet and macros for my specific needs. I had not yet learned what worked for me. That took time, research, experimenting, testing, assessing, re-testing, working with trainers and coaches, studying exercise physiology and the science behind nutrition, and figuring out what my body needed. That was a mouthful. Are you still with me? Hope so!
During these five years, as I brought my body, my thoughts around food, and my spirit back to health, I struggled with rebound fat gain. Yes, of course I didn’t feel comfortable in the body that I had morphed into: with some jiggle and dimples hanging out and spoiling the party.
But my mindset was about staying in the moment and enjoying the process. I focused on each day and each workout, while enjoying each meal that I had prepared from scratch. I practiced this daily.
I knew from being an athlete that building a body from bones to brawn was no different from my years of learning and training to be a better competitive swimmer (my main competitive sport since age 4); it took years of practice, stroke drills, and time in the pool to see progress and results.
It’s important that you know that this journey was NEVER about losing the re-bound weight that I had gained. It was never about getting quick results.
I knew that if I just kept practicing my new skills and habits that eventually I would reach my goal of being my best fit, healthy self.
I trusted the process and I trusted those who I had put in place to help me. And at age 26, six years after my journey from bones to brawn began, I competed in my first body building show, taking 3rd place. It took six years from the time I began on that path to rebuilding my body, mind, and relationship with food. I was not an overnight success story with my body. It took hard work and commitment, changing habits slowly, and trusting in the process.
And this personal journey with food has a lot to do with why I’ve dedicated just about my entire life to health and fitness, and helping others like you create the healthy, lean, strong(her) fit body that you also desire.
I approached my journey just as any athlete would do who was training for an event that was far down the road, and I sought out the support that I needed to succeed. I knew I needed help. Just like you do now.
Flash forward to today
Life isn’t easy for any of us. And we all get curve balls thrown at us, no exceptions. And the faster life goes by the faster it seems those balls come at us. I’m no exception.
Between 2011 and 2015 I had a series of three major joint surgeries. But I was able to maintain a relative level of fitness and I remained in good health because of the skills I had taught myself and the habits I had instilled.
With over 30 years of helping 1000’s of others with similar stories, and their own struggles around food, fitness, and fat loss I promise you this: I will help you reach your goal.
For more information about my programs, or if you have any questions please, please don’t be shy. Use the form on the Coaching Services Page, or the ‘Contact’ button above, to send me a note, or your story, and how I can help you.
Make it Your Fit Day with,
DebbyK!
