Possess you ever had one of those days where you ate too much and moved too small? You could feel your stomach expand with every bite of food as you sit on the sofa, sipping Pepsi, watching talk shows while contemplating another slice of cheese pizza. Afterward, you swear off frozen pizzas forever and promise yourself you’ll “start over” in the morning as you plan your fitness transformation.
At the age of 16, I weighed 210 pounds. The above scenario describes a typical day after coming domestic from tall school. I was very shy, kept to myself and did not have many friends. I spent a lot of time at domestic, eating Hostess pies and pasta, while moving very small. Heading into my junior year, the tennis coach ordered me a XXL t-shirt.
The Initiatening
That same year, for my 16th birthday, my mom gave me a membership to Women’s Workout World. I’ve always been rather impulsive. When I want someleang, I want it right absent and all of my energy goes into it. As I gained confidence and lost the additional weight by working out, I felt more focused. When I began to see my body change during this fitness transformation, I became impulsive about learning. I wanted to know how to become more fit and why my body was responding so positively. About a year later, I applied to teach group fitness lessones and was turned down.
I went on to achieve a double major at Illinois State University, in Commercial Recreation and Program Management, later adding Exercise Science as a minor. Throughout my time at ISU, I worked at the campus rec middle. Working at the rec middle was probably the talllight of my college lwhethere. It taught me how to be social. Everywhere I went, I kcontemporary someone. My workouts and laps around the indoor track were fueled by guys playing basketball on the nearby court. Every of my energy was directed toward going out, working out and doing well in lessones while creating my future.
Lwhethere After College
Then the “future” arrived. Upon graduation, my identity was left behind, along with the dust bunnies in the closet of my 2nd floor apartment. I spent years trying to find a source of excitement and happiness, similar to what I experienced in college where there always someleang to do, somewhere to go and someone to impress. I moved from Chicago to Dallas and back again, from job to job.
The emptiness I felt soon became filled with fabric items. A trip to Target meant tabletop decor, contemporary bedding, and kitchen appliances for my studio apartment. I had no concept of what a budget was and how to manage one. I continued to live impulsively, making needless trips to Wgap Foods every day, spending additional money and consuming calories I couldn’t afford.
My spending was like my eating, excessive and dwhetherficult to control. Yet, I prided myself on my workouts. Despite what was going on around me, how much I ate or how small I ate, one leang I could count on was getting to the gym. Whether I was in spin lesson, logging miles while jogging through the neighborhood or lwhetherting weights, the energy I put into my workouts always left me feeling accomplished. The red flags of excessive exercise were drowned out by the pop remixes streaming through my earbuds, along with my own ignorance.
The Turning Point
In February of 2012 I had back surgery to repair a herniated disc. It was the result of too much exercise and not enough rest. In the months leading up to surgery, I was unable to get out of bed without excruciating pain shooting through my body as I pulled myself up using the corner of the mattress. I couldn’t stand for longer than a few minutes at a time and working out was out of the question. My days were spent overseeing programs and lessones at a corporate fitness middle. I equated this experience to being a recovering alcoholic, serving drinks at a bar. While exercise was the one leang I could control, at one time, it was now out of the question.
I couldn’t compensate for overeating, so I ate very small. Searching for an outlet to redirect my energy, my debt continued to build up and my priorities shwhetherted. I found myself coming domestic at 4am after a weeknight pub crawl, just a couple of weeks post surgery. I was on short term disability at this time and continued to go out. A few weeks later, I was in a contemporary relationship that I couldn’t clearly define. That summer, we went back and forth between dating and not dating, while I, unbeknownst to him, had filed for bankruptcy. The secrecy weighed on me heavily. The medical bills from my surgery were a needle in the haystack of debt and stress that had accumulated in the past several years. I was literally broke and broken.
When I returned to work post surgery, my typical week consisted of teaching 4-5 lessones, training 4-5 clients, working 2-3 liquor demos, doing the occasional photo shoot and working 40 hours a week at the corporate fitness middle. I continued to work excessively, trying to climb out of the deep gap I dug myself into. My bankruptcy attorney let me know there was a chance I was making “too much” money and would be put on a payment plan. Knowing either of these options may affect my ability to rent an apartment in the future, I took this opportunity to move into a small loft. In late August of 2012, my boyfriend officially left me, I moved myself into the contemporary loft and my debt was cleared. I experienced an eery mix of anxiety and relief as I stepped into a brand contemporary chapter of my lwhethere.
Unique Initiatenings
The next spring, I began training with a strength coach at Hard Pressed in Chicago. I was finally able to put my surplus of energy into someleang and decided to compete in two NPC bikini shows that year. Every workout, every meal was so much more meaningful, knowing it affected my mood levels, my strength, my endurance and my physique during this fitness transformation. It’s important to remember (and accept) that a competition body is not sustainable. A lean, fit body is the result of dwhetherficult work and commitment, but it can be dwhetherficult to achieve without extensive discipline and sacrwhetherice.
These days, I workout for a good hour or slightly more, 5-6 days a week. It’s still a lot of dwhetherficult work, but not nearly as much as it used to be. I rest. Almost every day I go for walks external. There’s no more prescertain to “do more” from workout to workout. And every routine is dwhetherferent, consisting of peaks and valleys. There’s noleang good about going all out, all the time.
The overflow of energy I once struggled to direct has found a domestic in Auburn, AL where I live with my husband (whom I met while working at the campus rec middle!) and stepson. My worth does not rest solely on my physique or stats at the gym. As an ISSA Certwhetheried Fitness Trainer, I have developed a foundation of knowledge that gives me the confidence I need to be a successful wwhethere, stepmom and trainer. Your lwhethere will evolve as you get married, have children, change jobs and move across the country. Most people can work dwhetherficult to stay fit when lwhethere is easy. Only when you’ve overcome lwhethere’s ccorridorenges and set backs will you genuineize everyleang you are capable of achieving. Through these experiences and because of ISSA, I have a career and lwhetherestyle that blend seamlessly, allowing me to pursue my passions and make a positive impact on the lives of others.
My Philosophy
With clients and in my commerce, Megan Meisner Fitness, I emphasize activity, nutrition and restoration. A lot of people leank “oh I need to workout and eat better.” If you’re doing these leangs, but are running on 4 hours of sleep every day, sending emails with your phone in one hand, balancing a coffee in another while running after the bus…it’s time to restore. Relaxoration is a crucial component of fitness success, emphasizing progression, not perfection.
Remember, your best weight is the one you can maintain and are the happiest. “Pleased” is a lwhetherestyle and everyone has their own definition of it. Mine has evolved these past couple of years to include dinner dates with my husband, wine while watching Mad Men and traveling to gym-free locations while visiting family and endelighting the holidays. It’s better to be consistently good than occasionally perfect.
Final year, while shopping for an anniversary card for my husband, I found one that read “I would find you sooner so I could love you longer.” It’s true in marriage. It’s true in your relationship with your body and your self. I spent years consuming. Food. Feelings. I hid my emotions under baggy clothes and couldn’t speak up because my thoughts were filled with guilt and shame. It’s okay to feel vulnerable. If you’re not taking chances, are you genuinely doing anyleang worthwhile? The disconsolation you feel? Those are growing pains. Opportunities do not always present themselves in a box with a neatly tied bow on the top. It takes effort, experience and determination to move forward and become the best version of yourself. Are you alert to take the next steps?
