Limits are Imaginary
I was always a chubby kid growing up, having a great love for food and a great hate for exercise. My parents always urged me to become more active, but their attempts always failed. As I entered puberty, the weight really started to pack on. I became an emotional eater and although I was the funny, fat girl in school…I was a sad, fat girl deep down.
I was avoiding my depression and masking it with chips, candy, ice cream, etc. and that was working out for me for a little while. It wasn’t until my junior prom in high school when I realized I needed to make a change. As I watched all of my friends get asked out by their boyfriends, crushes, etc. I stood back, knowing no guy would want to take the fat girl to prom. Not being able to shop at the same clothing stores my friends were, not being comfortable in a bathing suit, everything all came crashing down on me. I decided to stop pitying myself and to start doing something about it.
My weight loss journey began at my heaviest of 230lbs and started very slow. I joined a local gym and performed only 20-30 minutes of light cardio a day, four times a week. Within 2 weeks, I had lost 5lbs…just from that! If I had lost that much just from a little cardio, imagine what I could lose if I changed my diet. Once again, I didn’t do anything radical…just cut down on some of the crappy snacks I usually engorged myself in.
By the time senior prom came around, I was down 50lbs and feeling better than ever. When I went away to college, I was determined to stick with my weight loss. While I went out and had fun with my friends, I still forced myself into the gym 4-5x a week for cardio. The pounds continued to drop, slowly, but surely, and my love for fitness grew.
While I had gotten in great cardio health, I had hit a plateu of weight loss when I was around 140 lbs. I knew I needed to switch something up, so I decided to do the Insanity DVD challenge. My body went into complete shock and the weight started to drop once again. I felt strong, healthy, and more capable than ever of reaching my goals. I started studying nutrition and learning everything possible about getting to my goal weight.
Before I knew it, I was doing Insanity every day and an hour of cardio every day. I got my weight down to 113lbs and then came the loved ones worry. At first, I was too fat…now I was too thin, but they were right. I wasn’t as healthy. I knew I had to switch up my workout routine and eat more protein. That is when I got into weight lifting. My body became skinny-fat and I wanted to build some great curves.
Once again, I hit the books…researching everything possible about strength training. It took months of me doing improper squats, deadlifts, etc. to finally seek out some advice from a trainer. Once I got my form down, I starting seeing instant results. I fell in love with the intensity of training and knew I found my niche. However, I needed to start eating A LOT more to get in the lifts that I wanted.
I started eating smaller meals, incorporating a lot more protein, healthy fats, starchy carbs, etc. After only a few weeks, my body fat dropped immensely and I got the shredded look I always wanted. I left college with a degree in Marketing, a new job at a Medical firm, but a love for lifting that I could not tame. I decided to take a chance and quit my new job and become a certified personal trainer.
I did an extensive program with the National Academy of Sports Medicine and aced my certification. I moved from upstate New York to the big apple and became a trainer at Equinox. Aside from working at Equinox, I also started up my own business, Coachingbycaty.com so I could help people across the country lose weight and transform their bodies. Since my transformation, I have been the best version of myself, both inside and out. Training and proper nutrition isn’t always the easiest route, but without a doubt, it’s the best decision I have ever made. Consistency is key and hard work is essential. You must always push yourself to the limit!
For the future, I plan to compete in an NPC bikini bodybuilding competition sometime this year. It has always been a dream of mine and the fat girl deep inside of me still cannot believe I am capable of such an accomplishment. I owe a great deal of my results to my supportive friends and family…and QUEST Bars. I am seriously obsessed with Quest Bars and have gotten all of my clients hooked on them. Where else can you find a healthy protein bar to fuel your workouts and cure your cravings!
You can find Caitlyn Pasternak at:
