Transformation Tuesday I MacKenzie Walker
One of the hardest things in life these days is to be unique. Is for the purpose of standing out among others? To not be trapped in the everyday average life? Seems strange to a lot of people. Why would one want that? I simply have no reply other than “I can smile.”
Grade 5 – 170lbs.
Grade 6 – 185lbs.
Grade 7 – 200lbs.
Grade 8 – 223lbs.
Each year had a story behind it. When I was nine years old, my parents got divorced. I went through two years of police coming in and out of the house, coming close to my brother and I having to be removed from situation entirely. I could no longer live with my mom after everything she put me through physically. She stopped caring and left, which led me to box myself in the basement on the computer surrounded by multiple fast food boxes, chips, soda and more. I would easily drink a 12-pack of soda a day. I was emotionally damaged at such a young age. I was your typical ‘weird girl,’ quiet, shy, and most often awkward. Thankfully, I always had my dad. He is my biggest hero, always wanted to do the best for me.
I enjoyed food, gradually putting on more weight throughout the years. We never ate at home, always out – satisfying any craving. I would typically be eating every hour.
Once Grade 7 came around, and I started to finally make friends – but, why? Well, I could make faces and people found it hilarious, so I rolled with it! Next thing you know there were parties at my house on Halloween, and people coming over everyday. It was like everything had fallen into place, except for my weight. I remember my grade seven teacher told me “You know, you actually have to run if you want to lose weight, right?” while my classmates were doing our “DPA (Daily Physical Activity)”. I have never forgotten it. I went home that day and cried. I did the thing any teenager would do, to try and not eat. It didn’t work, as I couldn’t go more than two hours without food.
Grade 8 rolled around fast. Still was that ‘class clown’. I did everything for everybody, anything just to have friends. I let people use me, talk behind my back, and I was even there for people when they weren’t there for me. I turned into the popular girl, all because I could make fun of myself. It was working for me, but then there were those days where you wake up, take a shower and you cant even wrap a towel around your body.
I went to shop for a graduation dress expecting a size 16. I ended up having to buy a size 22 dress. A 14 year old, 223lbs, in a size 22 dress. It was sad and scary, as I was worried for my life everyday, wondering what would happen if I died of a heart attack. Wondering what would happen if were to be diagnosed with diabetes. I felt so trapped in my body, as if I was slowly dying inside. I was just so happy on the outside; you would never of been able to tell. I always wished that someday I would wake up and just take off the suit I was wearing, wondering how people would react. It was such a fantasy.
In July 2013, we had lost our house and ended up moving to an apartment. Over that summer I lost myself mentally. My mind felt like such a dark hole at night. Eventually high school had come. You walk in and are surrounded by people who judge you, and it feels as if they are looking at the thing you are most insecure about. Fast-forwarding to September 24th 2013, I decided enough was enough.
My dad had applied for the gastric bypass surgery, and was about to go on the 2-week liquid fast prior to his surgery. The night before I sat down and told my dad, “This is it. I am doing this one last time and please don’t let me quit. I don’t want to be the only one in this family who’s obese. I promise I will do this.”
To this day I have lost 100lbs from my highest weight of 223lbs.
Within the first 5 months, my focus was sweat hard, and eat healthy and small. It worked! I had little to no knowledge. I tracked my food one day to find out where I was at, shocked to see that I wasn’t taking in enough to support the amount of calories I had been burning, I was sitting around 1200 calories, while doing 40 minutes of intense cardio daily. My body reacted very well to high intensity interval training; however, I immediately changed my entire regimen and stopped doing cardio in order to focus on weight training. I was sitting at 1600 calories at this point and eventually worked up to my goal weight. My body, however, wasn’t anywhere near where I wanted it to be, being left with the dreaded extra skin.
At this point I noticed I had developed such a quick passion for bodybuilding. I was your typical bro: 6 meals a day, lots of water, same food. I noticed I was starting to get bored with my food, which lead to getting bored with my journey. I hit about 8 months into my journey, and decided to switch over to a very common way of dieting which is “flexible dieting (aka IIFYM),” and since then it has changed my life. I am able to incorporate the foods I love while watching my body, and performance in the gym change drastically. My diet consists of lean proteins, complex carbs, fruits, veggies, greek yogurts, healthy fats, lots of quest bars, and of course whatever else I felt like having in moderation. I now train 4-5 days a week for about an hour. I have completed two programs from bodybuilding.com, and am now onto my third one. I enjoy learning new techniques and experimenting what works well with my body. I currently eat 2500 calories a day to maintain my weight.
My ultimate goal overall is Ms. Olympia 2027. I feel like by then I will be ready to bring the best package to the stage!
My journey is not for myself anymore, it has become more so about my followers and my supporters. I want to show them that literally anything is possible. ANYTHING. Everything that happened in my past built who I am today. I am a firm believer in “everything happens for a reason.” I don’t have the best of everything, but I never look at it that way. Everything I have is a blessing. Feeling alive is a blessing, having a roof over my head is a blessing. My dad is a blessing. Just BEING HERE is a blessing! I just want to save lives, make people smile, and be successful. I want to be able to help out my dad just as much as he has for me. I truly love that I have been given this blessing in my life. I am happy, healthy, and really smiling. My dreams are being achieved as we speak, and that is all I can ask for. Thank you for all the support and love, it is purely my fuel to what I do.
You can find MacKenzie at:
