Please allow me to introduce myself.
But really though, My name is Hannah and I am your typical 25-year-old. (cringe) can’t believe I’m half way to fifty already! Anyhow, I am a senior at Midway University in Midway Kentucky. Originally from Maryland, I transferred from University of Maryland Last summer to finish my degree in Sport Horse Health and Rehab. What does that even mean you ask? Well think of me as like a physical therapist for horses. Yes literally its rehab for horses. I’ve ridden since I could walk and working with horses is just like working with people for me I can read them like the back of my hand and the best part is they don’t talk back to you, which of course is my favorite part as well. I’m not a big people person if you can’t tell, I mean as much as I love people, and get along well with people, I’m a loner at heart, I’m perfectly happy completely alone. I’m a mix between introvert and extrovert, I need and value my time to recharge. I don’t really drink much, don’t do drugs, and try to live a simple, happy life.
I decided to start blogging again (I started blogging last year but didn’t have time to keep going) after losing about 50 pounds over the course of this year I’ve had countless people ask me what I did or how I did it or what my workouts are like so I figured this would be a good way to track my progress and keep everyone else updated as well. I hope to provide motivation to those that are struggling with plateaus (because they are literally the fucking worst! I’ve hit two so far.)
So where was I and where am I now?
This was me as of May 2014:
Height: 5’6”
Weight: 210
BMI: Higher than a pot head on 420!
I think I put Fat Albert to shame.
Gotta get the back side in there!
I had stretch marks everywhere and had gotten the heaviest I’ve ever been in my life. Now I have to admit I was still pretty happy, I had an amazing boyfriend that loved me for who I was not my weight or looks and although I was heavy I was pretty good at hiding it.
That summer of 2014 I made a decision that would affect my life drastically. I decided I was going to move to Kentucky, the epicenter of the horse world and the best move for me and my career in the long run. Have I ever lived outside of Maryland? Nope. Did I care? Nope, I was ready for a new beginning and wanted to get away from everyone I knew and start over. So I enjoyed the summer maybe a little too much and by the time I moved into my new dorm room at Midway University I was up to a new weight. Yay for alcohol and laziness!! I was on a roll, and had multiple too!
Move in day August 14th, 2014: Weight: 230ish?
HOLY FAT FACE…
I look back on these pictures and it serves as a huge reminder of who I was then verses who I am now and I can see so clearly that this picture that you see above is not me at all! This is not who I’ve ever been in my entire life, I have always been on the athletic side, I have always been proud to say that I have muscle and abs and can lift very heavy things. That has always been something I prided myself on, that I was better than the other girls (and guys) because I was stronger and faster but during my two years that I spent at University of Maryland I wasn’t that person, I completely lost who I was as a person and I believe a lot of that identity loss came from not having horses in my life. It was the first time in my life that I had absolutely no horses in my life and I was fucking miserable. It was like losing my leg, I didn’t know how to walk. (funny pun because that summer I tore the ligaments in my ankle and literally couldn’t walk for about a year) So I sought out other avenues like gymnastics which quickly got old, I joined a sorority which gave me lifelong friendships and I met the man I thought I was going to marry. All of these things taught me amazing life lessons that I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world but the day that I moved to Kentucky and my first day back in the barn, I felt like someone had breathed new life into me. I was renewed, I had a purpose, and damn was I good with horses. I forgot how easily I could speak their language, how they made me feel, that peaceful feeling after a hard day’s work. So I joined the riding teams and before I realized it I was back to myself, I dropped about 20 pounds probably just from sheer sweat alone and I wasn’t even working out beside our team workouts(2x a week) and riding(2x a week).
Then something funny happened. As I turned back into my old self again, I started losing relationships with people back home, first friends, then my sorority sisters, and lastly my boyfriend at the time. It was like I became my normal self and I honestly realized that these people never saw me for who I really was, they never saw me in my element. I think the hardest decision I made was breaking up with my wonderful boyfriend, who I thought I would eventually marry. Do I still think about it? Honestly no, not really if I do its only to see how far I’ve come. I realized we were two different people and the only thing keeping us together at the time was convenience. And FOOD. God we ate out a lot.
So fast forward to six months later and you have this: Weight: 200, Happiness: Ecstatic and very sore.
I decided to start lifting again, which is something I used to l love doing, and I fell in love with it all over again. I get a lot of questions about why I lift. Quite simply I lift for myself and only myself. Not for the body it give you or the guys at the gym. I don’t lift to lose weight or tone up. I lift for me. I love to push the limits, ask anybody that really knows me, I am all for seeing how far I can push my body, whether it’s in riding or trail running, or gymnastics. I love to test myself, my balance and my strength. So how do you start lifting again after a five-year hiatus? I eased back into it with the female training bible’s 8 week program. which consisted of 4 days of lifting a week and no cardio because cardio is the devil obviously… and four weeks in I started to see results!
Nothing is more motivating then seeing results so I finished that program and decided to try Jamie Eason’s Livefit Trainer. Which consisted of lifting 6 days a week with 3 days of cardio, both of these programs teach you how and what to eat as well as giving you the workouts.
Six weeks later I was feeling amazing.
I could probably take over the world at this point! haha just kidding but that’s how I felt. I felt more and more confident in myself and started dating again which is how I met my current boyfriend Steven. He lifts (he is a beast) and works out and yes we go to the gym together like almost every day.
^^that’s like 950lbs. Motivating? Um yes.
Best post workout meal is..Qdoba obviously! Can they just sponsor us already?!
It really is amazing to have someone else that lives the same lifestyle you do, faces the same struggles you do, and it doesn’t hurt to have a spotter around too!
MCM anyone?
So here I stand today at 175, (my normal weight has always been between 150-160 so I’m close to being back to normal for me) probably the happiest I’ve ever been in my life, and it’s only going to get better from here. It’s amazing to see how you can really sculpt your body to be anything you want.
I have an ab, like one giant ab, that counts right?
Growing legs is hard! I’ve always hated my legs but I’m starting to love them.
My main goals as of today are to cut down on my fat, since I’ve put on so much muscle from lifting I’ve lost a lot of fat but I really want to see my muscles come out, which means upping cardio, booo. But it will be so worth it six months from now. Trusting the process is the key when sculpting your body. I’m using Carb Cycling to achieve this; low carb on light days, like arms and abs or just cardio, high carbs on heavy days, like legs, chest and back. I’ve only been cycling for a week and I’ve upped my cardio to 20 minutes about 4-5x a week and I’m already seeing results!
Yes I do take supplements:
Preworkout- C4 ripped by Cellucor (I cycle on/off 4 weeks off 8 weeks on)
BCAAs- Aminos fruit punch by Cellucor (during workouts)
Protein- Peanut Butter Marshmallow by Cellucor or ON’s 100% Casein(before bed) or ON’s 100% Whey french vanilla.
Fat burner- Hydroxycut SX7 (I have a really sensitive stomach and this is the only one I’ve found that doesn’t upset my stomach at all and doesn’t give me the shakes)
Let me know if you have any questions! I’m an open book.
liftingformyself 