When you see a gorgeous young woman who has everything going for her struggle to cope with everyday events it is heart-breaking. I first started working with Caitlin at HH a couple of years ago at age 20. At that time she was very shy, lacked strength and hypermobility impeded safe movement. She was also extremely tired most of the time. She was, some months later, diagnosed with depression and started taking anti-depressants to help her with her daily struggle.
This is a powerful story of how, with the correct nutrition and exercise program a young woman’s future can change its course. This is one of HHs proudest transformations – not so much in body (although this young woman is building some serious muscle) but in building strength in mind and spirit!
Caitlin’s Story
I was born in Hobart Tasmania, I have lived here in Tassie my whole life. I moved to Dodges Ferry in 2008. At school I played a bit of hockey and netball but nothing at all in college so I had become quite inactive. The first Fitness Centre I have ever been a part of is Healthy Horizon’s – joining a “gym” was all very new to me!
My snap point came when I was reviewing the amount of sick leave I had taken at work. I am a young woman, I am not over weight and was going to the gym. I was thinking “why am I always getting sick or feeling so tired and run down?” The feeling of exhaustion was having a really big impact on my mental health also. I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety at 21 years and started on anti-depressants. I know I was suffering for some time before this but I found it hard to tell anyone. I couldn’t stay motivated and I had no consistency with exercise or eating habits. I would binge eat and then starve myself to make up for it and “always” feel guilty for what I did eat. I felt I had no control over my body shape. I struggled with body image issues and had very low confidence.
I used to compare myself a lot to others. I would walk down the street and think everyone was smaller than me – I thought I was huge and needed to lose weight. I now know I was picturing myself bigger than I was.
I was having PT sessions with Christine and she had seen my struggles. I looked tired all the time and just wasn’t reaching my potential. When she introduced Metabolic Precision into Healthy Horizon’s she encouraged me to give it a go. I was keen to “block out the noise” and learn how to eat correctly. When I did work out it helped my stress levels and reduced my anxiety so I thought I had nothing to lose!
I really haven’t looked back since I started MP. I have more energy than ever. I can handle stress better and was slowly able to reduce my anti-depressants and now I am no longer on medication. I have also been able to take control of my body – I eat more to look and feel better! I have muscle and strength! I work towards changing my body shape and being fit and healthy not “skinny”.
The biggest challenge for me was letting go of old habits and trusting my MP trainer. At first I really struggled with accepting the amount of food I should be eating. I thought that having the 6 meals a day would make me fat. It took me a while to understand that it’s about what you eat and that you don’t have to be starving to get the results you want. Christine always made sure that I was eating enough and constantly reinforce that it was okay to eat as long as you are eating the right foods.
For any one starting this journey listen to your trainer, they are going to support you, encourage you, hold you accountable and give you the knowledge you need to have a successful transformation. For anyone out there who has suffered or is suffering from depression please address your nutrition and exercise program – it really does change your mindset and can totally change the path you are on.
My MP trainer has helped me in many ways. It is great having someone there holding you accountable and checking on how things are going. Yes they are great with checking forms and all that stuff but for me it was the support that really helped. It was so easy to be honest about how you were going and have someone there that didn’t just care about you physical changes but also the bigger changes in your life. It has meant a lot knowing that someone is looking out for me and making sure I’m going through the transformation in the healthiest way possible.
I really enjoyed the structure of MP and the support. I enjoyed being focused on lifting heavy weights and being athletic. The other members of MP at HH have formed a team and we help each other out. It might be with a recipe idea or encouragement to stay positive. I think it has helped me come out of my shell and I have ‘let’ people get to know me more. I have found a confidence I didn’t have and have made some good friends along the way.
I think being a young woman, the pressure to diet and look ‘skinny’ can be crippling. Every magazine pushes fad diets and it’s so easy to fall into the trap of losing weight but actually damaging your health in the process. I think this was my biggest failing, I would restrict what I ate enough to lose weight but it wasn’t healthy. I had no energy and was constantly getting sick. The weight wouldn’t stay off and the strict restrictions I had placed onto myself would normally be followed by binge eating. I would feel guilty for eating the wrong food and anxious if I didn’t think I could make it to the gym.
MP has taught me that it isn’t about starving yourself. It about eating to fuel your body. It was taught me about what to eat and when to eat. These days I have more energy and better health. One of my favourite MP lessons was its okay to make a mistake and you don’t have to be 100% percent all the time. If you slip up and eat the wrong thing or miss a session you are told that you shouldn’t feel guilty or try and starve yourself or over train to make up for it. Not feeling guilty and knowing that it’s okay to just start fresh the next day has really helped me stay on track.
Caitlin working out with her F.I.R.E partner Laura
Before MP lifting weights scared me! I was a true believer that lifting weights would turn me into looking like a man. Now they are my favourite thing. I love setting goals and smashing personal bests. I know the best thing I can do is build lean muscle! I know that getting strong on the outside has helped me get strong on the inside.
Couldn’t have said it better myself – so proud of you Caitlin!
