My name is Liz Taylor and this is my journey.
I have been overweight most of my life. Growing up I was very active, but as active as I was, I ate just as much. I grew up in the country so my days were spent on the four wheeling trail in my backyard, jumping on the trampoline, riding my bike, and exploring the woods. I loved to eat though, especially junk food. Cake, ice-cream, chips, candy - I ate it all, and I ate it a lot. I was lucky enough to have a mother who enjoyed cooking and made homemade biscuits, macaroni and cheese, cakes from scratch, cubed steaks - you name it and she could make it. However, all of this combined was not good for my image and self esteem. Up until I was around 12 years old, I never cared about how I looked. My hair was almost always thrown in a pony tail, I wore baggy sweatpants and sweaters, and had huge glasses. I was teased periodically for my looks, but it was not until I was a Sophomore in High School that it became worse. The summer of 2003 is when I fell in love with fitness.
I was 12, almost 13 years old when I started to regularly work out. I would take my disc man and run laps around my four-wheeling trail in my back yard or run around the neighborhood then come inside and do work out tapes. I did "The Firm", tons of Denise Austin tapes, and even Richard Simmons tapes a few times a week. That summer, before starting the 8th grade I lost nearly 30 pounds. In 8th and 9th grade my weight was under control. I was busy playing Volleyball and running track. The Summer of 9th grade before starting 10th is when I started to put on more weight. At this time I was Cheerleading, but still managed to put on weight. This is when I started to be teased reluctantly for my looks at school. After school I would come home to take more abuse from a family member. It was a vicious cycle and one that I thought I would never beat.
In high school there was a "commons area" that everyone walked through to get to their classes. People would stand out in this area for a few minutes before going to their next class. That is when the teasing began. I would walk through the commons area to go to my next class and this one particular group of people would yell at me and call me names. They happened to be the so-called "Jocks" or "Prep's". From being called ugly to a "fat bitch" there was not much they would not call me. This happened every single day and throughout the day. They would write fake love notes to me and say they were from other people and once they blocked the doors in front of the school so I could not walk in. When I was cheerleading, if they were not playing the particular sport I was cheering for, they would sit on the bleachers and mock me. The Captain of the baseball team had to write a letter of apology to me for all of the teasing he and his team were putting me through. Even after that, it did not stop. Overtime my mother grew sick of me coming home crying every day so she talked to my principal and Student Resource Officer and I was escorted to class to help avoid any teasing. It helped calm things down, but it never fully ceased.
I still recall the pain I felt every day going to school. When my mom would drive me to school I would want the drive to take hours. My stomach was always in knots because I never knew what particular torment that day would bring. I wore baggy clothes sometimes, in hopes that no one would notice me or my body. When I got my license I would skip class just so I would not have to walk through the commons area. I would go in the bathroom in between classes and cry. I would take sleeping pills when I came home in the afternoon just so I would not eat. I never wanted to go out with my friends because I thought everyone else was so much prettier and better than me. I showered with the lights off so I would not have to look at my own reflection naked. At one time the depression was becoming so bad with the teasing at school and the abuse from a family member that I remember praying to God to kill me if my life would never improve. It was a vicious cycle that never seemed to end.
Though I was always active with sports and friends, I still never monitored my eating habits and I binged. I was an emotional eater. Growing up food was my comfort. I graduated high school early, began college and worked part-time. That is when I was quickly becoming my heaviest. Now I did not have the time to be as active as I once was and my eating stayed the same. All of these factors combined resulted in a huge weight gain. I graduated high school in January of 2007 when I graduated I was 180 pounds and by September of 2008 I was up to 270 pounds. I still had a lot of muscle, but I put on so much fat over top of that.
I was 19 years old, sitting in my doctor's office for depression, on a Tuesday afternoon when I decided I wanted to change my life forever. I wanted to know what it was like to buy clothes and not cry in the dressing room because nothing would fit. I wanted to know what it was like to look at my own reflection and not cringe. I wanted to see if I could truly put in the hard work and dedication it takes to change my life.
That was when I started researching everything I could on health and fitness. I could not really afford a Personal Trainer to help me 5-6 days a week, nor did I want to rely on one. I started teaching myself different work out's, about the various types of cardiovascular activities, the proper way to lift weights, the benefits of exercise, recipes, the importance of different nutrients for my body - there was not one subject in the health and fitness field that I did not read and teach myself about. I have tons of notepads filled with notes, research, and different exercises I created. I wanted to learn it all.
Over the past 3 years I have lost over 100 pounds and added over 20 pounds of muscle. It has not been easy and I still struggle to this day, but I never give up. The biggest obstacle for me has been learning to fall in love with healthy eating. Now that I have developed a love for it, it makes my weight loss journey that much better. Nothing tastes as good as being fit feels. Always tell yourself that when you want to binge or feel like giving up.
I started to blog in July of 2010. At this time, all I did with my blog is write my work out's and document my struggles and accomplishments. It was my therapy. It was not until October of 2010, one year ago that I fell madly in love with health and fitness blogging. People on my Facebook started to notice the change in my body and thus constantly started asking for advice on how to lose weight. I decided since I have spent so many years trying to learn the health and fitness industry inside and out, that I would in turn help other people. It has been a great first year. I was on the amazing Piedmont Triad Radio show "Murphy in the Morning", AOL's That's Fitness, Fitness Magazine's Facebook page, Interviewed some prominent people in the fitness industry, and have a lot of other very special projects coming up. Helping other men and women with their self esteem issues and getting their weight on track has given my life so much more meaning. This is truly what I live for. This is what I love in life.
I, of course, love to train and improve myself, but knowing I can share my past pain, my struggles, and my accomplishments to help others is the true prize in all of this. I have huge dreams in the health and fitness industry and I continue to work for them everyday of my life. Currently, I work full-time as a Business Manager, part time as Make-up Artist, and I still continue to train because I want to Figure Compete and Fitness Model. I will continue this blog, finish writing my book, and get into Motivational Speaking. I am looking into traveling around to different schools, universities, churches, or wherever and share my story. What I have learned most about losing weight and getting is healthy is how to love and believe in myself. Changing your body and the way you look does far more mental good, than physical. This journey has more about self-actualization than trying to become "prettier".
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