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Please meet Vanessa, our July 2021 Client of the Month. Her words below are inspiring and her journey is a great, relatable story for so many. Thank you Vanessa, for being a great part of our IF Family, we are so proud of her results and change in lifestyle!
“I have battled with anxiety and depression since I was 6 years old. I have done everything trying to figure out how to cope with it. Endless efforts with no results, but I always found myself comforted by food.”
Hi, my name is Vanessa, I am a Junk-Food-Junkie and I eat my feelings.
For me; anxiety, depression, and stress are all synonymous with weight gain and weight loss. I have always fluctuated between weights and sizes depending on my stress level. Heavier when I am stressed, lighter when I am not. My initial weigh-in with IF was 150 pounds, the heaviest I have ever weighed.
I was running out of clothes that fit me. I did not feel comfortable in my own skin and stopped making efforts towards my appearance. I didn’t feel like I had anyone I could relate to because I was at a normal BMI, but it wasn’t MY body. I can’t count how many times I heard the term “Skinny-Fat”. My eating habits were becoming a slippery slope to heart and cholesterol issues. All I ate was junk food!
December 22, 2020, I ate an entire bag of Milano cookies; double dark chocolate of course, for the 3rd day in a row!!! Then followed those up with some Liquid Gold (Velveeta shells & cheese) and topped it all off with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, love me some Phish Food.
UGH, what is wrong with me? I was so mad at myself for complaining about my weight gain and shaming myself, but doing absolutely NOTHING to prevent it. I needed to make a commitment to a healthier lifestyle, adopt healthier coping skills, and find some accountability that I obviously could not provide for myself. I could no longer allow depression and anxiety to continue to control me and potentially create additional health issues.
So, I asked for help. I made the first step. I called IF, had my consult the following day and instantly my journey began.
My results have superseded my expectations. Not only the weight loss but the lifestyle changes too.
My goal was to “lose 10 pounds and in a perfect world 15”. Which I did not think was possible.
I thought my goals were unrealistic, unattainable, and not sustainable.
Fast forward 183 days. I’m in the studio, doing my 6-month progress photos, weigh-in, and measurements.
Drumroll please …
21-pound weight loss, 6.8% body fat loss, 14.5” gone!
I am no longer a Junk-Food-Junkie. I broke up with sugar. I drink my coffee black (coming from the girl that took a splash of coffee to go with her cream and sugar). I meal prep, take my vitamins and drink more water. All things that I could never maintain for more than 4 days in a row prior to joining IF.
I hold myself accountable. My anxiety and depression have both decreased. I push myself to be better today than I was yesterday. I am staying the course and I am thriving.
I always leave the studio feeling better than I did coming in and glad I came. Even on the days that I feel defeated from work, or in a blah mood. I leave feeling happy I did show up. The IF team has a great energy about them that is contagious. My Trainer helps me every step of the way. Including providing me with healthy eating and lifestyle suggestions and tailoring my sessions to target my personal goals. They give you a great sense of security and you know that they are on this journey with you.
“You have to be ready for a change. Ready to make a commitment to yourself and have patience. Trust the process.”
The first 8-10 weeks are hard. You work so hard every day making the right food choices, making time to work out, disciplining yourself and the results seem slow at first. I wanted to give up every day, but the IF team kept encouraging me to move forward. And I am grateful that they did because once I saw those results. Game changer!
Their commitment to your success is genuine and they will support you the entire way! Your future self will thank you for it.