Gabby's History With Weight Loss

When Gabby went to college, the whole excitement of being away from home got the best of her. "I was staying out late, drinking with friends, eating crappy dorm food, and just [binge-eating] the moment I stepped inside after a late night out," Gabby said. She would stress eat a lot, too, so if she was super busy with homework and classes, she would "just eat and eat." She ended up gaining weight [2] and reached 180 pounds.

Gabby went to the gym here and there, but at the time, she didn't really know what she was doing. "I tried to focus on hours of cardio, and that sucked, or I would try and look up different weight exercises and try and do those." She tried a few different programs but nothing stuck.

It took two years of that behavior before Gabby started to realize that something had to change. It wasn't until her junior year of college when she started to kick into gear and get her weight-loss journey moving.

Gabby's Journey Begins

Unfortunately, Gabby was suffering from back pain that started in 2014 and progressively got worse. "I ended up having a diseconomy on my L5 in my back due to a herniated disc, which was causing pain whenever I tried to walk, run, or do any lifting activity," she said.

After recovering from her surgery, Gabby was a whole new person! She was able to actually do more in the gym without having any constant pain. She originally started with cardio two to three times a week, and weightlifting three to four times a week. At the same time, she began dialing in her nutrition, and decided to start meal prepping [3]. "I was using Pinterest for most of my meal prep ideas, and I wasn't following any type of diet plan. I was just trying to eat clean."

Gabby's Workouts

After a year of just weight training, in 2015, Gabby's sister finally got her to join CrossFit [4] with her. "At the time I was skeptical of it, and I was concerned I was going to hurt myself with all the weight. But after a year and a half of doing it, I absolutely LOVE it!" Gabby added, "I was always scared of lifting heavy because I didn't want my body to start looking bulky and 'manly' like they say, but the rumors are true . . . lifting heavy doesn't make you look like a man [5], ladies!"

Gabby does CrossFit three to four times a week, and Olympic weightlifting one to two times a week. She aims for one to two rest days during the week. "I work night shifts and my work schedule isn't the same every week. So my schedule doesn't stay super consistent, but I make it work!" Gabby isn't big on cardio, so the only cardio she usually gets is when it's programmed in her CrossFit workout for the day.

Gabby's Diet

Right now Gabby follows a diet template called Renaissance Periodization [6] (RP), which is similar to counting macros. It allows Gabby the freedom to choose her food options and allows her to never to get bored of eating the same meals, which is what she was doing when she first started meal prepping.

RP offers different templates based on your needs and fitness goals. The templates are easy to follow, and each meal is based off the timing of your schedule, depending on when you work out. "RP has allowed me to develop a macros [7] change throughout the day, each day. She eats four meals, plus a protein shake after her workout, and casein at night.

A sample day is:

Meal after waking up
Work out
Protein shake
Meal 40 minutes after workout
Meal 3 to 5 hours after that
Meal 3 to 5 hours after that
Nighttime casein

Here's what she eats for breakfast:

2/3 cup egg whites
2 pieces of turkey bacon
2 cups veggies (bell peppers, spinach, brussels sprouts, and broccoli mixed in the eggs)
1/3 cup oats
1/2 banana

Gabby LOVES to Meal Prep

One trick that keeps Gabby on track with healthy eating is I've started to love my body [8] and feel comfortable in my own skin, and that by far is the best nonscale victory of them all! I was unhappy with the way I looked in the mirror, and I was unhappy every time I went shopping for clothes and things didn't fit me right. I wanted to feel happy in my own skin and I wanted to feel confident all year round. I'm happy I started when I did," Gabby said.

Gabby's Advice

Gabby said that change happens when you decide to step out of your comfort zone and change your mindset. "I've worked hard to get to where I am today. It took plenty of years of stepping out of my comfort zone and turning the focus on me," Gabby said.

"Stay consistent! [9] Losing weight takes time. There's no 'magic pill' that's going to make you lose weight overnight," Gabby said. But if you stay consistent with your goals and your workouts, you'll notice the change. Gabby recommends taking progress pictures so on the days you feel like giving up, you can look at those pictures and see how far you've come.

"Eat food! Your body needs food to grow and your muscles need fuel," she said. "I'm eating 10 times more food that I was when I first started my journey. I thought food was the enemy, but I've learned that it's actually your friend! Find a meal plan, and stick to it."

Finally, Gabby said to enjoy your journey! "You don't need to be super lean, you don't have to have big muscles. You just need to be happy [10]," Gabby said.

She added that you shouldn't force yourself to go to the gym when you're tired and don't force yourself to do cardio because you had cake the night before. "Enjoy the process and do the workouts you enjoy," she said.

Gabby's Final Thoughts

"I wasn't happy. I hated waking up every morning and seeing what I looked like. I was bored of doing the same workouts, I was bored of thinking I was eating healthy, I was just bored of the routine I was in," Gabby said. "I was tired of people telling me 'weights make girls manly,' and 'don't do CrossFit because you'll lose your girl figure.' I decided to stop listening to the peanut gallery and start doing this whole fitness thing for me," Gabby said. And she's so glad she did!

Gabby said to stop waiting for that "perfect" time to get started. There's never going to be a perfect time, so wake up and get after it! "There have been so many times I've told myself, 'I wish I started sooner.' I can go on and on about my excuses on why I didn't start sooner, but I sure am happy I started when I did," Gabby said. If you want something, you go after it, and at the end of the day, be proud of how far you've come [11]!