Anyone gone from Zero fitness to pretty darn fit?

[Sara1000]

Please tell your story!

[Debbie S.]

I've told my story here on VF before. When I started my journey back into fitness after my car accidents and surgeries, I started at close to a 100 lbs. more than what I weighed prior to my accidents and surgeries, and at a true beginner level. It was a 3 year period that was spent on surgeries and recovering from them. Even walking was excruciating. Within 8 months I lost all the weight that I gained, but it me about 10 years to get back to my very fit level, and I have maintained that level of fitness since.

[yahoo205]

Originally Posted by Debbie S.

I've told my story here on VF before. When I started my journey back into fitness after my car accidents and surgeries, I started at close to a 100 lbs. more than what I weighed prior to my accidents and surgeries, and at a true beginner level. It was a 3 year period that was spent on surgeries and recovering from them. Even walking was excruciating. Within 8 months I lost all the weight that I gained, but it me about 10 years to get back to my very fit level, and I have maintained that level of fitness since.

Debbie, were you overweight when you were young/teens? Of course, not to diminish your accomplishments which are amazing, really amazing. I really feel that being overweight when you are younger is really hard to battle.

[Debbie S.]

Originally Posted by yahoo205

Debbie, were you overweight when you were young/teens? Of course, not to diminish your accomplishments which are amazing, really amazing. I really feel that being overweight when you are younger is really hard to battle.

Yes, I did go through a period, which was about 3 years. It was around 12, and I lost it a couple of months into my freshman year. I also gained a lot of weight with both of my pregnancies.

[yahoo205]

Originally Posted by Debbie S.

Yes, I did go through a period, which was about 3 years. It was around 12, and I lost it a couple of months into my freshman year. I also gained a lot of weight with both of my pregnancies.

wow. You seem so fit its hard to imagine you ever had any difficulty. Maybe there is hope for me.

[Sara1000]

So Debbie did you just gradually increase intensity over that 10 year period - by small increments or did you keep pushing yourself into the discomfort zone? Did you use a combination of cardio and weights?

I don't want to make you tell it all again but I am wondering about specifics.

[Debbie S.]

yahoo, really the only part of my life that I would consider difficult was the 3 year period where I was recovering from my car accidents and surgeries. The other stages I consider just part of my life.

Sara, boy, I guess you could consider my journey back into fitness as "increments." First, I couldn't lift anything heavier than the Sunday newspaper, then I graduated to a gallon of milk. I was told that I could never lift anything heavier than 3-5 lbs., but that turned out not to be true. In all fairness, I started lifting weights when I was a junior in highschool, so strength training has been a huge part of my life for most of my life. I was also 9 months out from my first bodybuilding comp when my first accident occurred.

But, all of that was taken away from me in a nano second. And I was truly a beginner for the first time in my life when I started my journey back into fitness. I was pretty much bedridden for that period of time. My second accident happened 6 months after my first surgery, and my second surgery was a failed surgery. I had my 3rd surgery, a fusion, a year after my second surgery. My doctors honestly didn't think I would do as well as I have. In the beginning, my muscle development was a huge hindrance, because it made the spasms so much worse. Then I lost all of my muscle tone, and went from a low bodyfat percentage to a high bodyfat percentage and a lot of weight to lose. When I walked upstairs to my bedroom for the first time in 3 years, I cried when I saw myself in the mirror for the first time. I didn't even recognize the body that I was looking at in the mirror.

It was at that point that I knew that I was either going to have to find a way to take control of my life, or I would continue to go downhill. I knew that I would never be able to recover from my fusion being so overweight though. Carrying that much weight, plus the possibility of even more scared me to death.

Again, the first walks outdoors was excruciating, and I really had to work on the mental aspect as well. Running was a huge part of my fitness lifestyle prior to my first accident, and not being able to walk without pain was tough!

The only thing that I never resumed was playing competitive softball. But today I can almost lift as much as I used to when I was training in the gym, which is quite heavy. Plus, I can run too.

[andtckrtoo]

Originally Posted by Debbie S.

But, all of that was taken away from me in a nano second. And I was truly a beginner for the first time in my life when I started my journey back into fitness. I was pretty much bedridden for that period of time. My second accident happened 6 months after my first surgery, and my second surgery was a failed surgery. I had my 3rd surgery, a fusion, a year after my second surgery. My doctors honestly didn't think I would do as well as I have. In the beginning, my muscle development was a huge hindrance, because it made the spasms so much worse. Then I lost all of my muscle tone, and went from a low bodyfat percentage to a high bodyfat percentage and a lot of weight to lose. When I walked upstairs to my bedroom for the first time in 3 years, I cried when I saw myself in the mirror for the first time. I didn't even recognize the body that I was looking at in the mirror.

It was at that point that I knew that I was either going to have to find a way to take control of my life, or I would continue to go downhill. I knew that I would never be able to recover from my fusion being so overweight though. Carrying that much weight, plus the possibility of even more scared me to death.

Again, the first walks outdoors was excruciating, and I really had to work on the mental aspect as well. Running was a huge part of my fitness lifestyle prior to my first accident, and not being able to walk without pain was tough!

The only thing that I never resumed was playing competitive softball. But today I can almost lift as much as I used to when I was training in the gym, which is quite heavy. Plus, I can run too.

Debbie - you are amazing. Your strength and fortitude when so many would have given up. I'm even more impressed with you now.

[FitBoop]

Debbie, you are such an inspiration! You have amazing inner and outer strength.

[Paine]

Debbie, I love your story! You are an inspiration. Thank you for sharing.