Navigating The Fitness Industry & My Fitness Journey
Everyone has a story. Everyone has different experiences that are heavily influenced by culture, relationships and their own thoughts and beliefs. When I tell some people my story of how I got started in wellness, they seem shocked to learn that I wasn’t always this advocate for a healthy lifestyle. They would be even more shocked to learn that I smoked cigarettes, consumed above-average levels of alcohol and sodas, and was always eating in a caloric surplus. Bags of candy, McDonald’s, and excessive partying were a big part of my lifestyle in my late teens to early twenties. I had always contemplated a change in lifestyle, but I was having way too much fun with life and I simply did not want to change. Besides, those fitness and lifestyle goals involved jumping several tall hurdles that seemed completely unattainable to clear successfully, without falling on my face, that is.
After years of being the “overweight sibling”, receiving passive-aggressive comments from peers, and deflecting backhanded compliments from strangers, the straw broke the camel’s back and that was it. I had a distinct moment in time that became the foundation of my career in health and wellness. In hindsight, I felt fortunate enough to hit my version of “rock bottom”, because, through education, support, and determination, I was able to start my path to where I am today. I can say that I have “walked the walk”, and am empathetic towards anyone that feels stuck in their rut. I am now a Registered Kinesiologist and Online Fitness Coach to clients that want to jump their own hurdles, but may not have the tools or motivation (at least not yet!) to do so. My passion for helping others has also directed me towards an education in developing and implementing changes in healthcare policy. My weight loss and lifestyle transformation are what led me to establish a career helping others to do the same for themselves.
In my high school years, I was your typical female jock athlete that played and performed well in sports all year round. I played basketball, volleyball, soccer, rugby, and ran the 100m dash for my varsity track and field team. I was also working nearly 30 hrs weekly for a fast-food chain, making it very easy to consume junk food before, during or after work. With little to no exercise outside of team practices and games, the effects were starting to take their toll. Even with all of the sprinting, jogging, and tackling from those events, I found I was gaining weight at a steady pace. I didn’t have the foresight that my body was accumulating stress rapidly, with zero recovery strategy in place. To be truthful, those practices or games always felt like they would be the end of me!
Like many people, I had a poor relationship with food and would associate my games and team practices with the justification to eat whatever I wanted. I always figured that since I had basketball or rugby practise that night, I would burn those extra calories off and assume that I “earned” that burger or slice of cake. My form of recovery resembled the latest “Dawson’s Creek” episode and a ton of ice cream on a Friday night. Actually, most nights of the week looked like that! Poor breakfast choices of Corn Pops cereal, or Pillsbury Toaster Strudels (extra icing) contributed to my extreme “hangry” pains that led me to overeat every night. I would accept the compliments of playing a great game, but truthfully, I felt like I was lugging 10 tractor tires through every sprint down the field. I was feeding my body pure junk - in the way that cheap gas should not go into a high-end vehicle. By my second year of university, I hit an all-time high of 192 lbs – a number that I’ll never forget.
I was never the ‘skinny’ one among my peers to begin with – I always considered myself “big-boned” and would completely dismiss that I was overweight in order to enjoy my life. I would convince myself that size 13 jeans were average for my 5’6” frame, so I would be free of guilt when indulging in that extra serving of fries. I had never been that close to 200 lbs before, and those size 13 jeans were more than tight, they just no longer fit. As a young female, the overwhelming pressures of being thin and beautiful are a constant comparison, and my self-esteem plummeted even further than it already was. I felt miserable, sulked, cried, and definitely ate some more. Before I took action, there was a significant period of time where I felt cursed, lost and destined for an unhappy life. It truly felt like rock bottom, and I had the perspective that nothing in life will be rewarding or as satisfying, as long as I am carrying this extra weight. Fortunately, I had the support of a loved one that (thankfully) was sick of my whining and said something that shook me to my very core: “If you want to lose weight so bad, just do it already!”, in a rather assertive tone. I was so accustomed to others assuring me that my worst fears were all in my head, that I was taken aback and felt accosted by these words. However, as much as those words inflicted discomfort, I decided to finally stop kidding myself. This person was right. I had the ability to succeed here. I rolled up my sleeves and put “Operation: Health Is Wealth” in motion.
I applied my recent knowledge from my BA in Kinesiology and Health Sciences towards my workouts, eating habits, and sleep hygiene. I quit my job at the fast-food chain, thus making the unhealthy food less accessible, and immediately started seeing results. It felt as if the moment I started eating better, my body quickly responded. I lost weight, but more importantly, I had increased energy towards any and all activities. The more consistent I was with my effort, the more consistent I was with my progress. The motivation was unleashed and I pushed even harder. After I lost 50lbs (Before: 192lb; After: 145lb), I asked myself if I could take things one step further and compete for the first time as a natural fitness model/bodybuilder. I lost another 15lbs and won 1st place in my first competition. The discipline and the drive for these fitness competitions got a little bit easier every time, but the journey for each fitness competition was never the same. I already had respect for anyone that consistently tracked their calories and weighed their portion sizes. Sprinkle some of life’s inevitable financial, relationship and career challenges while calorically deprived, and that is a person who can achieve anything! I hung up my bodybuilding hat in 2017, competing in a total of 8 competitions (one at the National level). I had a lot of fun and had learned plenty, but my body took a beating through years of heavy lifting and again, with zero recovery strategy in place. I didn’t realize how bad things were until I suffered injury after injury from that point on.
It’s funny how being able to deadlift triple your bodyweight means ‘squat’ (see what I did there?) for moving well, or what most people would refer to as “mobility”. My body, as strong as it was, became prone to lateral ankle sprains, hip impingement and limited range of motion of most joints. I sought treatment of fascial stretch therapy, massage, and physiotherapy, but I was still getting hurt in pick-up soccer games. It was infuriating that I, who had participated in the sport for most of my life and was in the profession of helping people move better, couldn’t move well myself. My back and calves were chronically stiff, and my go-to sprinting routine on the treadmill always brought on aches and pains. You could say that by then, I had developed the “athlete’s mentality”, where one refuses to accept or show that they’re hurt, in order to stay in the game (no offence to anyone reading this - I commend you for being smart enough to know when it’s not worth it!). I had finally reached that fork in the road, where one must choose to be blissfully ignorant and accept the ultimate and inevitable fate of more injuries, pain, with consequential depression, or choose to become more consciously and objectively aware of the very real and unpleasant truth that my mobility needed serious work. I chose the red pill, and it was a rather big one.
A colleague introduced The Postural Restoration Institute, where their concepts describe a revolutionary approach to movement-based medicine. They recognize that the human body is asymmetrical and that this is both beneficial and problematic. Some people (*ahem* myself) become too imbalanced and dominant in specific movement patterns. Being dominant in particular patterns ultimately creates structural weaknesses and imbalances with the reciprocal action of that pattern. For example, my imbalances came to fruition when I imposed demands and positions on my body that it did not have the capacity for (eg cutting and changing directions on the soccer field), and one can become extremely vulnerable and susceptible to injury. I felt like I hit the nail on the head. This was an aspect of my training that I had been missing and yearning for during my bodybuilding years. It was something that would’ve made me excel in my varsity sports. Maybe I would’ve been running an athletic scholarship at a top school in the USA - but that’s neither here nor there! I was grateful for being exposed to it - I was already passionate about my craft, and I knew I could help many people by incorporating this newfound approach to servicing clients.
For me, fitness and health is an optimal state within a broad and individual spectrum. It is free from physical and mental illness. Being healthy (in my opinion) means you are functioning well physiologically, psychologically and physically. It includes nutrition, resistance training, healthy relationships, and empowerment of a positive and active lifestyle. Accessibility, systemic racism, and determinants of health can interfere with one’s ability to achieve wellness. Everyone has the right to achieve wellness and be free from illness, and at minimum, should have access to basic education and resources to empower themselves towards a healthier lifestyle. Your story is your own, and you can navigate the next chapter of your wellness journey however you see fit. Your health IS your wealth, and anyone can be rich.
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Francesca McKenzie is a Registered Kinesiologist and Personal Trainer of 15 years with experience in rehabilitation, strength & conditioning, performance and wellness.
