Team Beachbody Guest

I was forever a yo-yo dieter and constantly battled with my weight for 17 years. I was somewhat of a porky kid, got made fun of a lot and lived in the shadows of my skinny little friends. By the time I was 12 I weighed almost 200 pounds and decided enough is enough. It was time to lose weight. I was sick and tired of people putting me down and comparing me to my friends. I was indirectly (and directly!) told time and time again that I was ugly and no boys would ever like me. Therefore I decided it was time to lose some big time weight! I did, I lost 72 pounds. The problem is....I didn't do it right. I ate too little, became anemic and didn't do enough of the right exercises. At 12 years of age, what do you expect.

I lost the weight, looked great but couldn't keep it off! I gained a little, and would lose a little, gain a little more, then I would lose it again. You get the picture. This happened for about 7 years until my second year of college. I put on a lot of weight. Then I started dating a guy, went through a bad breakup, my parents' separation and later divorce, money problems and gall stones all at the same time. The weight came ALL OFF at that point! I did pretty good too for a year and a half or so keeping it off, and then; the yo-yo thing again. This time I was exercising. I did the gym thing, the Pilates thing, the Circuit training thing, the running thing. I was pretty active for long spurts of time, but then would give up for a reason or another. I LOVED running, but could not continue after battling continual knee and back problems. I just didn't find something that I was truly passionate about, enough for it to become a major part of my daily life. Something that I looked forward to, was proud of, and felt like I was accomplishing something.

When I met my husband I was a twig, he watched me struggle with my weight and witnessed my final ballooning. I gained over 50 pounds after I got married. So many things contributed to me going out of control like leaving my home Country (Canada) to come live in the States, going through the long, grueling immigration process, leaving the city life for the country life, my grandfather passing away, leaving my family and my culture (I'm Italian), going through the newly-wed adjustment phase, battling Fibromyalgia at its worst, battling severe IBS, taking different medications, etc.. I let circumstances and emotion dictate how I treated me body. I cried so much, it was as though I was giving up on myself. I was embarrassed to go out, I felt insecure around my husband, and other people, and just felt awful. I had gained over 50 pounds in only 6 months time!!! Holy Cow, was I in big trouble!

My friends and family in Canada did not see me gain the weight until my father came to the US for Christmas. I'll never forget that conversation! It went something like this..."Sabrina, are you swollen or something? Are the meds making you gain weight? Is there something wrong? Are you sad?...." I looked at my father in embarrassment, made the usual excuses, saying "I know, I know". He said "What's happening to you Sabrina, you used to exercise so much and take care of yourself. You need to exercise" I know, I know I thought to myself. But I really didn't like exercising. I was only forcing myself.

Then he spoke to MY MOTHER-IN-LAW!! She one day came to my house and hesitantly told me she wanted to take me shopping for new clothes because she noticed I was wearing my husband's clothes. I was MORTIFIED! How would you like your mother-in-law coming to your home and telling you in not so many words "hey I noticed you got fat and don't fit into your clothes, I'll buy you some bigger ones!" I felt embarrassed and put on the spot, kind of like an intervention or something. It wasn't until I went shopping with her that I saw I'd gained approximately 8 or 10 sizes. I decided it was time to do something. I was humiliated enough! I needed structure. I needed to learn how to eat. I never really understood the value of food until that point.

Secondly, I needed a REALLY GOOD EXERCISE PROGRAM! I was looking for intensity, results, and a heck of a lot of fun. My husband is the one that discovered Turbo Jam after watching a Beachbody/Million Dollar Body advertisement on TV one night. He could tell right away that was my cup of tea. I was already a member of the MDB Club, so I went on line and ordered it.

I got it, did it, and LOVED IT!!! I did TJ religiously for over a year and a half. Thanks to eating healthy and doing Turbo Jam I lost 85 pounds and became lean and fit.

I was physically re-born. I was so insecure when I was fat and my husband will vouch for that, but that all changed, those feelings are gone! I had energy to run in the olympics, LOL. I shock myself sometimes because I never believed I could do it, especially with Fibromyalgia and all the other health issues I had going on and still have going on, but let me tell you, I DID IT!!!

After winning the $1,000 monthly prize last August, I decided I was ready for more. I wanted to be really ripped so I took on the challenge of P90X. I did 90 days of intense, hard, kick my butt up, down, left, right, etc.., but it was GOOOODDD! I got really strong and defined really fast. I LOVE IT!! I had my obstacles to overcome having Fibro, but I took it a day at a time and pushed my hardest. I believe anybody can do whatever they want to. Don't let your body or physical ailments tell you otherwise.

I graduated the X and am doing the X+ now. Time for more butt kicking, woohoo! I'm up for any challenge now. This fine Company turned me into a maniac, a fitness maniac that is.

Please stop by and visit me, I'll be more than happy to talk with you. I know what's it like to want to lose weight, I know the struggles that come with exercising and how hard it can be to stick with it. And worse of all, I know what its like to workout and stay fit with a physical condition. I'm here to help.