The Dieting Game

For as long as I can remember, weight was such a huge factor in determining whether or not someone was in “good” shape or “skinny.” When I was 14 and entering into High School, I weighed somewhere around 135lbs and was about the same height as I am now, 5’7.5”. I felt HUGE compared to some of the other girls in my class. Most girls at the age weighed in at a whopping 100 or 110. Ok, maybe just the “popular” crowd that I felt the need to compete with, but either way, there was a tremendous pressure to be petite and weigh less than the perceived norm.


Playing sports I was always a bit heavier to begin with. Although, for some reason I could never really buy into the whole “muscle weighs more than fat” theory because at the time, I was so consumed with my weight and that stupid number. Prior to any formal knowledge of proper diet and nutrition, I tried many ways to maintain or lose weight. I wanted to share a few with the group and give everyone a good laugh.


Spandex + Hydroxycut
Sophomore year in high school I thought I looked too fat in spandex so I decided not to play volleyball and just get ready for basketball season. This is a true story! I refused to wear spandex even though I think I still only weighed about 130 at the time. In order to condition and get ready for the upcoming season, I decided to take Hydroxycut to stay lean and keep energized, or so I thought, and do a ton of sprint work. I also cut my calorie intake almost in half. I thought at the time the uppers were doing the trick, but it was actually the high volume of sprint and interval work done throughout the season that my body was burning calories like crazy. I drank a ton of water and tried to stay away from the biscuits at dinner. That didn’t last very long.


Pretzels and Oranges
Junior year I got smarter! I moved to eating pretzels and oranges all the time. I literally had 3 oranges a day and probably 3-4 small bags of pretzels out of the vending machine at school. I thought this would help me stay “skinny” and keep me under a size 8 or 10. I coupled this with doubles in the gym. I would go in the morning, run 3 miles on the treadmill, go to school, go to practice and then head back to gym to get in another workout. I was nuts at this point. I wouldn’t leave the gym at night until I had dropped 2-3 lbs. Ridiculous, that’s all water weight anyway!!

Looking back at my junior year, this diet plan, or non-plan, was really stupid. My performance on the softball field, which is what I ended up playing in college, was less than stellar to say the least. I was so weak from not taking in enough nutrients throughout the day that my game completely suffered. Almost an entire season wasted to look “skinny.”


Baby Got Back
After college, I was exhausted from having the last 18 years of my life be so regimented and constantly being told how and when to work out, that I gave up. I stopped working out and ate whatever I wanted. I must have gained 20 lbs weighing in at my heaviest around 161. I didn’t realize the damage I’d done until my brother was about to hit the alter in Mexico, so of course I tried crash dieting again with Hydroxycut, running, starving myself. The usual!


Almost Back on Track – minus the Cheez Its
When I hit 24 or 25 I started running more consistently and really started to educate myself on proper nutrition. I got into different races, started biking and doing a variety of different sports and exercises. I watched what I ate but wasn’t too crazy about it. I started to look at food as a constant experiment. I was loving learning how to cook! Little by little my diet improved and I was eating much less unnecessary complex carb, although, my commute to Aurora for almost 3 years was pretty tough to get through without wanting a snack. I used to keep a box of Cheez Its in my car at all times. I totally thought the Reduced Fat version wasn’t that bad for you!! Other than that, my diet was relatively “healthy” and I maintained a decent body weight from where I had been.


Damn you Paleo
When I started Crossfitting just over a year ago, I began to learn more about the Paleo diet and all of the many benefits. At the time, I remember wanting to knock Bryce out for telling me I was no longer allowed to eat Potatoes! I’m Irish, are you kidding me, I love potatoes!! That was the first of many things I was about to learn I was no longer able to enjoy. The first couple of weeks starting to eat Paleo were actually probably the easiest. I really got into it and started to look up different recipes to make. I made it fun! By the time Sectionals hit in February I was weighing in around 135lbs and felt super lean. I looked at pictures from the competition and I think that is the most lean I’ve ever been.

Of course the summer hit and I started experimenting, or I guess I should say, pushing the limit, to how far off paleo I could go without completely back tracking. I remained Paleo for the most part but definitely added beer into the mix. When it’s 95 degrees and sunny in Chicago, a beer is the first thing that makes the day that much better!


Out of all the different diet fads that I’ve tried over the years, I’ve not seen anywhere near the results of eating Paleo. I’m lean and I feel great when I’m working out. That’s all that matters right?! It’s no longer really about the “weight” or trying to be “skinny.” I eat Paleo and do CrossFit so I can mix in those beers in the summer and of course those random Bacci Pizza Challenge nights!!!