“SOCIAL MEDIA
INSPIRES ME”
FOR STEPHANIE PACE, HER WEIGHT LOSS JOURNEY WAS MADE EASIER
BY FOLLOWING OTHER INSPIRATIONAL WOMEN ON SOCIAL MEDIA. WE
THINK SHE’LL BE MOTIVATING SOME WOMEN OF HER OWN NOW!I
grew up as a lanky
awkward kid and I was
able to eat whatever I
pleased not gaining a kg....
unfortunately this didn’t last
forever.
Becoming 80kgs definitely did
not happen overnight. I was
the average teenager. I loved
going out with friends, eating
fast food and then started going
out to parties and drinking.
With drinking came your usual
Sunday hangover that meant
I would eat more carb-loaded
foods and the cycle continued.
Even though I was somewhat
active it just wasn’t enough in
comparison to the food and
drinks I was consuming. I
would have to say my weakness
was savory foods such as pizza
and burgers and still is...
Throughout my high school
years I would go through phases
in which I would join a gym
and train for a few months, get
bored and move on. I never truly
understood the whole fitness
lifestyle until now.
THE WAKEUP-CALL
It was the day after my 21st
birthday and the night before I
had just held a fantastic party to
celebrate. I wore a coral dress
with shape wear underwear
underneath to suck me in. I ama bit taller than average height
for a girl so it took me a while to
realise I was gaining weight.
I was of course hungover from
my 21st and starting tucking into
a McDonald’s breakfast casually
looking through Facebook until
I came across what turned out to
be the catalyst for my new life;
a photo from the night before I
was mortified at how big I had
gotten.
Of course for
a few weeks
I tried to
deny it and
when I told
my friends
how I felt
they would
simply reply
“don’t be
silly you’re not fat!”.
However even though I wasn’t
overly large I was not at all
happy with how I’d let go of my
body. I kept putting off getting
on the scales until I figured it
might be the only thing that
would shock me back to shape.
I went and bought some scales (I
had got rid of scales as I started
getting bigger). The next day I
stood on the scales and I was...
80kgs!It was probably one of the
hardest days of my life, knowing
there was no one else to blame
but me for gaining over 20kgs in
less than two years!
THE CHANGE
That day I got home from work
and went straight to the gym
and joined. This time I decided
I’m not going to do excessiveexercise or any silly fad diets
(which I have done in the past).
I decided to go three times a
week. After my first week at the
gym I got a personal trainer who
I saw once a week. I found she
helped keep me accountable for
my training, making sure I was
consistent. I love weights and
this is what I did majority of the
time I was at the gym. Women
definitely should not be afraid to
lift weights, it’s a wonderful way
to build muscle mass and sculpt
your body into a toned figure.
Whilst I was training I was also
researching into healthy eating
recipes. I created some amazingdishes like healthy San Chow
Bow! I tried to change my meals
every week so I would not get
bored. I ate a lot of fruit, yogurts,
nuts, lean proteins and veggies!
I even discovered a way to battle
my sweet tooth with protein
choc balls!
THE STRUGGLES
It wasn’t all smooth sailing to
say the least. There were some
days even weeks where I would
completely fall off the wagon
and it was hard to refocus myself
again. Especially the times when
I wouldn’t see any changes in my
body and I felt that I was never
going to get there! I was lucky
enough to be on the weight loss
journey with my best friend
Kylie – we would motivate each
other to keep going. She was
truly my rock, my therapist and
my motivator throughout this
whole journey. It really helps to
have someone who understands
and to turn to when times get
tough.
I also turned to social media
for inspiration; platforms like
Instagram can really be useful
as a tool to follow other fit and
healthy individuals out there. I
pushed through all the struggles
and manage to lose 20kgs in six
months!“Look in
the mirror,
that’s your
competition”
126 | JULY/AUG 2015 | oxygenmag.com.auTransformation