BodyBuilderMom
POWERED BY EXTOL SPORTS, LAC & WHAS 11
By Angie Fenton
Six Things
I’ve Learned
in 2017
Numbers matter...and don’t. I weighed
nearly 180 pounds when I gave birth to my
daughter in January 2016. Saying, “I want to lose
weight” was easy, but what did that really mean?
To be healthy, for my 5-foot-2 frame, I was told
I should weigh between 110 and 140 pounds.
But thanks to Ryan Schrink of Schrink Personal
Training, who reminded me weight is just a
number. But lowering my body fat percentage is
key to getting healthy. I also need to be cognizant
of my blood pressure and cholesterol levels. My
goal now is to get down to 20 percent body fat
by February. I couldn’t care less what I weigh.
Plan ahead. Spending time once a week to
make meals for me and my husband, and then
putting them into single serving portions, saves
time and aids in a mission of healthy eating. Also,
put your workouts on your calendar and treat
them like appointments with one of the most
important people you know. If you don’t take
care of yourself, how can you truly take care of
anyone else?
Don’t let setbacks set you back. I’ve
failed a lot this year. I’ve also succeeded. So, I
screwed up yesterday. That doesn’t mean I have
to wait until next week to start again. When I do
mess up on my quest to get fit, I’ve (finally!) begun
to start again the next morning and assessing
what led to my temporary setback.
Find your motivation. Mine is my
daughter, Olive. As an older mama, I want nothing
more than to be healthy so I’m around as long
as the good Lord allows it. I owe it to Olive and
myself to get fit.
Set a goal and keep vowing to stick
to it. Sure, I’d like to fit into my pre-baby clothes,
SPORTS
42 EXTOL SPORTS / DECEMBER 2017
lose body fat and decrease my rising “bad”
cholesterol level, but I also really want to compete
in a bodybuilding contest, too. I let life and an
injury get in my way in 2017, but not in 2018. I
WILL compete, decrease my body fat percentage,
get my cholesterol under control AND fit into
those old clothes I used to love wearing. I’m
going to keep saying that out loud until it sticks.
Just do it. Sorry to borrow from Nike, but
this is the simplest of all: You either do something
or you don’t. Enough with the excuses. Just do
it. And I will.