It is a pleasure to introduce you to Carol Reynolds. Carol has gone through a transformation that led her to accomplish a personal fitness goal of hers as well as empowered her to begin new ventures. I invite you to read her inspiring story.
- You had a big personal goal in mind and set out and did it! Tell us a little more about this accomplishment.
My goal was to compete in 3 shows before I tuned 51 (June 6) so I started weight training in Sept 2022 and competed in the transformation shows NPAA May 21, WNBF Edmonton May 28, WNBF Kelowna June 3.
- Tell us about your weight loss, how much weight did you lose, and how important is dieting for this accomplishment?
At age 32, I was 325lbs and had weight losss surgery (bilio pancreatic bypass with duodenal switch)..I have been as low as 157 lbs (no muscle) and am.currently 165. I never paid attention to nutrition closely until last year. I still had the mindset that less calories is better. I now know that more nutrient rich calories is best.
- You are the 2023 WNBF EDMONTON New YOU champion? How does it feel to win this category?
It's amazing. Most amazing was to have my son and daughter in law there. They drove to Edmonton to see me. My daughter lives in BC and drove to Kelowna to see me compete there. I love my kids so much!
- How has this fitness journey treated you? Were there many ups & downs?
This journey has taught me to not trust fitness "professionals" too easily. If it's too good to be true, it always is. I fired 2 coaches because of this. I had a knee injury I overcame. I am chronically anemic and had to have an emergency iron transfusion during my training.
- The physical aspect is important, but how important was the mental aspect in your journey?
Mentally, you have to really want to win. You have to SEE yourself on stage long before you actually make it there. Visualization and manifestation are also important. But the motivation for doing the actual real gym and nutrition work comes from within. It's also important to include adequate sleep during training...it's a foundational building block for everything else.
- Would you recommend this life change to anyone else?
Yes...the journey teaches you so much about yourself, your body, makes you face your priorities and to make goals. I have more knowledge of how my body works and about nutrition.
- Now that you have achieved a major fitness goal, what is next for you?
I am developing a Body Confidence Mentorship program for men and women and am writing a book on the topic due to be published in December 2023.
I also am planning related in-person and online Retreats in 2024. I will likely fit in a few WNBF competitions in Fall 2024 in Western Canada and in Mexico :)
For a more in-depth experience of these athletes, we invite you to our YouTube channel - Body Trans4ormation.
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