Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle D.
Michelle, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
In 2013, I found out I was pregnant with my second child. During my pregnancy, I gained a total of 57lbs. After giving birth, I suffered from postpartum depression and started taking medication for it not realizing the medication was adding to my weight. I’m an emotional eater so instead of trying to do things the healthier way I just ate constantly, things that were not good for me. I’m my mind. I’m thinking “Michelle, you have to do better. You need to exercise. You need to eat better.”
Even though I knew these were the things I needed to do to get back to my healthier lifestyle, I instead purchased meal replacement shakes, thin teas and waist trainers thinking I could bypass the hard work and dedication. I was wrong. One day my husband an I were getting ready to leave our home when I stood in my closet full of clothing that I could not fit. At the moment, I felt defeated and cried while standing there trying to figure out where I failed myself. I started to worry about my health and being able to live a longer life for my kids. I started slow in our apartment gym.. No real knowledge on what to do or correct form.
Eventually, I lost interests and got into weight loss pills. The pills did their job but once I stopped taking them I started to regain what I loss. My husband’s cousin was into bodybuilding at the time so I figured that I’d get with her to lose the weight I put on. When I first started, I just wanted to lose the weight I gained and nothing more. I didn’t want to lift heavy nor put on muscle because I didn’t want to “look like a man”. Little did I know factoring in weights as helps you lose weight while toning. Once I started to see what my body was capable of doing and seeing the changes I’ve gone through I started looking into bodybuilding. I decided that I’d do my first show as a Figure Competitor for the National Physique Committee (NPC) I went into my first show blind as to what I needed to do, what my physique needed to look like and etc. Knowing I was not knowledgeable I still pushed myself to accomplish the goal I had set. I competed in a small show in October 2016 and placed 2 in my class. Being able to grace that stage and show off all of my hard work and dedication only made me want more.
So I ventured out and found a trainer who at the time I believed was knowledgeable enough to help me get nationally qualified. My next show which was April 2017 was an eye-opener. Going from a small show and placing 2nd to a very big show placing last in both of my classes (8th&9th) made me realize that this sport requires a lot more from you than I expected. In all honesty, I wanted to give up, I felt defeated. Then I started following this team, TeamSBM. I was intimidated at first to reach out and speak to Stephanie Trevino (Nutritionist) because here she is such a babe with muscle and the physique I wished to have LOL while I’m here such a fluff ball. But I overcame that and reached out and met with her and Coach Hassan the following day. We discussed my goals and we got right to work. When I tell you the training style was so much different from the previous trainers I had, I’m telling no lies! I literally would turn green in the face while training because my body was not use to it! Coach Hassan felt Amber (Eutsey) would be a better coach for me so I’ve have the privilege to have her be my coach for two years now.
We set a show date which was Dec 2017. We didn’t do as good as we thought we were going to do so we set other goals and a show for July 2018. That show we finally brought home some hardware! We placed 4th but it wasn’t 1st so we went back to the drawing board. The next show was set for Dec 2018. During that time, I realized that I wanted to start my own business. We have amazing coaches that want to see their athletes succeed on stage but also in life as well. Coach Hassan talks a lot about creating your own business and becoming your own boss, he had my gears going. Being a competitor it’s very expensive. It is a very expensive sport. Getting sponsors and donations to fund my shows became harder and harder because no one really understand that there are levels to it. So I had to find a way that I could financially pay for my passion but also be able to bring a product to the community that others would love! I love to sweat! I love how after a good cardio session or a workout session you get all hot and sweaty and you feel you smashed it!
So I decided I wanted to create my own Sweatband, which is also called a waist trimmer. It took me a few weeks to gather everything I needed. I got in contact with a company that sent me out samples of the product that I tried for two weeks. I loved it! Coach Hassan helped me with my logo and checked out the product to make sure the quality was good! After that the rest is history! I’ve been selling them like crazy and everyone loves them! They were a huge success. I was able to compete in Dec 2018 which was another 4th place. Still not what we wanted nor expected we decided to take some time off and build a better physique. March 2019 my mental health took a turn for the worse. I fell in a deep depression after a loss. During this time, I was not active. At first, I wasn’t eating but then started to emotionally eat. It was like a spiral downfall from there. I started noticing that not only was it taking a toll on my health, it took a toll on my marriage, on my kids and overall life. I started to see a psychiatrist and I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety. Medication was offered but I didn’t want to take that route, so my psychiatrist and myself worked on a plan to help with overcoming my depression and anxiety with breathing techniques, meditation and of course getting back in the gym.
For some time, I couldn’t get myself to get back in the gym, I felt defeated. But once I started noticing how I reacted mood-wise after a cardio session or a weight lifting session I was like “Hey, wait.. this feels good. I feel happy.” It took time to get back into the groove of things. I still have my days when I’m hard on myself, and I feel sad but I have to quickly change my thinking and remove myself from that negativity. Having depression and anxiety is hard especially going through a prep for a show. You have to stay focused and dedicated and not distracted. You go against all these amazing athletes with beautiful physiques, it’s tough not to compare yourself. But you can’t compare your body with someone else’s. It takes years to build muscle, some people are natural, some aren’t. And let’s face it no one likes to post the bad photos on social media. So you have to take those things into consideration. I am definitely a work in progress! I have a wonderful team that stands with me and will ensure I accomplish all of my goals!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. Being a business owner you have to know how to manage your money if you don’t manage correctly you won’t have a business. So I’ve had a few issues with that. Being a competitor alone has its own struggles. You’re constantly on the go, working out, doing cardio, posing and eating the same things every day. It’s mentally tough and will definitely make you grow tough skin. But once you find the balance it becomes a routine and it gets easier as time goes by. Mental health is also important. If you don’t acknowledge that something is wrong you’ll only make things harder on yourself, out of everything my mental health was one thing I struggled with the most and still kind of do to this day. But acknowledging it, and seeking help has helped me tremendously to overcome these roadblocks and help heal some emotional trauma I’ve endured.
Please tell us about Chell Fitness.
Chell Fitness is a company that sells high-quality Waist trimmers. At the moment that is all we sell, but we are currently in the works of adding in some clothing! Our Waist trimmers are ideal for ones that would love a slimmer waistline. It helps remove excess water from your abdominal area. The material the trimmers are made out of helps to heat up your core to help produce sweat removing the water from your midsection all while helping trim the waist. Also, our trimmers can assist you with better posture. Our quality of our trimmer sets us apart from other companies. Our trimmer also covers more of your midsection and stays in place! Ideal to use while working out, doing cardio or any daily activities!
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Money management! LOL! If I could start over I would come up with a better plan than I had. Also, I would be more aware of my mental state, and check-in with myself more to make sure I’m okay.
Pricing:
- Waist Trimmers $35.00
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @_chell_fitness_
Image Credit:
James Allen, Daniel Anthony, GodlyVisuals
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