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 By: Brie Vendrame
Hello! My name is Brie Vendrame, and I am a 27 year old woman who has had my life changed by the world of weight training.
I grew up as a competitive gymnast and competed until my sophomore year for the University of CA at Davis. I had never struggled with my weight until college, and attributed my weight gain to college life, however, during my freshman year; I had gained 30 lbs and had many injuries, fatigue and weakness while continuing to practice gymnastics 4 hours a day.
  Click To Enlarge. Gymnastics 4 Hours A Day.
I returned to school on thyroid medication for the next year, but failed to make the lineup for competition because I just couldn't perform well enough to make the cut. I called it quits, 30 lbs heavier than when I began college, and depressed to give up a sport that had been my life for so long. I ended up having radiation therapy to keep my thyroid from producing hormones so that my thyroid can be regulated by synthetic hormones, which is easier to control.
I had my body fat tested at one point, and it read 25%. Since this was within the healthy range, I figured I was doing alright. I went on to graduate college, marry, and relocate to another state, blissfully ignorant to the unhealthy state my body was in.
Distraught and depressed, we divorced and I returned back to my college town. I joined a gym and began working my aggression and pain out by running for miles on end. I found that I was losing weight! Little did I realize it was because I was starving myself.
 
Click To Enlarge. Through My Depression I Was Starving Myself. Through the heartbreak of my divorce, I had neglected to eat, and I was down to 112 lbs from 130 within 2 months. As time went on, I began eating of course, and ballooned back up to 126 lbs by June of 2002. Remembering what had helped me lose weight the first time, I resorted to calorie restriction in addition to my daily hour long cardio sessions. At first I cut my calorie intake to 500 per day, and as I saw results, it was an addiction to go do MORE cardio and cut MORE calories. I got to the point where I was only eating 300 calories a day to fuel my 1 1/2 hour long cardio sessions. I dropped to 93 lbs w/ 12% body fat by November 2002. I also began the obsession with "good" and "bad" foods and would vomit if I felt guilty about eating a "bad" food. Not only was I starving myself, but also affecting my thyroid hormone regulation. Too embarrassed to admit I was a purging anorexic, I tried to hide it from my family and new boyfriend.
 Click To Enlarge.A Look At The Thyroid Gland.
 To View Top Selling Thyroid Products Click Here.
I remember thinking to myself one night, as we were making dinner together, that I COULD get better if I followed his lead. I wanted to get better, I just didn't know how! The desire to be healthy and not obsess over getting fat is the reason I got into weights.
We began having dinner together every night and I vowed to keep it down. It was a start. I put on some weight as my caloric intake increased and I found that I had more energy.
 Click To Enlarge. I Found That I Had More Energy. I ventured into the weight room, past the pink dumbbells and nautilus machines over to the free weights with him. I wanted to get lean, defined muscles, but the catch - I had to eat enough to fuel my muscles! I struggled with this idea for nearly 2 years until this past December 2004. I finally realized that all the work I put in at the gym was in vain, if I wasn't eating enough to fuel my workouts. I began therapy for my anorexia and joined a women's workout forum which has helped me gain knowledge and information about the right way to go about things.
Pay attention to your body, use correct form. The women on the forum cheer one another on, as we increase our weights and break our own personal bests with almost every workout. I went from lifting light weights for 3 sets of 12-15 reps to playing with different combinations of heavy lifting with more sets, and less reps. I began following advice from the forum and getting help for my eating disorder in December 2004. In 8 short months, I have followed advice from the forum, my boyfriend, and others in the nutrition profession and am proud to say that I currently stand 5' tall and weigh a whopping 114 lbs with approx 14% body fat.
 Click To Enlarge. A Whopping 114 lbs! I have actually gained some body fat, and muscle and look much healthier than I did before. Instead of watching the numbers on the scale, I watch the number on the weights I lift increase with almost every workout. I can now bench press my own bodyweight! I am a much happier, healthier, fit person today, because weightlifting and proper nutrition saved me from destruction.
I am a fan of carb cycling. I have 2 high carb days per week, 2 low carb days per week and 3 medium (maintenance) days. I find that with my thyroid disorder, my body responds well to the constant change in calories and carbohydrates consumed.
I eat the same amount of protein and fat daily, with carbohydrates being the variable. Low days are restricted to fibrous carbs, medium days I get 1 g complex carbohydrates / lb bodyweight and on high days I have 2 g/ lb body weight.
I train with weights 5 days per week. I like to do one body part per day, and my training cycle works with my carb cycling. I do cardio 4x a week for 30 minutes either first thing in the morning on an empty stomach or following weights.
Monday: Medium carb- Chest, and 30 min Cardio Tuesday: High- Legs & Abs Wednesday: Medium- Back & Cardio Thursday: Low- cardio and abs Friday: High- Bi's, tri's & cardio Saturday: Medium- Shoulders & abs
Thank you. I can be reached at brieski77@aol.com.
Brie Vendrame Recommend this article to a friend by e-mail here! Visitor Reviews Of This Article!
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