It
was July 14, 2001 and there I stood alone in the spotlight, arms raised
in triumph, tears welling up in my eyes. Who would have imagined that
I-just a year and a half earlier a horribly depressed, size 24, defeated
and demoralized by my own body--- would so soon stand gleaming, lean,
well-muscled, on a bodybuilding stage accepting the trophy as Colorado's
champion novice bodybuilder of the year?
By January of the year 2000----the dawn of a new year
and a new century---I, struggling to raise a young child and care for
a disabled husband, had forgotten about myself entirely. How does one
go from obese to a national bodybuilding champion? If you're saying,
"I have no idea," you have lots of company.
I routinely have to convince people that my "before" pictures
are really me---and that my outer self changed only after I transformed
my inner self. Since that first victory on a bodybuilding stage, there
have been many more bodybuilding shows, more acclaim, articles in local
newspapers and national magazines, even an appearance in a best-selling
fitness video and a show on Discovery Health. And now I, along with
my husband, own and run a burgeoning business that we have christened
Customized Physiques, LLC, teaching others the nuts-and-bolts of changing
their bodies and their lives. I have gone on to obtain the titles listed
below:
- 2003 Colorado State Women's Body-building Champ
- 2001 and 2002 5th Place Heavy-weight in NPC national
level Team Universe Champion-ships
