Name: Cassandra (Cassie) Smith
Age: 28
Occupation: Full time mum & professional network marketer
Starting weight: 98kgs
Current weight: 69kgs
What prompted you to start your fitness journey, was there a particular moment or realisation?
I was always a healthy girl, I always watched my figure and was active regularly it was mostly jogs of an evening. Then came June 12th 2011, the day that would inevitably change my life forever. I found myself at the bedside of my then boyfriend of two years who had been in a very serious car accident. He was on life support and was given a 50/50 percent chance to live. My whole body was in shock and then came the 13th of June 2011, the day that is a hard one to get through every single year since. It was the day the doctors told us we needed to turn off his life support as he was completely gone. This is when I broke, my heart, my head, my life. I felt at 21 my life was over, that I had lost the love of my life and had absolutely no direction I honestly didn’t know how I was meant to move forward.
It was roughly two weeks after his funeral I found myself in his bathroom at his family home holding a positive pregnancy test. Once again I broke, my heart, my head I was completely overwhelmed, I mean my boyfriend just died and here I am left here pregnant alone and with a million empty thoughts rushing through my head of having to raise this baby alone. My pregnancy was beyond tough, I had dark deep depression, I was very suicidal I honestly didn’t want to live . Food had become my go too, I ate and ate and ate to somehow comfort myself to try and fill the void in my head and heart. Obviously it only added to my sad state I gained 40kgs in nine months it’s safe to say I used the excess ‘eating for two’ at every meal. I didn’t even recognise the girl in the mirror!
It wasn’t until I had finished breastfeeding my daughter and she was almost two that I had an epiphany that the life I was living wasn’t a positive one; the sad state I was functioning from wasn’t me, the reflection in the mirror wasn’t me I was just starting to realise I needed to look after me & be the best me for those around me, especially my daughter.
I remember I had a serious chat with my older sister and she is a straight talker someone you need in life to just cut the crap for a minute. She said listen let’s do this let’s take control of our lives let’s get healthy etc.
It took me a few months after that phone call and those moments of realisation to finally commit to myself and my goal of getting the old Cas back and making her even better. I finally started my journey to health.
What was the first change you made to your lifestyle?
My first change would have to be all in my mind I had to believe i could achieve my goals. MINDSET is everything! I teach women about this daily!
What other changes did you initially make to your eating habits?
I starting using a system and made sure if I was going to be paying for this system of health monthly and making delicious meal prep daily that I needed to be strict and my eating habits and old mindset of ‘treat yourself’ needed to stop!
What other changes did you initially make to your exercise habits?
When I started my journey back to health I was all about my intake and not so much exercise, although daily I thought the least I could do was a walk. So I put all my excuses aside and I would remind myself of my new mindset and my WHY – why I was doing this, and that was, to be the best version of myself for my family, friends and especially my daughter. So I started super minimal training and as my weight started to drop I started at a gym doing what I wanted and what I felt most comfortable with which was mostly weight training and the stair master.
How did your weight loss/fitness progress?
Most of my weight melted away by my forth month of working hard by this time I was down roughly 20kgs and I knew I had the goods, I knew I could do it and I knew I was closer to my WHY. I just had to keep my mindset in check with my goals. As I previously stated for me it was mostly what I was consuming that helped with my weight loss as it was minimal exercise for about a year until I was comfortable to attend a gym.
What changes made the most difference?
Sounds crazy but in the beginning I would run past my mirror to shower every night and I had a towel over the side of my shower to hide from the mirror as I showered I was so ashamed of the weight I had put on during pregnancy and I was upset at the way I looked. So for me it was being content with what I saw in the mirror at every stage of my journey! I mean you have crappy days but you are always progressing! And progress is what you are always looking for!
How did you feel during the process?
For me personally after all I had been through I had something else to focus my time and energy into and it was me! I was able to start helping some friends and family on their journies too which was so humbling that they trusted me to be part of their journeys too! I was starting to feel happy about life and actually starting to create some fun, abundance and direction again after such a dark time.
What helped to keep you motivated?
My own success is truly what motivated me!
Do you have any favourite motivational quotes?
These are my two all time favourite quotes:
“We cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are.” – Max De Pree
“what you think about you bring about” – Lisa Nichols
What are your current short and long term goals?
Short term goal is to get abs! I’ve never had them and I would love to train and push my body to see what I can achieve. Our bodies are the most incredible vessels and I just love my body it’s been through so much so that excites me.
Long term: continue to help women around the world remember their worth, value and place in this world and remind them that whatever it is they go through if they simply change the way they think about their situation they can completely change their life!
I also want to continue my healthy lifestyle and inspire others to embark on their own with me! I love helping people. I like to call my journey a lifestyle not a diet as a diet has and end date and I never want to end my lifestyle I feel to good and I know it will get even better!
What would a day on a plate look like for you now?
A day in the life of Cas….waking at 7am reading through some emails to help other women smash some personal physical goals. 7:30am getting my daughter up for school the whole school routine & dropped to school by 8:30am. Then I have until 3pm to enjoy some me time I love outdoor cardio so I love looking for new tracks to get a jog in or I do outdoor stairs right near me. After my cardio I head home jump on some calls for my business and inspire some more women. 3-4pm school pick up and park plays and home to make dinner have time with my daughter and get to bed to then go again the next day! This is a Monday – Friday we love spontaneous adventures on the weekends as well as church on Sunday!
What is your current exercise routine?
As above outdoor cardio is my absolute favourite thing ever! I feel like at different stages of your journey you will find something that works for you that you love, I loved the gym at one stage of my journey now it’s everything and anything to do outdoors just me and nature and some good music!! I also love home work outs I do 100 squats a day 50 sit ups a day and I have fallen back in love with a skipping rope!
What achievement are you most proud of?
I’m most proud of the woman that I am today, the woman I created and worked so hard to become, through everything I have endured I am humbled to wake up every single day, as every single day is an opportunity and you honestly don’t know how blessed you are to wake up every single day! I’m so proud of the strong single mummy I am and that I am a influence and a role model to my beautiful little girl.
What advice would you give to others wanting to do the same?
My advice to anyone wanting to start their own journey would be do it! but figure out why you want to do it, make that why something that makes you cry (happy cry) when you think about achieving. Make it something so big that it scares you but excites you at the same time. And once you have that goal/why go and show yourself you can smash it. You’ve got this and I’ve got you!
If you have a story you’d like to share, email us at [email protected]
Source: Read Full Article