Quest for Fit

Guest contributor Emily Rannebarger on her newfound love and passion for being and feeling fit and healthy… She’s a great friend of mine and I’m going to do my best to get her to chronicle her new successes with fitness and health on the blog.. She’s inspired me, as she is beautiful, both inside and out…

Quest for Fit

My love for working out began at age 16; I credit this to Cindy Crawford and her fitness trainer at the time, Radu. I wanted to lose weight and had no idea how to do it, except to starve myself and watch and do fitness videos. Soon, these means got old and I knew deep down I wanted to take my body to the next level. “Get Fit” in Arlington, TX would be the first of many gyms I would belong to, in my quest for “fit”.

I have worked with some amazing trainers over the years, and have had some great results with the genes that I inherited. I have always had to work for it. I could never eat fries, and do an hour of cardio, and fit into my jeans. In my teens, I was obsessed with working out and doing cardio.

When I moved into my 20’s, I starting working at gyms and really moving into the gym “lifestyle”. I made myself readily available to those who wanted to lift and train in a serious manner. My trainer Mike, really got me into lifting; you know, the kind that makes you cry after a workout! I couldn’t get enough! I would scrimp and save all of my extra money so I could train with him. He kicked my butt (literally) twice a week for years. My body was amazing; the diet was grueling, and the workouts were devastatingly hard. I loved this man for it – I would have married him, just be trained daily! He took no crap from me, and pushed me in a way that no one ever has to get the results he knew my body was capable of.

As time moved on, mid-20’s were knocking, and I moved to Valley Ranch, where I met and worked with some wonderful people. My passion was there, but was starting to dwindle. I needed Mike, but he was nowhere to be found. At “The Ranch”, I trained with some great trainers with wonderful expertise. I never found the connection I had with Mike with any of them. I had to muster up my own dedication to the lifestyle and push myself. That is where my love affair with running began (thanks to friends Patty and Kelli), and I met Tracy, who was just starting her love of fitness. My time ended there, and I moved to Fort Worth, with no gym in site. Things started to change for me.

My body was not responding to workouts like it used to, and I had a laundry list of ailments to boot. I was diagnosed with PCOS. One effect of this is gaining weight. You become insulin resistant, get fat, and in general, don’t feel too great. I will assure you, none of these things are comfortable or attractive. For a while, I just gave up. I was working out at home and running, but had no commitment or love for the gym anymore. I was discouraged with this disease, and had no hope of a beautiful body again. I gave up chicken and rice to become a vegan, to help limit calories. I was not happy with my body or myself for losing my dedication to the gym.

My husband and I don’t have the same style of workouts, and frankly he isn’t familiar with the fitness fanatic I used to be. In my quest to find who I am in my 30’s and how to be happy with what God gave me, I found this blog! Who knew that the newbie to The Ranch, would fall so deeply in love with working out and fitness. Her blog has turned a light on in me, finally, someone who understands workouts are tough, and fitness is a way of life! Thank you, Tracy! You are a blessing to me and my waist line!

-Emily Rannebarger