daniellemacher-blog

[daniellemacher-blog]

Renaissance Periodization...saved my life?

This title might be moderately dramatic.  But is it really?  I was going downhill fast, and I don’t mean just aesthetically.  Mentally and emotionally too.  I can truly say that RP has gotten me to the happiness that I feel every day, whether its in the gym, when I look in the mirror, or when I go to sleep at night.  So since I am a first time blogger I should start from the beginning. Ill give you the condensed journey, I tore my labrum and bicep in my left arm in 2014.  It left me unable to move for several months after a pretty invasive reattachment surgery.  I was in a sling for 3 months and was unable to move pain free for about 9 months.  I was coaching full time and driving 2 hours to Springfield and back 3 days a week for physical therapy.  Between all the driving, and coaching full time I became depressed.  I couldn’t do what I loved more than anything but my life revolved around it more than ever.  I quickly turned to food (and shopping) to fill the void.  Austin and I could go to our favorite Mexican restaurant in between classes for lunch in about 23 mins, in and out and it happened all too often.  It wasn’t too long that my size 6 lulus were traded in for 8s, and by the time I was out of a sling I was up to a size 10.  I had easily put on 30 lbs and I didn’t care, or really even notice for several more months.  All I noticed was how unhappy I was, struggling to put forth effort into my gym, struggling to put any effort into my relationship, and I was eating cookie dough and Mexican for more meals than not.  Its sad to admit that I never realized it, but all I could do was feel sorry for myself.  Looking back I am disgusted with the way I acted about something so insignificant, but it ended up being just the life lesson I needed and I am so grateful now.  It wasn’t until I started working out again that I realized just how far I had let myself go.  I followed tons of beautiful girls in the Crossfit and Weightlifting world that weighed way less than me, out-lifting me by insane amounts, I knew I needed to change, I was sick of letting myself down. In July 2015 we ended up selling the gym and moving to KC. I won’t get into that now, but this was right around the time I discovered RP Strength.  I started following more full time weightlifters on social media, with their amazing abs and crazy strength attributing it all to this macronutrient tracking diet plan called Renaissance Periodization.  I started researching, and by Christmas time I was begging Austin to get them for me as a present.  I saw all these crazy transformations and I wanted to be one too.  I was ready.  I was unhappy with myself, I was in love with weightlifting but couldn’t fathom ever having to “weigh in” let alone wear a singlet. How could I be passionate about a sport I knew I’d never compete in?  I found RP and I knew it was for me.  Austin bought me the templates on Christmas.  I started the next day.  It took hours of math and second guessing my meals before I was confident that I was doing it right.  I spent my free time looking at transformations, reading every single ebook, Facebook post, and soaking up as much knowledge I could.  I immediately noticed a difference in my performance, my body, and most importantly, my mental health.  I was instantly leaning out, and I was falling MADLY in love with the process.  I was immediately happier.  Austin can attest to that.  Something changed in me. It lit a fire under me to become better than I ever could have thought, and I don’t just mean in the fitness world. I was motivated to give myself the life I always wanted.   I had exactly 10 weeks from the day I started until the day we left for a cruise through the Caribbean.  I never had a cheat, or over ate my macros.  I followed the plan 100% the entire time. My shoulder felt amazing, I was sleeping better, I had more energy and passion for life.  The results were amazing. To say I was surprised with myself was an understatement… I went from a whopping 160 to 134 in those 10 weeks.  I Pr’d every lift in the book, got faster every day, and lost over 10% body fat. The weight loss was cool, but what I gained was so much more important. I went on that vacation feeling BEAUTIFUL. Self love is hands down the most glorious thing I have ever experienced, and after discovering how I feel following RP and the way it influences my every day life I can never imagine doing something else.  I cannot thank RP for all the things they taught me, aside from how to eat. Abs are not the most important thing in the world. At all.( (thankfully because I’m not there yet). But self love is. Learning how to be comfortable in my skin was everything I never knew I needed to discover.   Although my weight loss journey is far from over, (I still want abs better than Austin)  I wanted to share it in hopes to inspire someone out there who doesn’t believe in themselves the way I once didn’t.  I wish I would have started this blog a LONG time ago, but I figured now was better than never.  I will continue to share my experiences while on RP Strength as well as my tips and tricks to stay sane.  Although it is most definitely worth it, it is not always easy. So please feel free to reach out and ask any questions about the diet, my experience, or anything else you can think of, as I know I had several questions when starting as well. In the meantime, Look for my next post about my road to winning my very first weightlifting meet, and my attempt to qualify for Weightlifting Nationals in May 2017.  Thanks for reading my absurdly long sappy rant. Now its  time to count down the minutes until the 17.2 reveal tonight. Much love, guys  :)

[daniellemacher-blog]

Welcome to my little blog :)

Hi friends,

Welcome to my life. My journey with food, recovering from an injury, and becoming the best version of myself.  I’m not going to lie, this is immensely out of my comfort zone, but I know for me it only took reading one post on Instagram for me to decide to change my life in a positive way. All I hope for is that I can inspire someone out there, the way that many have done for me.  So brace yourselves for run on sentences, and tons of typos in the near future, because I cannot wait to get started.  With this blog I plan to share my RP Strength journey, my recovery from a labrum/bicep reattachment, and my journey through the CrossFit and Weightlifting world. I will post tons of food tips and hacks, my grocery lists, recipes, exercises that helped my recovery, and all the PR’s I encounter inside and outside the gym along the way.  Here’s to becoming better and stronger, together! Thanks for reading!

[daniellemacher-blog]

By doing what you love, you inspire & awaken the hearts of others

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