When Rachel Habegger made the decision to lose weight by starting an online fitness campaign, she didn’t realize she would be doing it with the added stress of a serious medical diagnosis, debilitating headaches, and a spinal tap. Some people might’ve used the circumstance as an excuse (a valid one) to push back the start of a new rigorous exercise routine but Rachel didn’t. Once she made the commitment to herself, as well as the online trainer, she fought through the pain and forged ahead, eventually losing 85 pounds.
As a former cross country and long distance runner, Rachel had once been fit and healthy, but after the birth of her first child, Rachel failed to lose the additional weight, then gained more with her second, and her third. Eventually, Rachel stopped running on the pavement altogether, but she was still running away from something in her past. “I was an emotional eater,” she said, “and also trying to hide behind my weight as a sexual assault survivor.”
(more…)
