Blog post by Kayla C., Minibeast Support Team and Challenge Veteran since March 8, 2021
I remember my day one as if it were yesterday. On March 4, 2021 I decided I was going to embark on this insane journey that started March 8, 2021.
Before I get to my first day with the Minibeast challenge, I want to talk about what got me there. What made me say “enough”. What made me embark on this insane and amazing journey I never thought I’d be on.
As a mother of two girls, I remember after my oldest (now 10) was born, being in a very weird place. I had never had a weight problem. Never in my life, would I have imagined I’d get to where I was that started years and years of crash diets, yo yo diets, every single MLM in the book that promised weight loss and health. I remember so distinctly ordering copious amounts of these wrap things that promised a loss of inches instantly. I remember a time in my life where I drank 2 “nutrition” shakes a day, was low carb my 3rd meal (you know, because it’s been said Carbs are the devil) and once a week I would “cleanse” and not eat a single thing for 48 hours (besides this weird cleanse drink and these little wafer snack things to help with hunger pains).
What brought me to Minibeast was YEARS of desperation. Years of trying things that promised not only health, but financial freedom as well. But bashing MLMs is not the point of this blog. One night, scrolling Netflix, I saw this documentary that solidified the “carbs are the devil” mindset. I began eating so much bacon and drinking butter in my coffee and telling people how incredible this low carb, high fat, moderate protein diet was. I lost about 15 pounds. Then I got pregnant with my youngest (yes, Keto babies are a thing).
After my youngest daughter was born, I fell back into the old habits that I fell into with my oldest. Eating like a complete garbage truck, not moving my body, being completely miserable in my own skin. I had hit one of the lowest parts of my life. At one point I looked down at the scale. Reading the number 190 was like a complete slap in the face. I couldn’t believe I got to the weight I was. I ran back to something comfortable. Drinking butter in my coffee, eating so much bacon and cheese. I dropped 15 lbs and hit a plateau. I was back to my miserable self. Back to hating everything I saw. Everything I was.
In February, my husband showed me her. This 4’11” badass (can I say that, well, just did) of a woman who was offering this 8-week challenge beginning in March. SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY! I literally bought everything. The Minibeast Booty Bands, Resistance bands, the Minibeast 8-Week challenge and some dumbbells from Target. Lord knows with the lack of self-esteem I was rocking at that time, I was in no way, shape or form, walking into a gym. I was ready to do something, because what I’ve been doing wasn’t working.Â
I remember my first workout. Feeling like I was going to die. Feeling like my whole body was going to explode. Then waking up the next morning and doing it again, and again. I remember figuring out my macros. Now, not to go all “back in my day I walked uphill both ways to school in a blizzard” BUT, back then, we had the macro calculations and the workouts and that was it to get started. We had Carriejune’s support through the whole process AND I had the incredible opportunity to have multiple Challenge Veterans to lean on as “the new kid”. The advice and love I received from that first challenge was immeasurable. I felt like I could actually do this and it was because of them. I remember figuring out my macros. These numbers that some genius somewhere had to have figured out, because my lord, I still have no idea how everything is calculated. It felt like I was in a collegiate level calculus class. How in the world is over 100g of CARBS going to make me lose weight? Keto Kayla would NEVER! Then I looked back at the incredible challenge veterans and Carriejune’s physique. Were carbs REALLY that bad if these bodies were built by following these macros? Okay, fine, kicking and screaming, I'll give this my all for 8 weeks. I’ll eat all of these devil made carbs and see what happens. I’m invested for 8 weeks. If it doesn’t work, fine. It’s not like I hadn’t failed at a million things before. Here we go.
I remember taking my first progress pictures. Thinking there was no way on God green earth I would see any results. Boy was I WRONG. Everything was slimming down. Everything was tightening. Everything was moving in this crazy direction. And *GASP* while eating CARBS! Maybe carbs aren’t the devil after-all.
I was hooked. This was the first thing I’d ever done that I physically SAW change. I FELT amazing. I was exhausted. Sore. But I had energy for DAYS! This is wild. I did my next challenge, then the next, then the next. After my 2nd challenge I remember I started feeling confident enough to go into a gym space. I remember walking in and thinking “oh my gosh, what are these girls doing here, you look incredible, you’re done, go home and let this fatty (me) figure out how to move around”. Oh yeah, self-deprecation is kind of my thing. I’m working on that. Anyway, I hid in a room by myself. Grabbed a few dumbbells and there I was, in this room, alone, just me, my music and these dumbbells. But hey, I was there, right?
Slowly, every week, I would force myself to go out where the people that “know what they're doing” were. I would feel so silly carrying around my 5-10lb dumbbells while everyone else was lifting at least double that. But hey, I was out of the room and in the big kid area. Every week, little by little I started being more comfortable, I belonged there. One of my dear friends I “met” in the challenge, and our current Minibeast Challenge Nutritionist, Sam, used to tell me ALL THE TIME in the groups “you pay just as much as anyone else does, and 99.9% of those people have zero idea what they’re doing anyway, you’re allowed to take up space in the gym”. Still to this day, I have moments where I have to hear that in my head and realize that while the gym may be busy at times, I am 100% allowed to take up the space I need to get my workout in.Â
I remember when I won my first challenge. BOY HOWDY did that light a fire under my buns to want to keep going and striving for more! I started having friends and family members on two ends of the spectrum that no one was able to prepare me for. The comments began. Either positive or negative. From “You look incredible, what are you doing?” to “Don’t get too skinny! You should eat x, y, and z. You’re not fat, you’re healthy. It’s fine”. While both sides of the spectrum “mean well” can we talk about how much words hurt? When you’re beginning a new lifestyle of any kind, all you really want is your loved ones, the ones you respect, to support your life and love you through it. When you run into the negative, it really can reverse all of the positive. It’s such a weird enigma to deal with, not to mention the self destructive body dysmorphia! It’s hard to get through the fog of negativity and refocus on your own goals and achievements. If you’re reading this, as someone potentially considering starting a new fitness journey, I’m here to tell you, it’s not all puppies, kittens and rainbows. BUT IT’S WORTH IT!Â
Around the time I won my first challenge, my husband, you know, the guy that showed me the 4’11” baddie in the first place, began working out at the gym. He was hooked on feeling the endorphins and strength week after week. After a few months of lifting, he decided to try to get his nutrition on track to see if he could get better results. My husband and I began this crazy lifestyle together. We began weighing our food, tracking what we ate, and training. Training HARD. Let me tell you, finding fitness together has re-ignited our entire relationship. But that’s another topic for another day.
Two years ago, I said yes to myself, for the first time ever in my entire life. So often as moms, we do everything to put EVERYONE else first! If you made it this far and are looking for a sign to start, give yourself this yes. Put yourself first. It’s 8 weeks of your life, how many of you were like me and threw money at programs and products that truthfully didn’t work.
 What is the cost of NOT doing something for your health?