MAX COVER

WE
LOVE
OUR
BODIES

Loving your body is not an easy thing to do for

everyone. Some people struggle with it their
entire lives! They bash themselves for having
"faws," for not being thin enough or muscled
enough. But the truth is, no one is perfect. And
why should anyone be? It's not real. Let's hear
from others about how they learned to love
themselves just as they are.

"I know I will never be petite. My body isn't made to

look that way nor do I want to put myself through
the torture of just eating broccoli and tilapia all day,"
said Heather Green, 28, of Minneapolis, Minnesota,
our cover model for this issue.
In college, Heather found herself gaining the freshman 20
and feeling utterly depressed with horrible anxiety and an
even worse body image. She was introduced to a workout
class for women who competed or liked the idea of
competing. She immediately signed up for her frst bikini
competition and placed third in that show. What she
he
learned? "Fitness was the missing link
nk in my life!" she said.
"My anxiety and depression vanished. I was so happy with
how I felt I wanted to help other women do the same, so
I turned it into my career!"
Heather started her company, The Peachy Lean Life,
and as a personal trainer helps people focus on making
themselves happy along with making positive lifestyle
changes.
These days, Heather focuses on what she knows she
is capable of looking like rather than trying to be perfect
or skinny. "I want to have an achievable look for women,
not an 'I could never look like that' look," she said. "I try to
reiterate that to my clients and help them set small goals that
will overall lead to a bigger one."
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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015

Photo by JamesPatrick.com

"For me, my struggle was wanting to be thin with absolutely

no curves. I struggled with binging and purging throughout
college, doing excessive cardio and never lifting weights. I
wanted to be what I thought everyone's idea of 'beautiful' was
a Victoria's Secret model, a runway model, someone with very
little muscularity. When I started lifting and competing, that all
changed. The more muscle I get, the stronger and sexier I feel.
I feel empowered, healthier and I've never felt more in charge of
the way I want to look and carry myself. Health and ftness have
transformed my lifestyle, my mindset and my mission."

Photo by JamesPatrick.com

Briana Sullivan, 24, Scottsdale, AZ

"If we are made in God's

image, how can we have
faws? Is that because society
says we do? Is society higher
than our Creator? ... Accept
yourself right now this
instant if you haven't already.
Don't wait until you die. If you
wait, you die now. If you love,
you live now. Start living now."
Photo by Frank Fontanilla

Chris Hughes, 32,

Fullerton, CA

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015

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21

It took me a
long time to
get where I am
at today. I am
happy now.
It took lots of
positive self
talk, a lot of
diferent coping
tools, and a
ton of patient
mentors who
have guided
me in my path.
To be honest, it
had to take me
to get to a very
dark bottom in
order for me to
see the light.
Photo by JamesPatrick.com

"My whole life I had been incredibly

skinny, and as we all know, children
can be brutal when it comes to 'not
normal' body types. In middle school,
I got picked on by a group of kids
I didn't hang out with. They made
comments about my body type and
said I didn't eat. One time, I tried to
stand up for myself, but they began to
throw tomatoes and other food at me
letting me know that I needed to eat.
The bullying and body shaming
didn't stop there. In high school, I
attended a local modeling school
(which was also a manners and cultural
school). Still thin, I soon discovered I
continued to be the target of ridicule
from more 'popular' girls. People would
hand me bulimia books and tell me I
wasn't pretty enough to model. Some
scolded me for how 'ugly' I was.
When I later signed with a modeling
agency, I was told I was holding too
much fat in my face. And that is when
I began to binge and purge my food.
I was trying to please both types of
people who were unsatisfed with my
body type. After a scary trip to the
hospital, I realized this isn't how I
wanted to live my life.
It took me a long time to get where
I am at today. I am happy now. It
took lots of positive self talk, a lot of
different coping tools, and a ton of
patient mentors who have guided me
in my path. To be honest, it had to
take me to get to a very dark bottom
in order for me to see the light.
Being in the ftness industry
has helped me maintain a healthy
perspective on my eating habits as well
as heathy amounts of time to work
out. I am also a coach at a gym and
I make sure to make everyone feel
welcomed at my classes. When a client
brings up how uncomfortable they are
with their body type or express any
form of body issue, I immediately offer
advice and what I have gone through.
Mostly, I give a message about no
matter what issue you may have about
your body, it's growing to love your self
that matters."

Evina Luna, 31,

Northridge, CA

"Te more I started going to the gym,

the more comfortable I got and the
more I noticed my body composition
changing more muscle, less fat, and
way more energy. It was great! I
stopped paying attention to the 'ideal
women' they show in magazines who
are very skinny and do not presumably
have much muscle mass and wanted to
only compare myself to me. I wanted to
be the best version of
myself. Since I can
never be anyone else,
why would I waste
my time comparing
myself to someone
or something I can
never actually be? Once I changed my
mindset, the rest was history!"

Lisa Becks, 29, Gainesville, FL

Photo by Adept Studios

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015

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23

DAVID CALHOUN

Pho

to b

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Cad

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INGRI DEGROOTE

ARPANA PRASAD

DEB PROSSER

DON DONA

For more information or to find the store nearest you, visit us online at

maxmuscle.com

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015

I'm a mother of two and

after gaining 200 pounds,
being on cholesterol and
blood pressure meds, and
having doctors say I would
never get off of them, I
knew I wanted to make
a change. After three
months of continuous
workouts with trainer
Kyle Ewert and nutrition
help from Max Muscle
Manassas, VA, I was able
to start losing weight. I
am now 129 and off all
my medication.
I love the way my
body looks now. I love
my tattoos; they are me
and shaped to fow with
my body. They are my
reminders of how far I
have come to make sure I
never go back.

Roseanna Fair,
44, Fairfax, VA