{"id":15,"date":"2025-09-18T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/?p=15"},"modified":"2025-09-20T03:14:28","modified_gmt":"2025-09-20T10:14:28","slug":"%f0%9f%8f%8b%ef%b8%8f%e2%99%80%ef%b8%8f-from-buffet-girl-to-barbell-babe-my-workout-origin-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/?p=15","title":{"rendered":"\ud83c\udfcb\ufe0f\u200d\u2640\ufe0f From Buffet Girl to Barbell Babe: My Workout Origin Story"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love to work out. But don\u2019t get it twisted \u2014 it didn\u2019t start with me waking up one morning like, \u201cYes, let me become a fitness queen.\u201d No, it started with a tiny comment in 3rd grade that hit me harder than a dodgeball to the face. My mom \u2014 sweet, innocent, kimchi-powered mom \u2014 said I was \u201ca little overweight.\u201d Not mean, just matter-of-fact. But to an 8-year-old, that\u2019s like dropping a Beyonc\u00e9-level mic on my self-esteem. That one comment sent me spiraling into insecurity faster than you can say \u201cextra small.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My family loved buffets. We weren\u2019t rolling in money, so our version of a \u201cfancy\u201d dinner was Red Lobster on my birthday. I\u2019d get excited about biscuits while my dad complained about prices like he was negotiating a hostage situation. Dad was from Vermont, right next to Maine where lobsters are as cheap as gas station coffee, and my mom was the Korean version of a Jewish grandma \u2014 always counting every penny. So when that bill hit the table, it was like someone had announced, \u201cSurprise! You\u2019re paying for everyone else\u2019s dinner too!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But while my parents were piling their plates like it was the Last Supper, I was over there with one sad little plate of salad \u2014 iceberg lettuce and shame \u2014 trying to stay invisible. My dad would whisper, \u201cPeople are staring because you\u2019re not eating,\u201d but really they were staring because who goes to a buffet and eats rabbit food?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fast-forward to high school. I\u2019m 5\u20195\u201d and 98 pounds. I didn\u2019t want to cross the 100-pound line because, in my mind, 100 pounds meant \u201cBig Bertha\u201d status. People kept saying, \u201cYou\u2019re too thin,\u201d \u201cYou can see your ribs,\u201d \u201cAre you auditioning for a biology textbook?\u201d One day I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and, y\u2019all, I looked like a praying mantis in a Forever 21 clearance rack. Big bug eyes, Christian guilt, and bones sticking out like I was smuggling coat hangers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was my first real wake-up call. I was tired, weak, couldn\u2019t concentrate in class. Jesus Himself probably looked down like, \u201cHoney, this is not the glow-up I planned for you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I made a deal with myself: eat what you want, but work it off. Simple math, right? Except it\u2019s actually life-changing math. That day I went from counting calories to counting reps. From running away from food to running toward the weight rack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Was it easy? No. Did I feel like the new girl at gym class who doesn\u2019t know which machine does what? Absolutely. But each time I worked out, it was like reclaiming a little piece of my confidence back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking back, it could have gotten way darker. Eating disorders don\u2019t come with warning labels or soft landings. But I believe God stepped in like, \u201cSweetheart, let\u2019s rewrite this story before you crash.\u201d And thank God He did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, every time I pick up a dumbbell or hit the treadmill, I\u2019m not punishing myself for what I ate. I\u2019m celebrating that my body works, that I\u2019m still here, and that I\u2019m strong enough \u2014 inside and out \u2014 to own my story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Love me or love to hate me, either way you are consider my lover. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus loves you and so do I. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I love to work out. But don\u2019t get it twisted \u2014 it didn\u2019t start with me waking up one morning like, \u201cYes, let me become a fitness queen.\u201d No, it started with a tiny comment in 3rd grade that hit me harder than a dodgeball to the face. My mom \u2014 sweet, innocent, kimchi-powered mom \u2014 said I was \u201ca little overweight.\u201d Not mean, just matter-of-fact. But to an 8-year-old, that\u2019s like dropping a Beyonc\u00e9-level mic on my self-esteem. That one comment sent me spiraling into insecurity faster than you can say \u201cextra small.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":16,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[15],"class_list":["post-15","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life-style","tag-latest"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}