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  • Writer's pictureEmily Makselan

Get to Know Me!

Although I was an athlete from an early age, I had a horribly unhealthy relationship with food.  Like many, my bad relationship with food likely stemmed from my poor body image.  I was just a teenager.  I was swimming and exercising 5-6 hours a day, yet I was likely only consuming around 800 calories daily.  I had a misconception that eating less would result in the image I wanted.  No one ever educated me on how food works as a fuel, or how I could have been eating to perform at my best.  I swam at an elite level, and still wonder to this day what I might have been able to accomplish had I have known then what I now... how to properly fuel my body.


After I stopped swimming my relationship with food didn't get any better, actually it got worse.  I developed more unhealthy habits because I still struggled with body image issues.  I began binge eating.   I gained a bunch of weight as a result of this and my lack of exercise.  For the next 14 years I ate like crap, and never once set foot inside a gym.


When I was 30 I met my now husband.  He takes great care of himself and has always looked amazing.  I knew I had to change something, if not for me, for him.  He motivated me to take better care of myself and showed me how to make that a priority.  After we got engaged we re-located from Chicago to Tucson, Arizona.  My husband wound up struggling to lock down a job here, which turned out to be a blessing.  He wound up switching career paths and working at a CrossFit gym.


Like many, I was scared to try CrossFit at first because I was so out of shape.   It took me about a year to finally overcome my fear and step foot in his gym... I showed up every single day after that.  I was hooked and in love after the first day.  The changes to my body were immediate, but not necessarily for the better.  The exact same day I started CrossFit I also switched careers.  I went from a completely sedentary lifestyle to working on my feet 8 hours a day, plus working out every night.  Despite all the lifestyle changes, I hand't changed anything about my diet and gained a ton of weight as a result.  In my first 6 months of CrossFit I had gained almost 30 pounds.  I was the heaviest I had ever been.  Yet, something amazing had happened... I didn't hate my body.  I loved it actually.  CrossFit had helped me see myself for more than the image in the mirror or number on the scale, and instead for what it was capable of.   I was blown away by things I was able to accomplish inside the gym.  In just 6 months I had gone from not even being able to properly execute an air squat, to being able to clean 130 pounds.  I was so proud of myself.  And as a result, I had learned to finally love myself.


I CrossFitted for over a year before I finally decided to change anything about my diet.  A year and a half into CrossFit I attended the CrossFit Games in Carson, CA with my husband and some friends.  I was blown away by all the bodies, not just the athletes, but the spectators as well.  The day I got home I signed up downloaded the MyFitnessPal App and started tracking my macros.  I never looked back.  I started reading more and more about nutrition and macros.  I set my own and coached myself on my nutrition journey.  I used myself and my husband as guinea pigs to find out what worked and what didn't.


Within 6 months of when I started tracking I lost over 30 pounds.  I went from 21% body fat to 12.4%.  For the first time in my entire life I had a six-pack.  I was mesmerized by all the changes to my body, in part because of how easy it was.  I couldn't believe I hadn't done this sooner.


Since then I have dedicated most of my life and time to pursuing more knowledge and education with nutrition in hopes of helping others learn to love and take care of their bodies like I had.  These days when I'm not sitting behind a screen helping you with your nutrition, I can usually be found in the gym working on my own fitness.  I do CrossFit 5 times per week, and I also compete in CrossFit, and once in a while in Olympic Weightlifting.  Outside of the gym I also love to hike and travel.  I love exploring unknown places, whether on a hike, or through travel.  My favorite part of traveling is getting to taste new foods and experience other cultures.  I currently live in Tucson, Arizona with my husband and our 2 dogs, and cat.  My husband is the owner of CrossFit 520, where I help him out just for fun from time to time.


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