Growing up in a small, rural community in Nova Scotia, I was a pretty active kid. I played a variety sports – from dance to soccer, to basketball and figure skating; I basically did it all. I owe most of that to my parents for allowing my sister and I to pursue whatever we wanted to. I played a different sport every season from the time I could walk, up until I went off to university at the age of 17. For me at that time, being active and healthy wasn’t something I ever had to really think about. I just loved sports. I loved the competition, the physical activity, and the pride I felt working with a team. Now, I should clarify, by no means was I a star athlete. I was very much the best assist there ever was on senior high soccer team for a school of less than 400 people (400 people spanning grade 7 to 12, might I add). I didn’t score all the goals, but boy, could I ever set my teammates up to be successful. I think back to my high school and junior high days and I felt carefree. Fitness was not something I thought of on a daily basis. I was not consumed by mainstream media telling me to look a certain way or eat a certain way. I exercised because I loved it. I did it without thinking and felt fulfilled and challenged at the same time.
Fast forward to heading off to University in 2012. I was arguably at my healthiest and “most fit” at that time. I was never a “skinny” girl; I had thick thighs and broader shoulders but was never considered to be overweight. That soon changed when my lifestyle changed. University posed new challenges and stresses that I had not experienced before. I was doing my undergrad at Acadia University in Kinesiology – a health science. I, ironically, began the 4 unhealthiest years of my life.
I fell into the typical University student lifestyle. Drinking on weekends, late night pizza and little to no exercise was my reality for my time there. I remember many occasions I would sleep in until noon or later and miss all my classes. I do not know how I managed to pass! I thank my university professors for pushing me through that degree. This lifestyle made me feel like absolute garbage and I fell deeper and deeper into a hole that I could not climb out of. I ended up gaining over 60lbs, weighing at my heaviest around 205-210lbs. I inevitably fell into a depression and developed a lot of anxiety over doing everyday tasks. At one brief point I was even medicated for my anxiety and depression in 2014. Going out into public became a very daunting task and I became a very angry and easily set off individual. I really did not have high hopes for my future. My marks suffered from missing so many classes and my plans for a future in health and fitness felt so far away because I felt like a hypocrite. Personal and family issues drove me deeper into darkness. A once healthy, outgoing and enthusiastic young woman, I became a person I did not recognize in the mirror. I felt as though the “old Sarah” was gone and replaced with this anxious, unmotivated and cranky Sarah who really needed some bravery to make a change.
I graduated from university in May of 2016 and moved to Prince Edward Island with my boyfriend Grant. I had landed a job at the new Goodlife Fitness that was opening in Charlottetown as a Fitness Advisor. I was excited for a fresh start, but also terrified that I would be working in a gym and promoting health and fitness, when I felt as though I was the opposite. Looking back, it ended up being exactly what I needed to kick start my fitness journey. I met some really amazing people who went from co-workers to friends, encouraging me and motivating me to become a better version of myself. They taught me a lot about nutrition and exercise that I had no idea about. In the fall of 2016, with a lot of support and encouragement, I hired a personal trainer at the gym and a nutrition coach, and set the goal of stepping on stage April 2017 in a fitness competition. I knew I needed to lose weight, and I knew it would not happen if I did not attach a big, scary goal to it. So I did just that.
The 4 months that followed were full of hard work, dedication and sacrifice. I learned what true struggle really was and how to push through the hard times to become triumphant in adversity. I stepped on stage April 01st, 2017 down 50lbs and full of pride. I came dead last but I was a winner for choosing health, happiness and putting myself first. What was most unexpected from that entire journey was that I fell in love with it all. I loved the process, seeing my body change and realizing what I could accomplish. I loved the competition, I felt like I was back in my high school days with the thrill of a nail biting soccer match, or sprinting around a track. I felt like my “old self” again. I felt inspired and motivated and like I had purpose. I felt like a child again when I used to dream big dreams and imagine all that I could become. I then realized that this was a feeling that I wanted to feel forever.
After this competition, it was like a light switched on in the brain. The same light that switched out of a depression and turned to health and fitness, switched again to passion, motivation and a purpose. I somehow made the leap and followed a gut instinct to go back to school and pursue a care in Paramedicine while continuing to better myself and really push myself with my fitness goals. I started back to school in September 2017, more motivated and proud than ever before. I made school the priority but health was not far behind. I was up every morning at 4am heading to the gym and studying every evening. I achieved top marks and placed second in my second fitness competition in December of 2017. My second semester of school showed to be more challenging but I continued on, and competed for a third time this past May. This time, I did not place how I would have liked, but I learnt a great deal that will be brought to the stage with me again in 2019.
Right now, I feel like the world is my oyster. My plans are to finish school this year and become a Primary Care Paramedic after writing my licensing exam in August of 2019. In terms of fitness, I have my sights set on a national stage and hope to compete again Spring 2019. I would also like to get into some coaching on the side. I believe that I have the skills to be a great coach but I want to make sure that I am 100% ready to take on that responsibility. I have had a lot of girls message me expressing interest in coaching and wanting some help to reach their fitness goals. I am flattered that people look to me for help and I really want to be able to provide a service where anyone can feel comfortable and confident with their body and learn to make fitness a lifestyle. I want people to feel the same way that I do now and realize that they really can accomplish anything that they dream of.
I often think about what my legacy will be. What will I leave behind in this world that will impact people for decades and really make a difference? Health and helping others are passions of mine and I am working to find a way to mesh everything that I love doing. I know that I love Paramedicine and that hands on side of health and emergency medicine. I also know that I love having the opportunity to influence others and work on health promotion and disease prevention. I feel that someday in the future I will be able to intertwine the two in a unique way to really find my purpose and my “why.” For now, I am making small steps everyday to get to where I want to be. I am totally embracing the blessings and opportunities I have been given to live a fit and healthy life, for now, and for the days to come.
By sharing my fitness story, I want people to realize that they really can accomplish anything they wish – “the body achieves what the mind believes.” I have learned through determination and sacrifice that the sky is the limit to what I can become; the same goes for you. If I can go from drinking every weekend and living off candy and pizza, to 4am workouts and a balanced and flexible diet, then you certainly can too!
Side note, I would not be where I am today without my loving friends and family who encouraged me and continue to support me on my journey. I don’t think I’ve given them enough credit for their role in my story. Here are a few who have played a monumental role in my health and happiness: my loving boyfriend/best friend Grant, sister Kate, mom and dad, my inspiring cousin Andrea, Grant’s amazing mom Cathy, my Goodlife “second family” Ashley, Kendra, Jess P, Jess S, Jenna and Jil, the many friends I have made through competing such as my dear friend Brittany who knows all my struggles, all of my classmates, high school friends – Gabby, Aneesa, Madisen, Adrienne, and many more who have been following along with my journey and always send along words of encouragement and love.
Sarah Tibbetts, Fitness Enthusiast
Any individuals in sports and fitness who would like to share their voice, please submit to hank@hankfittraining.com