Rachel Auer Tried Flexible Dieting And Slimmed Down

Following a good example, Rachel Auer’s unhealthy teen habits gave her a body she wasn’t proud of. With her mom’s guidance and a commitment to flexible dieting, she slimmed down and packed on muscle.

A-ha moment

I was standing in a fitting room in Target. Summer was coming; I was trying on bathing suits and I just remember being swept up in feelings of embarrassment. I was embarrassed about the way I looked and couldn’t imagine myself hanging around friends and feeling so insecure.

Starting small

My mom, a fitness instructor, suggested I try running and changing up my diet. The first time I ran, I maybe made it a quarter of a mile. I was discouraged but mom told me it didn’t come naturally, and took patience. In a few days, I was able to go half a mile. Soon after that, I could run a full mile. Once I got up to around four miles, it got really easy to run further every time. Before I knew it, I was running 10, 11 miles. After five months, I ran my first half-marathon. A year after that, I ran my first full – 26.2 miles at the Detroit Free Press Marathon.

Lifting the expectations

My mom has always been into lifting weights and I looked to her as a role model. I also wasn’t satisfied anymore when I was looking in the mirror. Running got me down to my lowest weight, 125 pounds. I was skinny, but I wanted to look fit and strong. That’s when I found Bodybuilding.com. I would go into the index for each muscle group, pick out a few exercises each day, and arrange them in a circuit.

My diet

Meal 1: 3 tbsp cream of wheat, 4 egg whites, ½ scoop protein powder, 1 shredded zucchini, 2 slices turkey bacon
Meal 2: Protein shake
Meal 3: 4oz chicken, 1 container yoghurt, 1 cup broccoli
Meal 4: Protein shake, 4 egg whites, 2tbsp peanut butter
Meal 5: 6oz ground turkey, 1 cup peas, 1 slice whole wheat bread
Meal 6: 1 cup Greek Yogurt, ½ scoop protein powder, unlimited fruit

The toughest part

The most challenging aspect was what others had to say about my habits, especially during my marathon training. No one understood why I would go to bed every Friday night at 8pm to wake up and run at 4am. It can be difficult to keep going when even your closest friends talk negatively about your disciplined habits. I often got mocked for turning down “normal” teenager activities like going out and eating junk.

Staying the course

What kept me on track was seeing how far I had come. Looking back and remembering that I used to struggle to run half a mile kept me pumped for my 20-mile runs. I felt like I had finally found something that made me happy and that I was really good at. I thought about how far I could go. At that point, it didn’t matter what anyone else thought.

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