Deidra Mangus

As I am going through my journey as an NPC competitor, I am finally ready to come out and share my journey struggles in hope to help a few people!

There are so many people out there who struggle with emotional eating and binge eating, but not many fitness coaches who admit that they struggle themselves.  As scary as it is for me to come out and talk about my struggles, I feel it is necessary so people realize that they are not alone with this struggle and it is totally possible to reach your goals!

I am 10 days out from my second NPC Figure Competition and no where near where I was for my first show.  I am about 4 weeks behind where I should be, BUT that is not going to stop me from finishing and doing this show.  I am not going out there to take 1st this time, but I am proud to push through for more experience and keep practicing to improve for my next show! 

So here I go.  For the past 10 years, I have struggled majorly with emotional eating and binge eating.  Literally every emotion I have, I eat.  Not just snacking, like binging to the point that I cant breathe because my stomach is so full and extended.  I have struggled a lot and as I go to counseling and talk about it, I have found that my past has a lot to do with it.  Some things I went through that I could not control, I feel like this is something I went to when I didn’t have that control.  It has continued on since then. And you know what?  I am ok to talk about this, because once we find WHY we do this, we can pray about it and ask God to help us get through these situations and find other things to pre occupy us to prevent more binging and eating, or minimize the amount of these bad addictions. 

There is no way around it, food is a drug… its a bad drug.  Why I struggle the most is because unlike drugs that you can get away from, I am surrounded 24/7 with food.  I have to eat to survive.  So now it is up to me to make those right choices and become a stronger person!

This is one reason I became a coach. I wanted to break my addictions.  As I have said many times, I became a coach not only to help others, but help MYSELF with my own accountability. I hope that does not sound selfish, but I know if I don’t break this habit, my kids will see it, and that is NOT what I want them to get off of me as their mommy.  

As I am going through my own fitness journey and helping others, I am slowly coming out about my struggles in my challenge groups.  It is scary because I am the coach that should be “perfect”, but I do not believe their is one “perfect” person.  I am ready to show I am human and I make mistakes.  

Yes, the majority of the time I do eat clean, but when I binge and emotional eat, its uncontrolled.  As you listen to my video, you will see how bad it gets. I feel like I need a babysitter beside me to make sure I do not go off the deep end.  What is pathetic is as I am prepping for my show, I am not binging on things I even would normally eat.  I am eating Cheerios (hence my picture above), cheese-its,  and natural Peanut Butter.  I am not eating out, or eating fried food. So you would think it wouldn’t affect my results that bad.  I probably have done this once a week during my prep.  

As a fitness coach, I know I may be judged for this, but it is what it is and I am human.  We all have habits, and issues, but I am here to share my experience and my struggles to hopefully help others who need help as well.  As I said, I became a coach to help people find an alternative to get away from the emotional eating, the binge eating and pre occupy themselves in a different way so they are able to get those results that they want.  

I want to show everyone, that although this big unhealthy habit is hard to overcome, it is not going to turn you into a failure or stop you from reaching your goals unless you let it and give up.  I continue every day working hard on myself and my struggles….

I go counseling to talk about my struggles, and I am not afraid to say this.  There is nothing wrong a little tune up with your faith and emotions to make yourself a better person! I also write in a journal.  This is my place to write when I am struggling… It is a place to get out my feelings and emotions without taking it out on the food.  It has helped tremendously in so many ways. 

I hope this has touched someone and helped them realize they are NOT alone and if you need that extra support and accountability through your struggles, join me in my fitness challenge group and we can help each other reach our goals! 

If you would like a spot in my next fitness challenge, please fill out the application below and I will respond within 24 hours of receiving your application.