A blogger whose anxiety caused her to become so frail she struggled to walk up the stairs has revealed that gaining 10lbs helped her achieve her ‘perfect body’.
Fitness and lifestyle blogger, Robin Gallant, 26, from Birmingham, grew up in a challenging family background that saw her parents push her to overachieve.
Because of the pressure of maintaining an A* average in science and engineering, she began to neglect her health; consuming food low in protein, high in carbohydrates and fat, while taking part in no exercise.
Robin Gallant suffered from severe anxiety due the pressure of keeping up her A* grades causing her weight to drop to 7st, but after overcoming her mental illness she is now 8st. Pictured: Robine before (left) and after gaining weight
‘As my parents both came from difficult and underprivileged upbringings, they wanted nothing more than for me to succeed,’ Robin said.
‘This meant they exerted a lot of parental pressure to excel in academics and life from a young age.
‘The pressure grew throughout my time in high school, and by university I took it upon myself to overachieve.
‘I allowed my complete sense of self-worth to be determined by numbers and scores.’
Robin said that her poor diet and lack of exercise left her exhausted but she has now worked her way to the ‘perfect body’
It was Robin’s parents that pushed her to succeed in life and she admits that she struggled with sleep and found herself barely eating
‘Although maintaining a near perfect GPA (A* average) in science and engineering, I started to neglect my physical and mental health, barely sleeping or eating, so I would have more time for schoolwork.
‘My anxiety disorder became debilitating. For the first time, in January 2013, I allowed myself to take time away from school to regain my health. This is when I discovered fitness and I’ve never looked back.’
With her diet dwindling Robin saw her weight drop to 7st 7Ibs at her lightest finding it difficult to walk up the stairs without losing her breath.
She continued: ‘I was never overweight, if anything under-weight. I had a completely lack of fitness and proper nutrition, I would barely eat most days while going to school and studying.
It was in 2013, when her anxiety became debilitating, Robin allowed herself to take time away from school and recover
It was during her recovery that she discovered fitness and ‘never looked back’ claiming that getting fit enabled her to control her anxiety
‘I remember walking up the stairs would be such an effort for me, I would get out of breath easily, and I couldn’t even do one bodyweight squat or push-up.’
After years of the immense pressure of school seeing her develop anxiety, she knew she had to change her daily routine to regain her mental strength.
After focusing on her diet and including exercise into her routine, she gained 10 pounds of muscle and is now a healthy 8st 3Ibs. She now shares her new outlook on diet and exercise with her 482,000 Instagram followers.
Explaining her turning point she said: ‘I was twenty-one, which is around the age when you start gaining fat and cellulite in the areas you don’t want it. I didn’t hate my body or have a poor body image, but I did want to get into better physical shape.
Robin has now amassed more than 480,000 followers on Instgaram where she shares snaps of her fitness progress
She says that her commitment to fitness has completely transformed her life and given her a ‘sense of value’
‘I decided it was time to take care of myself – my body, and my mental and physical health. I knew that better nutrition and a healthy lifestyle would help me anchor myself and would cause a positive change that would help me deal with my anxiety.
‘I was very embarrassed by my lack of exercise fitness, and I didn’t want anyone to see me struggle, so I refused to go to the gym.’
Instead of going to the gym, Robin decided to get fit within the comfort of her own room at university until she was body-confident, then would move on to a local woman-only gym.
‘This has completely transformed my life. It’s given me a sense of self and value,’ she said.
‘I feel strong and confident in myself. I feel as if I have determined my path in life and I can succeed in anything I put my mind to if I work hard and smart enough.
Although her parents hoped that Robin would be more than a ‘personal trainer’ she is now working to educate her followers about fitness
‘I started eating healthy, balanced meals. Rather than packaged snacks throughout the day and one huge unbalanced meal, I now have 3-4 meals with a protein, carb, fat and fruit/vegetable source in each.
‘I have a couple treats a day, usually carb-snacks around my workout, and I drink three to four litres of water per day.
‘The hardest part for me was overcoming the initial embarrassment, but once I decided to forget about what others thought and stop comparing, it was easy for me to put in the work.
‘At first my parents weren’t supportive, as they thought it was unlike me to change paths so drastically.
‘They also feared I wouldn’t go back to school and they hoped I would become ‘more than a personal trainer’ having high hopes for me to become a corporate engineer or doctor.
‘Although I didn’t use my education via the traditional route, I take an educational approach to my social media content; aiming to help spread factual fitness information to other young women.
‘Start where you’re comfortable – workout at home if you need to. Lifting weights is what built my physique, but there are so many ways to exercise.’