Heather Mahoney

My name is Heather Mahoney.  I am 38 years old, born in the great state of Alaska.  Growing up, I was the chubby kid.  I was teased on a the bus and last picked for gym class.  My mother put me on my first diet in the 5th grade.  I spent my entire life feeling like people wouldn't like or love me if I didn't look a certain way.  I couldn't tell you how many annoying fad diets that I've been on in my 38 years.  When you start dieting in the 5th grade, there tends to be a lot. I was never active growing up either and never played school sports. I did try sports, I normally quit.  I wasn't as good as the other girls.  Yet again, always compared to the OTHER GIRLS.

 

Now 26 years old, and my daughter is born.  My thinking began to change.  I didn't want to bring up an insecure little girl. I wanted her to be outgoing and to try things that perhaps were a little frightening but only because they're new.  Most importantly, to LOVE herself.  I found that I had started to get active.  I learned to wake board and ride a snow machine.  I got out and played with my family and began to have fun!  I still had bad eating habits and still doing the fad/crash diets.

 

About four years ago is when my life changed completely.  I was at my all-time heaviest.  I was depressed and didn't much like anyone or myself.  My quick fix this time was liposuction.  Oh yes!  I said liposuction.  I took out a loan and headed to the plastic surgeon.  Oh man, did she throw me for a loop!  I was turned down.  WHAT??? She looked at me and told me to go to the gym for six months and then come back.  She told me whatever I had going on was in my head.  She couldn't "fix" that.  Needless to say, I was pissed.  Who was she to turn me down?  I definitely needed a second opinion.

 

When I got home and told my husband what had happened, he was relieved.  He told me to go and get a trainer and to try to work out.  Well that was four years ago and since then I am still down 25 lbs.  I have run three marathon's and several other races.  I wake up every morning and get out of bed and go to the gym.

 

My next adventure has brought me to the Midnight Sun Muscle Club and I will be competing in my first bikini competition in May 2015.  I am super excited for this next chapter in my life.  As long as I get up on stage, I cannot fail. I can only grow and become stronger!!!

Jinette DeBuck

I grew up taller, larger and overweight.  I have always had the image and feedback of being the "big girl", "big-boned", or "plain fat".  When I started high school, I was 200 lbs.  When out on my own at 18, I started to eat "clean" and got my weight under control until I got pregnant at 30.  I gained 85 lbs., and then stopped counting.

 

With medical complications that challenged weight maintenance, I found myself at 170 lbs., a year after my daughter's birth.  At 31, I was working out and eating clean but nothing was happening.  I decided to seek medical attention to help resolve the issues, as I was doing the work and nothing was happening.  I did blood work and cortisol tests and found I had Adrenal Failure or Fatigue.  Once I started the treatment, in the following year, I was down to 165 lbs.  Not satisfied, I consulted my doctor who told me "it's normal for a woman of your age to be about 20-30 lbs. over the pre-pregnancy weight."  I kindly told him "screw that!" and kept at it.  Hitting the gym for more cardio/weights and eating even cleaner.  At two and a half years post pregnancy, I was finally 145 lbs., but I just didn't look the same.

I met Carrieann Hall at the gym in July 2014.  September of  2014 is when the mission began.  With her help and guidance from the many volunteers for diet, I began to just follow direction and follow the plan.  I saw more results in ten weeks than in the prior three years concerning body fat conversion.  I am a muscular girl. I did not want to be thin.  I wanted to be lean and athletic.  I transformed into a bikini competitor and was so happy with my work-in-progress.

I did three shows in six weeks and was on a diet from August to November 15, 2014.  I am so much stronger and my musculature has improved immensely. I am still working to get my image of perfection, as I am a perfectionist who works for a goal.  I am loving the process and can't wait for next season.  In the meantime, I am just going through the post contest rebound, which is a huge mental game.  You have to be centered and educated to what you put in and take out of your system.  My body is very sensitive to change and the post contest rebound is kicking my butt.

My last show I started getting distended prior to the night show.  I put on 17 lbs. in three days and am now at 160 lbs., post contest.  This numbers game is what you need to throw out the window.  I am holding water in my abdomen.  I have "gained" weight.  I am however, smaller in my thighs and rear, per my measurements.  I purposely tried to gain size in  my arms and shoulders which, I did.  The issue I am having has to do with water retention, diet and medical issues.  It stinks coming off a show where you feel so accomplished and then look at yourself in disgust because you don't look the "same".

Through the whole process, Carrieann Hall has been there.  Every step, every question, every team member melt down.  We, as a team, build each other up.  At the center of this team is Carrieann, our "momma", who wants nothing more than to help us achieve our own fitness goal.

The Midnight Sun Muscle Club started with a few members and at this point the sky's the limit, as more uplifting and inspiring people join.  I am still satisfied with my progress just not my current state.  This is a process about learning your body's chemistry and reaction to the environment you put it through.  I will continue my journey and wish everyone luck.

Taylor Hansen

 

My name is Taylor Hansen, 17 yrs old, a senior at Colony High and have been athletic all my life; from soccer to gymnastics, basketball, track, volleyball, softball, you name it!  Sadly, even though I could run the fastest, jump the highest and hold school records, I wasn't completely happy with my body and the way I looked.  I seemed bigger than all my friends who wore double zeros in jeans and I wasn't entirely comfortable wearing those super cute short shorts every summer either.

 

After being tired of looking in the mirror and not being satisfied, my mother, sensing my frustration, gave me her Oxygen magazine and the information in that magazine changed my life.  I knew I wasn't fat but I have a lot of muscle, so I still felt ginormous. However, after going through the magazine and seeing all the beautiful and healthy-fit athletes, I was immediately inspired.  I wanted to feel good about my body and I could finally see that I could look great and still be muscular.

About a year later, having finally set my goal to compete before I graduate, Jennifer Dawkins, my fabulous boss, mentioned to me that she was interested in competing as well and was taking posing classes, every week, through the Midnight Sun Muscle Club, and invited me to join her and at that moment I KNEW I was going to compete in the next show - no doubt about it! I cannot explain my excitement knowing that there was another who shared my dream.

My initial goal is to get on stage and "rock it" without tripping.  Ultimately however, my goal is the title. For my first competition, I would just like to enjoy myself and gain the experience one can only gain from stage time.

I absolutely love my coach, Carrieann Hall and all of my teammates.  Their support and encouragement is super motivating but truly, I want to be an excellent role model for my younger sister, Sydney.  I want to inspire young girls, teenagers and young adults that if you set your mind to it, you can do anything!!

I'm about to make my dream come true on April 4, 2015.  If you want it - it will happen!!

Jennifer Reilly

My entire life I have been a competitive athlete, involved in gymnastics, spring board diving, martial arts and many other athletic arena's.  As I was growing up, fitness and health intrigued me; so much so that I chose to pursue my Bachelor of Science in Exercise Physiology from the University of North Florida.

 

To my astonishment, what I thought to be a myth of the "Freshman Fifteen" became very real when I spiked to 50lb's overweight.  Hitting my bottom emotionally allowed for the inconsistencies to get the better of me; my health.  As a full time student, full time mother and employer, life continued to spiral out of control as did my unhealthy lifestyle.

 

What changed?  I turned 30.  I knew I had to do something, so one of my birthday wishes was to get back to the athlete I knew I was and to compete in my first fitness competition.  So, I joined The Midnight Sun Muscle Club for added support; the knowledge I knew I was going to need to compete; and the accountability that comes with being part of a team.  I am now the Team Coordinator, under my coach, Carrieann Hall.

 

My journey began in May 2014 at 210lbs.  By the time my 5" heels hit the stage, I had lost 30lbs!!  I knew that I was not "ready or tight" enough for a fitness swimsuit but what I had achieved was nothing short of a miracle to me.  I've since regained confidence I had once lost and the motivation needed to see my dreams and goals come to fruition.  I continue to compete in fitness but I'm now training to be a "mini Arnold" in physique.

 

My goal: To use this knowledge to educate families on how to beat the Childhood Obesity Epidemic and help children choose healthy lifestyles for their future and generations to follow.

Jean Lindberg

My name is Jan Lindberg.  I am 53 years old and have been a Physical Therapist for 30 years.

 

My whole life and career have been focused on taking care of others and teaching the importance of exercise, but I was poor at living by the advice I gave out. As I entered my 50's, I realized I could not just "get by" anymore and I would need to get serious about exercise as my weight kept creeping higher.  I needed to start practicing what I preached and get healthy myself.

 

I've always taught my patients to "move it or lose it", and I now needed to do the same.

 

In April 2014, I decided exercising at home was not cutting it for me anymore, so I got serious and joined the health club.  I committed to improving my health by losing weight and getting fit. I began seeing weight loss and knew I was getting stronger, but easily became bored with exercise.  I found functional strengthening exercises were really helpful but I still had no real motivator.

 

In October 2014, my step-daughter said that she was joining up with The Midnight Sun Muscle Club and was going to get fit to enter the Bikini Division of a competition coming up in April of 2015.  She suggested that I think about joining the group.

 

My initial reaction, "Body building, no way! I'm 53.  I'm too old!"  Then, I thought, "Why not?? Who says I can't at 53!.  It's just a number and what do I have to

lose?!"  As my patients are accountable to me, I will finally be accountable to someone and have that higher motivator I had longed for.

 

As I made my decision to commit to this group and get into shape to compete in I had not thought possible, I remembered that my younger sister, Sharyl, had wanted to get involved in fitness, open a fitness studio and possibly compete in a competition.  However, she was never able to fulfill this dream as she passed away at the age of 40 from breast cancer.  She is my "angel" motivator and although I am doing this for me, I am also doing this in my sister's memory to honor her.

 

My overall goal is to lose the much needed weight I have been carrying for far too long; get my body in the best shape it's ever been and do something I have never done before - perform in a fitness competition.

 

I plan to compete at the Figure or Physique level and will be proud to accomplish this task.

 

Let the journey begin.

 

Rachel Covey

Jumping, wiggling.  I was trying anything I could to get into my favorite jeans.  I couldn't ignore it anymore; I had reached a crossroads.  Either I was going to start buying larger pants or I was going to have to lose weight.  Frustrated and exhausted, I didn't know what to do.

 

I am a wife, mother of two busy kids, work full time, worked out already and have obligations that so many of us juggle everyday. In what I see as a definite moment in my life, I finally listed to my husband's gentle prodding to sit down and talk to my friend, Heidi Cox.

 

Before I saw her, I thought my diet was good.  I thought I knew how to work out.  I thought my body was as good as my life circumstances would permit.  I was just hoping she held the key to something I was missing, something that would click for me.

 

When she connected me to The Midnight Sun Muscle Club, it changed my life.

 

Having a team at the gym gave working out a whole new feeling.  It gave me accountability to actually show up, which is more than half the battle.  The girls helped me tweak exercises I was already doing and focused my workouts to achieve specific goals.  My diet was turned upside down.  Six small meals a day meant a lot of time prepping on the weekend.  New grocery list items included the kings of carbs...Old fashioned oatmeal, brown rice and sweet potatoes.  They slowly weaned me off of the abundance of dairy and sugar filled drinks.  Every time I wanted to cheat, I just tried to make it through the day, just one day closer to my goal.

 

Carrieann promised she would have a huge piece of chocolate cake for me as soon as I stepped off stage.  She is a woman of her word...moments after the stage we attached that chocolate cake like a hungry group of piranhas; best tasting cake EVER!!

 

It was so much more than working out and the diet though.  There was posing practice, which I desperately needed. I have no sports, dance or gymnastics background at all, so learning grace and control was new to me.  Especially in 5 inch heels!

 

You have to understand, when I first walked in that room of beautiful women, I felt so inadequate.  I couldn't picture myself in a bikini in that little room, let alone in front of hundreds of people.  I kept promising myself that even thought I didn't think I would belong on stage, I wouldn't cheat myself of this incredible opportunity to grow and accomplish my goal.  The best part was they all took me in with open arms.  These girls didn't judge a little chubby lady with no clue how to move. They just wanted to help and I am so honored to be able to count them as teammates and friends.

 

Most importantly though, was taking the time for me...just me.  I had to shed the guilty feeling of walking out the door when the kids still needed help on their homework..only to find that they finally had figured it out on their own when I had returned home from the gym.

 

I also had to apologize for taking precious time away from my husband on the weekend to practice posing...only to find that he had studied up on new workouts and spent quality time with the kids.  Turns out, using the excuse that I needed to be there for the family every minute was actually not true...taking the time to make myself a better wife and mom WAS taking care of them.  I learned how to feed my family healthier than ever before.  I learned how to teach them to be stronger than ever before.  I also learned in a beautiful turn around, I got to be an inspiration to the man who has inspired me all my life, my husband Jake.

 

I'm so thankful to a team who helped me do that and who continues to inspire me!

 

 

 

TJay Jenn

Have you ever wondered if you have what it takes? I often have.  My name is Tjay Jenn and before starting his long, hard journey to get to where I am today.  I questioned myself daily.  Do I have the time, dedication, and motivation to give my all to the world of body building and fitness?  I'm proud to say that as a longtime Alaskan and 35-year old single working mother of two, I was able to overcome personal doubts, fears and adversity to stand on this stage today.  I found something deep inside me.  Something, that in retrospect, I always knew I had.

Since I can remember, I've always been a fighter, competitor and lover of lifting.  I've always strived to be more competitive with myself to obtain everything I want out of life.  I never shy away from work or taking on new challenges that are thrown my way.  With that said, I will admit that there have been many struggles along the way. 

I had to learn to look at myself, and I mean REALLY look at myself, and find that desire within me to keep going.  The Midnight Sun Muscle Club and the women that I train with have been a huge support.  Watching them transform and become more confident, beautiful women than they themselves could have imagined, only solidified my dedication.  With the help of my coach, support team, friends and family, I'm happy to say that I am proud of the accomplishments I've made today and the future successes I will continue to work toward and achieve!