Today we’d like to introduce you to Mayra Espinoza.
Mayra, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started my fitness journey back in 2012 when I got extremely sick. In March of 2012, I started getting back/stomach pains so I visited so many doctors and specialists in the area but no one could figure out what was wrong with me.
After being hospitalized three times the month of April of 2012 my mother said enough is enough, drove me down to Mexico and I was seen by a Mexican doctor whom said that I had too much fat in my blood and needed a lifestyle change. That’s when I returned and decided to change my life. I joined Zumba and that’s when I fell in love with working out. Shortly after Zumba, I decided to join a gym and start weight training. I started weight training in 2014, had no minimal clue of what I was doing but I would watch videos on YouTube or Instagram and would make up my own routines. I would train so hard but with no purpose. I didn’t know how to train properly or eat properly.
In 2016 I got pregnant and gained 65 lbs, before pregnancy I was always active, even while pregnant I was still active but my diet was so poor, hence the weight gain. Shortly after having my daughter I kept thinking about going back to the gym but it all seemed impossible. I had a child, had to work full time, take care of the house and my husband. When I returned to work I remember I would get home so late and wouldn’t have time for anything, I wanted to spend more time with my daughter and so I did. As the months went on I noticed my weight gain, I was gaining a lot more weight because I wasn’t watching my diet and I wasn’t working out. In July of 2017 (6 months postpartum) I told myself that I needed to change my lifestyle again, I was so upset that I let my self go for the second time. I returned to the gym of July 2017 at my heaviest ever 210 lbs (not pregnant) and had to start from scratch. I remember starting back up on the stair master for three minutes max. It was so hard the first couple months but with consistency and persistence, things got a lot easier.
I lost 50 lbs the first 6-8 months on my own and then at the beginning of 2018 I started contemplating about competing. I always wanted to compete before my pregnancy but I was scared and never looked into it. So at the beginning of 2018, I started to familiarize myself with different federations and that’s when I fell in love with the WBFF, World beauty fitness and fashion show, it is the most glamorous show in fitness. I discovered that a couple of friends of mines that I met when I first joined the gym, were coaches and Stephanie Ayala, my coach was the fitness world champ & I didn’t think about it twice so I joined Team Dynasty April of 2017. In April of 2017, I started a 16-week prep for my first competition for WBFF Dallas 2017. When I stepped on stage, a year after I returned back, I had lost a total of 90 lbs, a whole person. Lol.
My first show was so much fun, it was over and then what? I went back to some of my old ways on not following a diet and rebounded 45 lbs or so. In 2018 when I decided to compete for my second show and I started my second prep & I was dying. I was so upset for letting my self go, AGAIN… and so I set my self a goal, for post-show, I would reverse properly and build properly also I wanted to learn this as a lifestyle and track my macros. My goal was to not gain more than 15-20 lbs from stage weight. I am so proud to say that I accomplished that goal. We’re about four months post-show and I am 15 lbs up from stage. I am still under Team Dynasty guidance and coaching and I cannot stress enough how thankful I am for them. I am learning nutrition and how to properly track my macros which is so beneficial because now I am more self-conscious of the decisions I make. Anyone that wants to start a fitness journey must hire a coach or google! learn this lifestyle, track macros. It’s so important to learn nutrition and feed our bodies properly. I am in such a good place and so happy for the decision I made to compete in 2018 because that took my fitness journey to the next level.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
So many challenges, lack of motivation, fear, but most importantly Failure. We have to fail in order to succeed. I have failed so many times but here I am, standing strong. It doesn’t get easier we just get stronger.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Being consistent and never giving up!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Chynadollfit
Image Credit:
Dennis Cruz MYD photography
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