Hi babe! I’m MaryKate Schmidt and I am SO glad you’re here! I wanted to take some time to introduce myself so we can learn more about each other! My number one goal is to always RELATE to you, because I know that I have been in your shoes and I’m sure I’ve experienced some of the struggles you have too! There is no better feeling than when you’re reading something and you think “wow, I’ve been there, or wow that’s happened to me too!” Don’t worry girl I got you, you’re never alone! I’ve been through it all when it comes to health and wellness. From weighing 175lbs-120lbs, YO-YO dieting, anxiety/depression, self confidence, and everything in between I know! Let’s dive in!
To start off I am born and raised in Chicago, IL and the youngest of 5 kids - I know, big family! I grew up playing any sport you can name and even made it to the collegiate level in volleyball playing one year at the Division 1 level! Despite being an athlete my whole life I really struggled with my eating, motivation, and overall living a healthy lifestyle!
At a young age, I was always overweight and picked on for being the bigger girl. I naturally always had a sweet tooth and growing up in a big family it seemed like we were always celebrating something, going to a family party, or enjoying a big dinner with dessert. When I was 14 years old I developed MRSA, a bacterial infection, which left my legs covered in scars and it was during that year that I experienced a lot of bullying and really just learned to keep to myself. Food was the one thing that was constant in my life and it was something that made me happy, so I began to eat more and developed a poor relationship with food - that year I reached 160lbs and I’ll never forget when I finally had a moment where I felt like I needed to change. I was sick of feeling sorry for myself and wanted to feel better in my own skin. That was the first time I told my mom I wanted to go on a “diet.” I would always see women in bikinis and I really wanted to look like them. They seemed so happy, confident, and like they felt good. I was constantly crying in dressing rooms and felt something couldn’t be right.
I started researching on the internet and came across a “6-week body makeover.” I immediately ran to my mom and said “this is what I want to do.” She definitely looked at me like I was crazy but I took her credit card and ordered the program. I will never forget that summer before high school being in my room and reading all about the program. Since I didn’t have many friends I took that summer to really take care of myself. I started eating better, working out with volleyball, and soon before I knew it I was down 30lbs that summer. I entered into my freshman year of high school feeling the best I ever had! I had this new confidence about me that no one could shake.
For the first time in a long time it felt like I finally had it together! I was making new friends, excelling at school, doing well with volleyball, and overall felt amazing! I was thriving but of course that came with it’s challenges. I was getting the attention I wasn’t used to and soon really became obsessed with the way I looked and soon became scale obsessed. I reached my lowest weight of 120lbs and I’ll never forget being so satisfied. I felt like I made it. I soon started having lots of binges because I was being restrictive with my eating and before I knew it I was in the YO-YO dieting cycle of eating well during the week, but then eating everything I could on the weekends because “the diet starts Monday.” This is something that stuck with me honestly through college and my early 20’s.
As I mentioned earlier, I played a year of Divison 1 volleyball and after a year I decided I was extremely burnt out and wanted to transfer schools and be a “regular college kid.” I ended up transferring from Central Connecticut State to Miami of Ohio my sophomore year of college thinking I would be living my best life and ended up having a few of my hardest years. Everyone I know LOVED college, and I will say I liked certain things about it, but I really struggled! At this time in my life, I was still having issues with on/off dieting and started to feel anxiety and depression for the first time. I was going through a breakup with John, gave up my identity through volleyball, joined a sorority, and was navigating a new school. I thought all these changes would be great for me and looking back they were, but at the time I was having a very hard time. I pretty much cried every single day because I felt like I ddin’t know who I was, I felt insecure in my own skin, and I started to turn to food and alcohol as a coping mechanism. Binge drinking and eating became part of my almost everyday life and as much as I was having “fun” I was so anxious and unwell. I couldn’t wait to graduate because I felt like this next chapter would really be my answer to happiness.
After graduating college in 2013 I moved to downtown Chicago – holla! I thought I was living my best life finally having a paycheck, my own apartment, work happy hours, being able to drink at baseball games every weekend you know all the Chi-town things! As usual I had a goal to get back in shape for this next chapter of my life! My job was super cool and we had a gym in our building so I started working out on lunchtime – aka cardio (I’ll shed light on this as my posts evolve bc I soon learned there’s more than that cardio life). I also started “eating healthy” again which consisted of sugar-filled yogurts, endless stops to the coffee shop, eating good 4 meals out of the day then overeating at night – I was “ eating healthy” but wasn’t seeing any results so I would obviously make me discouraged so by the time the weekend came again I’d say “eff It” and eat whatever I wanted. This continued to go on and on every single weekend. It was the same song and dance and I was constantly making excuses.
At that time I was basically a robot dialing for dollars as an inside sales rep at a Market Research company and the same thing - I was unhappy! I knew I that I could be happy if I just changed, but my health wasn’t a priority. Instead of going to the gym, I would go to happy hour, instead of grocery shopping, I would order take out, instead of fueling my body I would deprive my body. My mindset just wasn’t there and I wasn’t in the place to make the changes I really wanted to. After being single for years, I started a new relationship thinking the same thing - this will make me happy! As much as I loved the person I was dating I was so unhappy with myself I couldn’t be happy with him! He truly gave me everything a girl could want, worked to help me try to get to work out and be better, but I didn’t want to until I was “ready.”
I finally decided that switching my career to Medical Devices would be the next thing I was going to do. Luckily being the youngest of 5 kids I have the luxury of learning everything from my sisters and brother. I watched my oldest sister Jill pave the way in Medical Device sales, so I knew that was going to be my next step. I always wanted to sell something, but I wanted it to be something that was tangible and I could actually see the results. Also, I wanted it to be something that was going to help other people. Being a former D1 athlete, I knew through friends that Stryker, a Medical Device company, happened to have a trend of hiring a lot of ex athletes. I did my research and made a goal that I would work for Stryker no matter what the job was.
I started applying online, landed interviews, and was actually denied at least 10x before getting an offer. Once I did get an offer they said I would have to move across the country to San Francisco, Arizona, or Washington D.C. Honestly, at my age – those were all dream areas. The only kicker was I was in a serious relationship. Sadly, as much as my relationship was important to me, my career came first. I was on the 135 bus on Lakeshore Drive when I received a call offering me a Clinical Specialist role and with the snap of a finger I was subletting my apartment, packing my bags, and moving to Arizona. I knew for real this time it was time to change my life.
Have you ever moved to a new city? I’m sure you can relate then. The first few weeks there were tough --- I cried a lot. I knew no one, had no clue how to do my job, and just overall was like what is going on? I told myself “it is going to get better.” I decided for the first time ever I was going to start working out to feel better, so I did.
I joined a gym and I made an appointment with myself that I couldn’t cancel every day. At first, I was weak, I could barely do 15 minutes on the treadmill, a squat, a burpee, you name it. I felt defeated but then the more I showed up I felt EMPOWERED. I started to FEEL this light inside of me that I hadn’t felt in years. I finally had something to look forward to in my day and it was then when my mindset truly changed. There was NO more working out to lose weight, to look good for a wedding, to fit in a dress, or be a certain size. It became about so much more. It became my therapy. My time where nothing else mattered and I could get stronger every day. In addition to that, I started eating better because I felt like if I was working so hard in the gym I might as well treat my body right too!
This was the FIRST time I didn’t diet, I didn’t cut calories, I didn’t set rules, or restrictions … I just said I am going to eat lots of fruits, vegetables, proteins, and enjoy the things I love like Froyo and chocolate, and see what happens. Of course, because I was moving my body and fueling my body well I did see an immense physical transformation, but the mental shift I experienced is the TRUE reason I was able to keep going. Over the last 5 years, I can say I have completely changed my lifestyle and I am the first to tell you … it is not EASY! It takes practice, failure, starting and stopping, and everything in between to adjust, adapt and change. It will not happen overnight, nothing worth having does! You have to work hard, try, be consistent, and show up for YOURSELF! As tempting as it can be to want to “look good” at your next event doesn’t FEELING good sound better?
As your leader and trainer that is what I stand for. To use movement as medicine, as a tool to feel like your most powerful, confident self. To show up every day in a way that feels goods. To eat the foods you love in moderation from a place of positivity, not negativity. To fuel your body and not deprive. To ultimately, LIVE A LIFE you can for the REST of your life, not just a quick fix!
I promise through my training and programming YOU will FEEL and SEE changes within yourself, not just in the way you look, but the way you feel! You are about to change you life - let’s do this!
