We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Courtney A. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Courtney below.

Courtney, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

My journey in developing confidence and self-esteem began during the COVID-19 pandemic. During that timeframe, I was only a freshman in high school when the schools across the states closed, which initially seemed like a dream of a lifetime. Like many others my age, there was nothing but time on my hands to scroll on social media all day. I always created short videos just for fun but always kept my account private. After months of being isolated at home, my health started to take a turn. I turned into what one would call a “couch potato” and just laid around and fell trapped into boredom eating. Not just simple boredom eating but eating all sorts of junk food in the book you name it. I would never exercise anymore and my sleep schedule became poor. I took laziness to the extreme and it quickly caught up to me when I ended up gaining a significant amount of weight. Of course, the time came when public schools opened back up, just as students had to wear face coverings to prevent the spread of the virus. Not only was I not pleased to go back but I ended up moving schools so now I was the new kid who didn’t know anyone. This is when I experienced anxiety for the first time because it was hard to adjust to getting back out of the house, especially in a new environment. I had gained over 50 pounds and continued to eat poorly in excessive amounts to cope with my feelings. That of course only made me feel worse afterwards and I struggled with body image and my overall health because of my decisions. It took me roughly two and a half years to decide that I was tired of being comfortable with being uncomfortable and wanted better for my overall health. I decided to stop eating fast food and drinking soda because I didn’t like how it would make me feel due to the fact that I lacked portion control and became gluttonous. I then began walking every day after my meals if I could and throughout school before jumping into the gym. Once I started becoming consistent in valuing the nutrition my body needs and what I put in my body I was able to feel better and walking those steps allowed me to lose weight. I started going to the gym and quickly realized my health isn’t just an on-again/off-again journey, it’s a lifelong commitment to myself. That was my defining moment. I began documenting my journey on social media since I spent that period of time prior to not posting anything due to my lack of confidence. Once I started, my platform quickly grew with those who could relate to struggling and wondered how they could improve. Little to my knowledge I made a simple post about my weight-loss transformation and it reached millions of people on my platform it gave me the encouragement to keep posting how I was able to improve myself. I kept posting and it would always reach a significant amount of people. Each post allowed the opportunity for my fitness motivation and proper balanced meal ideas to expand and I built an amazing community of supporters who followed me along the journey.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a health and wellness motivator who enjoys creating content about the importance of taking care of oneself for longevity while finding balance as well. I found inspiration through my weight loss as an opportunity to feel and look my best on my graduation day from high school in 2023. By that time, I was in the best shape of my life, and I’m still currently maintaining that shape while spreading content to those on how they can achieve any goal they set their mind to. I immediately attended college right after graduation and I’m currently in my junior year in the Allied Health profession. Pursuing this type of career related to overall health really gives me the drive to keep going not only for myself but to help others in my community around me, whether they’re local or global. I only have one year left of clinicals, and I plan to obtain my master’s degree after I graduate next year while continuing to do content creation because it gives me a passion for something to do surrounding what I specialize in. Every day I get to learn something new and improve. I have been graced with opportunities to work with brands surrounding fitness and health based on my content and look forward to potential collaborations in the future.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

The most important lessons that stand out to me consist of facing and overcoming hardships, knowing that it’s okay to not know everything, and understanding that your mindset determines your outcomes. It’s important to unlearn unhealthy habits that you’ve become accustomed to but it happens. When I feel like I’ve fallen off or failed myself in a sense, it was very important to realize that not everything is going to be in my control or work in my favor. I’ve learned that accepting hardships will occur, but eventually, they subside and allow you to reflect back as a potential lesson learned. I try, and I may even fall a couple of times, but I always get back up and continue to try because that’s the purpose. Trial and error, except the only error is trying without continuing to go further, and it’s forever admirable that one does continue to try for themselves.

Another quality I’ve learned is that I’m constantly learning each day I’m alive and continue to do so as I get older. It can be challenging to try new things, whether it’s school, recording a content video, or a variety of other factors because I’ve become comfortable with what I do know in contrast to what I don’t. Learning to step out of that comfort is a growing opportunity, and understanding the value of prioritizing your health, mental or physical, is a learning process that I am a testimonial to.

Lastly, understanding that nothing is your own worst enemy except your mindset. For so long, I was uncomfortable with my body and what I had done. I knew I was heading for trouble when I would get out of breath just from walking a few feet. Being overweight allowed a lot of time to dwell in self-pity and compare myself to others. I had to learn that comparison is the enemy of progress. For so long, I’ve let self-doubt take control instead of wanting to take that first step and change myself because I loved myself. I had to get out of that ‘wanting instant results overnight’ mentality and had to develop consistency with discipline. That was key to starting my weight loss journey and how to inspire.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

My reputation grew because I stayed consistent and dedicated to my fitness journey. I shared my progress and tips on social media, which resonated with a lot of people. Plus, being genuine and engaging with supporters helped build a supportive community around my content.

Contact Info:

• Other: TikTok- https://www.tiktok.com/@iamcmolly?_t=8nU1XuhMqhb&_r=1

  Snapchat- https://snapchat.com/t/HIlNvNJQ

Image Credits

Courtney A. (self)