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Where I Stand | Week 15 Weight Loss

April 17, 2017

April 17, 2017

The Journey

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Athena 

Perez 

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I'm Athena, "Bean," a dedicated advocate for training larger-bodied athletes. Since my first CrossFit story in 2018, I've become a CFL2, owner of Scaled Nation Training, and creator of "Working with Larger Bodies" seminar. I've also written "Lifting the Wait," with sequel "Waitless" coming soon.

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this is me | Be Courageous, Be Myself.

True Colors Part Deux | Drawing Those Parallels

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meet athena

Welcome to my digital den! Raw stories, real talk, and CrossFit banter—all about building consistency, healing, and an unshakable mindset for lasting transformation.

hey, friends!

I feel like my body is fighting me again, especially my knees. Some days I want to scream I get so bloody frustrated.

My heart wants to get out and run, jump around (but not like House of Pain), ride a mountain bike, hike somewhere, go snowshoeing, learn how to snowboard, hell anything outdoors. I went to a CrossFit night a few weeks back, and I remember thinking, “Damn, I want to be able to do that.” I have always been free spirited and adventurous, I just never had the body that allowed me to do these things. But it didn’t mean I didn’t watch and hopelessly yearn for it… wondering to myself, “Why not me”?

I was in my late 20’s when I found out I had Blount’s disease on my right leg which explained why most of my life everything hurt. Some days, I feel like superwoman, other days walking around the house can be painful for no reason. I finally get to a point where temptations are there, but I’m simply not interested in getting off track……… and here I am fighting my legs to keep me going. I just want to smack the shit out of them sometimes. I have to grab my pants and yank them forward and say, “CMON!” I want to be down at the gym 5 days a week, but my body just won’t recover that fast.

As soon as I hit my first milestone, I believed the knees would feel a world of difference, but they don’t. It was a bit disheartening. The whole reason I started all of this was to feel better. I needed my legs to stop throbbing all the time. Some days like today, it feels like someone is stabbing my knee cap. A few times over the last few weeks, I’ve actually looked up towards heaven and said, “Look, don’t you understand what I’m trying to do right now?” HELP ME! @*$#(*@^#&$^#@&*($&#@$^#*&@#

Here’s the truth of it. We’re all born with challenges of some kind, and this was one of mine. But, God didn’t have any control over how much weight I put on, that was all me. I’m not feeling sorry for myself because I believe in personal responsibility but…. I do need to own this. All that weight further broke down what was already broken. That’s what happened. Choices can change our lives, whether we’re conscious of them or not.

I don’t know whether I’m going to be able to do all those things above. Some might not be in the cards. But….here’s what I can do. I can keep going and make the best of what I do have. I can still walk which is more than a lot of people can do. Box step ups might be as close to box jumps as I will ever get – but it doesn’t mean I can’t give it everything I’ve got. It’s not too late for that.

It might get better as the weight continues to fall. Right now, I’m not sure where I stand or even how I will stand with the next 75 pounds gone, but I need to keep my head up and just… keep… moving. Be grateful.

Lovingly, Bean

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Love,

athena bean

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  1. Bosco says:

    Omg you sound like me . Can’t bear weight on my either or walk a long distance it’s like pain I can describe.. And I’ve tried everything. Even Tylenol threes will not take away the pain. I feel yeah

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this is me | Be Courageous, Be Myself.

True Colors Part Deux | Drawing Those Parallels

Currently Trending

search the post index

meet athena

Welcome to my digital den! Raw stories, real talk, and CrossFit banter—all about building consistency, healing, and an unshakable mindset for lasting transformation.

hey, friends!

Since 2011, I've been on a mission to rewire my own self-limiting beliefs and patterns that were holding me back because I believe an unshakable mindset can be our #1 life hack.

In these parts I not only share my own journey but also lend a hand to others to create a life filled with genuine resilience, purpose, and grit. I'm a big fan of a good cup of joe, chalk, and teaching folks like you how to 'lift the wait'. Let’s get weird. 

Welcome, Friends!

so glad you're here

i'm athena Perez

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