Today we’d like to introduce you to Nikki Zahka.
Hi Nikki, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was never comfortable or confident in my own body growing up. I was the chubby friend – never the pretty or athletic one. My most insecure body part was always my stomach. I would look in the mirror, grabbing what I didn’t like and pick myself apart of everything that was wrong and that I hated.. But for some reason I would turn to food for comfort which would only make it worse.
One day something clicked and I decided to stop wishing I looked different and actually do something about it. I researched diets and exercises for months and committed my free time to reaching my new goals. Along the process I became more confident in myself not only from reaching goals of how I looked but the fact I was now aware I could set high goals for myself and reach them. Fitness and nutrition became an outlet for me and a sense of empowerment.
I ended up taking it a bit too far though. Enjoying all of the compliments and people noticing how much weight I lost, I continued to restrict and exercise more. Rather than fueling my body and focusing on strength, feeling my best, and being healthy inside -out, I was solely focused on aesthetics.
During Covid it became worse – more movement and less focus on nutrition. I dwindled down to 98 pounds and started getting concerned comments from friends and family. After 4-5 years of amenorrhea (losing my period) and hormone issues that started affecting my everyday life, I decided it was time to take my health back and fully commit to getting as healthy and strong as possible, even at the detriment of how I looked. I knew I wanted a family but without a cycle and all of these hormone and health issues I was reaching the point where that could be in jeopardy.
After a few years of building/bulking, and finding MY right balance to heal my hormones and get my biomarkers back in healthy range I am currently halfway through my first pregnancy and we are so excited! It has been quite the journey, swinging to extremes on both sides of the spectrum.
Although there are still tough days, and seeing my body get softer and grow is now a mental challenge with everything I have gone through, I truly feel my healthiest. And I am not just taking care of my body for me now – I have a little one depending on me to provide all the nutrients for them to grow strong.
Alright, 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?
Definitely not smooth! At the beginning, you want results right away, but it takes time to transform your body. Staying disciplined and making healthier choices was the difficult part at the beginning. Once I made fitness and healthy eating a lifestyle though it really became a lot easier – the difficult part changed. Now what was hard was allowing myself to deviate from my schedule or plans. I had a difficult time missing a workout or eating out/enjoying time with friends because of food guilt or constantly obsessing over what I was eating and how much movement and workouts I was getting per day.
Wearables are an amazing tool to help people get insights into their health but mixed with disordered eating and self image issues, it became a competition with myself everyday to get MORE steps, MORE workout minutes, burn MORE calories, eat less. It was an unhealthy habit and addiction I needed to learn to break.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a full time Enterprise Account Executive at an AI Transformation Company and I also am a health and wellness creator. I work with various brands that align with my mission to empower people to live a healthy, balanced life and find self love and confidence. I help market, create content, host events, and write for Austin Fit Magazine.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Probably all the weekends at my grandparents beach house in the summertime with all my cousins. It was my happy place. Being by the ocean, playing with all my cousins, learning cooking, how to play backgammon and cribbage, and having laughs with my grandparents.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fitwithnikk_
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fitwithnikk
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikki-howlett-93232b65/
