Twin sisters Emily Seelman and Allison Ferrante, ages 27, grew up in a healthy household.
But they experienced an all-to-common phase of extreme body insecurity in late adolescence. At first, they plummeted into anorexia, shrinking down to around 93 pounds each. Then, on doctors’ orders, they gained weight ballooning up to around 145. Bodybuilding, particularly bikini style, showed the girls how to stay trim and healthy -now they both hover around 125.
“I always believed that my weight was genetic and, therefore, out of my control. I just assumed I would be overweight because it was just who I was, Emily told DailyMail. “I believed the magazines that told me to eat 800 calories and run miles every day. It was so unhealthy. I hated how I looked in pictures but, more importantly, it just wasn’t who I was. I knew I wanted to be able to control how I looked and felt, I just didn’t know how.”
“I always believed that my weight was genetic and, therefore, out of my control. I just assumed I would be overweight because it was just who I was, Emily told The two sisters go to the gym and weight train five days a week, supplementing with three cardio sessions. Their diet consists of high-protein low-carb whole-foods. They both proudly display their physiques on social media. Emily works as a personal trainer and Allison is a competitive bikini bodybuilder.
She said, “Once my self-esteem went up and I saw my own value, I was then able to work on my weight in a healthy way.”
She said, “Once my self-esteem went up and I saw my own value, I was then able to work on my weight in a healthy way.”According to Allison, one of her biggest failures was not doing her own research, and simply taking at face value, “these lies that starving myself or running all the time would work and when it didn’t, I just felt like I would always be overweight and would never find a way out.”
She says that the physical transformation and competitive mentality have given her a powerful new mentality:
‘I feel unstoppable. Honestly, I know what it takes to be healthy and, particularly, I know what it takes to have the discipline to be stage-ready.”
Although the girls are more than proud of their aesthetics, they maintain that change best comes about through focusing on positive goals, not negative restrictions:
“It’s so much more than looking great in clothes — although that is definitely a huge part of it. It’s all about mindset. If you think ‘I am on a diet and can’t eat this’ — you’re going to lose.”
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