I like to look good, and being a black female Olympic Weightlifter doesn’t change that. I love to get my hair done regularly. I usually rock curly hair, but needed a change, so I got box braids (hair extensions) to change up my look. While I was getting them done, it had occurred to me that the hair was heavy and it would cause me to have to lose extra weight for my weigh-in’s. I was freaking out before my last competition at the 2014 Fall Classic, because I had a kilo to lose the morning of. I was seriously considering going to up to the 75kg category because I was becoming really stressed out and felt that I would not be able to lose enough weight in time. My coach told me to try a few kosher weight loss methods, and take a steam bath while wearing lots of heavy clothing. I had to take an hour steam bath in order to lose one kilo. The first was 30mins and I came out and hadn’t lost anything, then my coach told me to go back in again. The second time was the charm, it actually worked! I made weight. It’s hard enough maintaining my weight, but now I have to seriously consider the type of hairstyles I choose to wear before competition.
