NYE Katherine Elizabeth

General
MENTAL HEALTH DIAGNOSIS
In August 2019 she announced that she had been diagnosed with bipolar II disorder and mild attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD]. "It's hard to pin down exactly when it 'happened'. In the middle of high school, before I even began competitive weightlifting, I started to really struggle. Initially, I experienced really bad bouts of depression. I wasn't depressed 24/7, but I would have really bad weeks and then I'd have great weeks. And during those great weeks, I was unstoppable. But those great weeks usually were followed by sleepless nights. There were nights where I would sleep for less than two hours. Bipolar disorder ruled my life for years. It determined if I liked weightlifting or not. If I could sleep or if I'd sleep all day. My moods, my temper. Since I've been medicated, I've gotten much better at processing things and keeping my emotions steady. With my doctors, I was able to figure out what medication worked for me. I was able to identify my triggers. I was able to better understand what would turn a good week into a bad week - what would make me hypomanic." (espn.com, 26 Mar 2021; shape.com, 14 Feb 2020)

BODY TRANSFORMATION
Between February 2018 and August 2019, she gained about 12 kilograms in weight. "It's hard to put it out here because I quite frankly struggle with it, but I've done what I had to do to be in the best place possible to achieve my goal of making it to the [2020] Olympics. I went from being in the best shape [aesthetically] of my life to being the heaviest I've ever been by a long shot. I'm seeing numbers on the scale I never thought I'd see. I'd be lying if I said it was easy looking in the mirror, or seeing my body change like it has. That's not to say I don't like some of the changes [hello monster legs], but this is not ideal for me. When it comes down to it, I guess the point I'm trying to make is that I'm doing what I need to do, and that's fine. I have the rest of my life to get my abs back, to feel confident in my own skin [I'm still confident, but definitely not comfortable], but right now all I want is to be the best lifter I can be." (Instagram profile, 20 Aug 2019)