"I lost myself there for a bit" - Paige VanZant shares "mental battle" over emotional weight loss journey

Paige VanZant has candidly opened up about the emotional challenges she faced during her weight loss journey.

'12 Gauge' recently opened up on Instagram and disclosed her mental difficulties while shedding pounds. She expressed that the past few years have been a profound mental and emotional ordeal for her, contributing to an increase in weight. Part of her caption reads:

"Ugh. Debated posting this…… the last few years have been a mental battle, to say the least. I lost myself there for a bit. 6 months of extremely hard work, dedication, some incredible friends, @legally__blonder and @maselli_fitness, and the support of my husband my fitness journey has really stuck."

Check out her post below:

During a recent episode of her podcast A Kick*ss LoveStory with her husband, Austin Vanderford, VanZant discussed the strides she has taken in her weight loss journey:

"My whole body looked like it was swollen... I dropped nine pounds on the fast, prior to that in the last six months I have lost a little over 35 pounds."

Check out Paige VanZant's comments below:

VanZant is one of the most well-known female fighters in the MMA industry. After leaving the UFC, she switched to bare-knuckle boxing with BKFC in August 2020, but her venture was not fruitful, as she lost two straight matchups.

'12 Gauge' has been absent from competition for more than two years. Despite originally planning a return in August 2022, her scheduled BKFC fight against Charisa Sigala was called off just days before the event.

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Paige VanZant explains why she turned down re-signing with the UFC

Paige VanZant has disclosed the reasons behind her decision to decline a contract renewal offer from the UFC.

'12 Gauge' competed in both the strawweight and flyweight divisions throughout her seven-year UFC career, which lasted from 2013 to 2020. In the octagon, she went 5-4, adding to her total professional record of 8-5.

During an interview with MMA Fighting last month, VanZant shared that she had a chance to extend her contract with the MMA promotion but opted against accepting the offer:

"Me re-signing with the UFC would have been a safe choice but I also just wasn't happy anymore and it's not ill will towards UFC and I knew I needed something else."

She added:

"I just opened up my mind and my options so much to where I just get to do pretty much anything that I want to. I can spark a passion and I can say you know what I want to start a podcast, you know? I want to do this and then I just you know, attack it 100% I don't have anything holding me back."

Check out Paige VanZant's comments below (22:23):