Hi Everyone! Here is
a little background on me. I am a 34
year old preschool teacher (with a BS in Engineering). I have been married for almost 11 years and
have been with my husband since the summer of 1995. We have 3 children together, one of which has
Autism. We have a small farm where we raise beef and layer chickens (fresh eggs). Hubby still works 40 hrs a week outside of
the house.
As a child and in high school, I was either in a sport or
taking dance classes. I was always doing something. My story starts out in college where I gained
the “Freshman 15”!! I started gaining
weight there and after getting married in 2001, I was pregnant with #1 within
months. I gained another 60lbs with her. Over the next 5 years I never lost all the
“baby” weight and had 2 more children gaining 60lbs with each one. I delivered each child weighing over
210lbs!! I was wearing a women’s size
22-24. I had food issues dealing with the taking care of and the death of my
mother while pregnant with my 2nd child and then again dealing with
his diagnoses of Autism. This is far from my high school graduation weight of
133lb on my 5”4’ frame.
I didn’t want to do things outside with my family because I
didn’t have the energy to keep up with them.
This was very frustrating and upsetting to me. We live on a farm so there is a lot to
do. It was a struggle for me to do the
simplest things. So I stayed inside and
comforted myself with food. How could a
girl that loved the outdoors and was a playing a sport every season in high
school now be isolated inside unable to keep up with her family?
I managed to maintain a weight around 165lbs. I knew that I was big and out of shape,
but in my mind I was never THAT big. A friend asked me to come with her to her
“gym”. This was gym uses a combination
of interval, rep out and MMA training.
Since the gym membership that I never used in college (do to lack of
knowledge, motivation and lots of excuses!) ran out I thought, “What do I have
to lose? I cannot let myself go
anymore”. So I started with her 2 nights
a week. Within 6 months of hard work and
dedication, I was changing right before my eyes. I didn't make dietary changes at first, but
started noticing huge changes in my appearance!! As time went on, my body
continued to metamorphosis. Never in a million years did I ever think that this
overweight mom of 3, who wasn't the least bit confident, do so much! I was stronger,
skinnier and healthier!! I was coming to the gym 5 nights a week and loving
every minute of it. I ran my first 5K in the fall of 2012. I didn’t even have to stop. This was amazing since the last time I ran
any distance was the mile in high school!!
That is where I learned that running does something for your body that
the gym doesn’t. I don’t have access to
a treadmill or elliptical. This helped
lean out the areas that I was missing in the gym. Now I love to run and look forward to that
“me” time to clear my head. I cleaned up
my diet about 4 months later and got my family on board with me. Now my husband and I spend time together
working out. I realized very recently that food and exercise are the only
things that I could control the outcome of when times are tough. It was very empowering
for me when I seemed powerless over anything else around me. Going to the gym is not only good for my
PHYSICAL health, it works for my MENTAL health too! Food is FUEL not comfort. I am currently
training for an upcoming Tough Mudder in the fall.
Hardbody Fitness, my “happy place”, has changed my
life. I love it so much, I decided to
become an instructor and share my passion and results with everyone else. I am
still work in progress. I still struggle
at times, but now I recognize this weakness and I make a change before it gets
me. My goals now are to train hard, eat well, believe in myself and inspire
others who think they "can't". I can, and will do things I never
imagined possible. The key is surrounding yourself with like minded POSITIVE
people. I'm so lucky to have a few of those in my life that inspire me daily.
After 3 children Sept 2009 May 2010
After 3 children Sept 2009 May 2010
March 2012
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