I wasn't always into fitness.

Sometimes we have to travel the path that scares us the most in order to feel alive

Confession: I wasn't always into fitness....

Yup, those dreaded 5 words that I try and hide like a stained shirt. "I wasn't always into fitness".
How can I admit that to people?! Aren't I supposed to be the poster child for what a healthy lifestyle is?! Won't that make me look like a fraud?

The answer is simple. No. No, it won't. It will do quite the opposite.

You see, I've had diagnosed asthma since I was 9 years old.... I never wanted to run, or play too hard and while working out at the gym seemed like a fun idea for the first few times, let's be honest.... I would keep paying that monthly membership and NEVER GO.

I ended up losing like 15 pounds before my wedding because my dress was getting too tight ::insert squeezing session here:: and all I did was watched what I ate and did a fast paced walk twice a day. Well, sorry to say that amount of activity quickly became enough to just maintain my weight, but not lose any. You see, with my first child, I did the usual "I can eat what I want and lose it after the baby comes" song and dance but let's face it.... It didn't come off.... and I was not feeling pretty to say the least. Being thin or muscular aren't everything, I get that, but I didn't feel like the happy, energetic, sarcastic person I was used to. I had this beautiful new baby boy who I loved more than life itself but I felt embarassed when people would ask me if I was still pregnant and I was SICK OF WEARING MATERNITY CLOTHES, 4 months post pardum.... Yeah, that was me.

It wasn't until I was pregnant with my daughter that I started to watch what I ate more, in effort to not add another 50 pounds onto what I was already carrying around. People would tell me, "Oh it's fine, you're pregnant, you look great, or I would love to be your size instead of mine". While I appreciated the sentiment, "to each their own". What felt good to one persons skin, felt foreign and unwanted to mine, it all travels down stream from one person to another.

I had my daughter and only gained 37 pounds instead of the 55 that I gained with my son. I lost a good portion of it after having her but there was that nasty weight that I had when I first got pregnant with her. Oh hey you.... still around, eh?

I tried A LOT of things and yeah, I would lose a little bit of weight with each one, maybe gain a little back in between and it was SO FRUSTRATING!!!! Why was this so hard? It used to be so easy to drop weight. I used to be able to limit fast food to once a day and lose a few pounds.... where was that girl at?

Reality.

Those were past times and bad habits and now I was paying for them. I need to move on.

I used to dread fitness.... the thought of constantly having to work out was awful and felt like a chore. It wasn't until I started running that I actually found a desire to be active.... Ok, it turned more into an obsession, but a healthy one where I would compete against myself to be better for myself and my family. My kids, family & friends started to notice and I was able to get others started on a similar path. This was all before BeachBody so I had no compensation for helping people other than the self worth. As a joke, they would all call me coach but in a way they actually kind of saw me as their coach because I would check-in on them and motivate them to keep trying when they wanted to quit.

When I started the BeachBody workouts, I was also on and off trying some in person group fitness classes just to mix things up. I really liked being able to get the same level of difficulty from my dvd's that I did at the classes. I really liked being able to save time and at a moments notice throw on a tank top and shorts to get a quick workout in. I still went for a run or jumped in on a group class when time allowed but I wasn't dependent on it to stay/get in shape like I used to be.

Although I teeter tottered on signing up for about 3 months, becoming a BeachBody Coach was a no brainer for me. I was already unofficially "coaching", motivating others even if that was just because they would see my facebook posts with my mileage and time or 30 minutes of circuit training, etc. I believed in the product because I was PROOF OF THE PRODUCT and it opened up a whole new world of possibilities.

So am I ashamed to say I wasn't "ALWAYS INTO FINTESS"? Nahhhh.... everyone has to start somewhere at some time and it doesn't matter what age or stage in your life you start at, as long as you start and you let it change you for the better. Fitness & Nutrition isn't just about losing weight, it's about creating this awesome healthy body that feeds the mind & soul with happiness and confidence.