Why I do what I do {my motivation}

Hey everyone! Welcome to my NEW blog! I'm so excited you have taken the time to read this. It means that at least a tiny part of you is interested in becoming the BEST version of yourself. I'm happy to be a part of that.

I'm getting ahead of myself, here. This entry is for an introduction. Why I do what I do and why I'm making it a big part of my life. Every woman has a story and I believe it's important to share mine and why I'm a Beachbody coach.

That's me, top right circa... 2002?

I have always been THIN. I grew up eating meat, potatoes, vegetables, and fruit, but also chips, pizza, and lots of unhealthy snacks. I stayed thin! I was also extremely active, especially in high school-- track, soccer, cheerleading. I wasn't just sitting around eating Cheetos all day. I mean, I ate Cheetos... I just ate and then burned it off like it was nothing.

College came and I was a little less active... not as involved but I walked everywhere on campus. On the average it was at least a couple of miles a day. My diet, however, didn't change. I ate pizza and drank beer with the best of them. Again, I didn't think anything of it! I was still thin and healthy!

After college, I got a desk job. I participated in the obligatory potlucks and birthday celebrations, happy hours and girls' nights out. I completely stopped exercising. Slowly, I started to gain weight. Incredibly, it didn't bother me too much. I was thin-- I could stand to gain a few pounds. I joined a yoga class and called it good.

Feeling AMAZING after a year of healthiness in the mountains.

Then I got a great opportunity to move to North Carolina for a year. I lived in a little hippie town and for a year, lived the healthy lifestyle that is embraced there. I experimented with getting rid of red meat, and then getting rid of meat all together. I hiked a lot and started running again. I got to a healthy, manageable weight and I felt amazing. My contract expired after a year-- otherwise I may have stayed in that mountain paradise forever. But, I came back to Iowa and was back at a desk job.

Girl Scouts. I worked long hours, ate out a lot and the cookies. OH THE COOKIES.  I love me some Girl Scout cookies, friends! I was stressed out, so I ate. I was tired, so I ate. It was unavoidable with all the cookies, potlucks and other excuses to eat. Every birthday, welcome to the office party, farewell party, shower... it was constant. Not to mention, my boss had a bowl of chocolate on her desk, free for the taking. I would go to her office to have a 30 minute meeting with her and just eat chocolate. You'd think all of this would explain my weight gain. but...

I fell in love. I met the man that is now my husband and focused on him. Working out took away from that time together. It was fun to go out to eat and get a big popcorn at the theater and "veg out" together. I gained even more happy-and-in-love weight and the cookies. kept. coming.

By the time Randy proposed, I was at my heaviest. I wanted to be stunning on my wedding day, but I needed to get my rear in gear. So, I hired a trainer in September 2012. She was a little bitty thing and that was discouraging each time I saw her. I wanted to be effortlessly thin like I once was and I hated how hard she made me work. I felt like I could never accomplish the goals I had if I could barely lose a pound.

May 2013.

In spring 2013, 2 months before the Big Day, my sister, also a Beachbody coach, talked me into trying Shakeology. Just in that month, I lost 7 pounds. I was able to control my portions and my cravings. I has more energy to actually go to the gym. I started to feel like myself again. When the wedding day came in June, I had lost a total of 15 pounds... about 10 of those came after I began Shakeology. It was a definitely improvement from where I was, but I'm not happy with how I looked on my wedding day.

You know what they say... it's not about the wedding, it about the MARRIAGE.

Randy and I celebrated 7 months of marriage yesterday. Together, we are working towards the BEST versions of ourselves. We are married to each other we are married to the idea that we can be healthy, happy and totally in love. We are married to the idea that our future will be better than our past.
In August of 2013, I became a Beachody coach, again at the prompting of my sister. Women have so many stories of themselves and how they got the where they are today. Beachbody offers so many solutions to help women get to their goal- the BEST version of themselves. I want to be the turning point for others, like my sister was for me, in the story of their health and wellness. <3