In 2012, I went to a work event and Jinny S. Ditzler, author of Your Best Year Yet, was the speaker at the event. I was 24 years old at the time and I remember her telling us to write down the top 10 accomplishments for the year and the top 10 disappointments for the year. I remember struggling to come up with any accomplishments. I was 24 years old, right out of college, I was the youngest in the room by several years, and I couldn’t think of anything for accomplishments.
When it came time to write down disappointments, I had 15 that I could think of and we only needed 10. I looked up in that moment and realized that I was the only one at the table that was scribbling down disappointments. Everyone else that I was sitting with at the table was running marathons, winning awards at work, getting promotions, getting married, having kids, doing all these things that I knew I wanted to do with my life. I realized that I didn’t have any of those accomplishments and I had nothing to be proud of.
I remember going home super defeated. I remember thinking how embarrassing it was to have written all those disappointments down and I thought to myself “what is wrong with me?” I actually took the piece of paper home and studied the 15 disappointments I wrote down. I realized that they didn’t just stem from the number on the scale but they stemmed from my lack of confidence, my insecurities, and lack of self-worth. I realized that I wasn’t taking care of myself and I felt like crap all the time. I realized that I had 2 choices. I either had to make friends with those disappointments because whatever you are not changing, you are choosing. Or I had a choice that I had to make that I could change.
I could do the hard thing like going to the gym, make better food choices and actually work to lose weight. I was 215 pounds at 24 years old. I had gained weight rapidly after graduating from college and I didn’t want that to be my story. I didn’t want to wake up at 40, 50 and 60 thinking “gosh I should have done something. I was too lazy, I had too many excuses, I was too busy, too tired, etc.” I realized in that moment that I had a chance to do things differently and have a different outcome and that is what I did!
On September 28, 2012, I made a promise to myself that I wasn’t going to quit. For the first time in my life, I was actually going to follow-through on a promise I made to myself which was that I was going to get healthy once and for all. I told myself that I was going to figure it out and I wasn’t going to quit. So that meant when I went to the gym for a week and saw no progress, I was still going to go back to the gym the next day. When I was really craving a burger, I still ate healthy and made the right choices. I made choices that were in line with how I wanted to feel and how I wanted my life to go. I made a choice that I wasn’t going to stop.
I had tried and failed many times before. I can’t even count how many times I had tried something and quit because it got hard and I stopped. I decided that I wasn’t willing to choose that for the rest of my life and I wanted better. If you are reading this and you want better for yourself, make today the day you choose differently for yourself. Make today the day you finally believe that you actually can do it because it is better than where you are at right now and things can get better and you can change. Now I get to spend my days helping other women do exactly what I have done. This is why I coach because I know that single decision to say “hey I want to change my life” can change your entire life. Not just your weight, it can change literally your entire future. When you start showing up as a person with confidence and feeling good in your own skin, everything changes. Doors open up for you that you never even thought were doors open up, everything changes. So that is why I do what I do. That is why I run these bootcamps and I want to help you guys.
Of course I am going to shamelessly plug my next virtual bootcamp because if you are reading this and you want to make a change, come join me. I’ve been right where you are at. I know how it feels and I also know how it feels like on the other side of making positive choices, changing habits and doing the hard things of how amazing it is. I want to support you as you make those hard choices and be there with you every step of the way!
I remember going home super defeated. I remember thinking how embarrassing it was to have written all those disappointments down and I thought to myself “what is wrong with me?” I actually took the piece of paper home and studied the 15 disappointments I wrote down. I realized that they didn’t just stem from the number on the scale but they stemmed from my lack of confidence, my insecurities, and lack of self-worth. I realized that I wasn’t taking care of myself and I felt like crap all the time. I realized that I had 2 choices. I either had to make friends with those disappointments because whatever you are not changing, you are choosing. Or I had a choice that I had to make that I could change.
I could do the hard thing like going to the gym, make better food choices and actually work to lose weight. I was 215 pounds at 24 years old. I had gained weight rapidly after graduating from college and I didn’t want that to be my story. I didn’t want to wake up at 40, 50 and 60 thinking “gosh I should have done something. I was too lazy, I had too many excuses, I was too busy, too tired, etc.” I realized in that moment that I had a chance to do things differently and have a different outcome and that is what I did!
On September 28, 2012, I made a promise to myself that I wasn’t going to quit. For the first time in my life, I was actually going to follow-through on a promise I made to myself which was that I was going to get healthy once and for all. I told myself that I was going to figure it out and I wasn’t going to quit. So that meant when I went to the gym for a week and saw no progress, I was still going to go back to the gym the next day. When I was really craving a burger, I still ate healthy and made the right choices. I made choices that were in line with how I wanted to feel and how I wanted my life to go. I made a choice that I wasn’t going to stop.
I worked really hard to have 3 fit pregnancies and I worked even harder to get my body back in shape. I have lost a total of 75 pounds mainly with at home workouts and a portion control meal plan. My main focus now is maintaining my weight and feeling good in my own skin!
I am now a full time Online Fitness Coach, working on paying it forward and helping other women get in the best shape of their life. Getting fit has changed my life and I have this huge passion for helping others do the same. I want to help YOU get in the best shape of your life and live your life to the FULLEST!
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