For me personally, I coach because of the emotions we tie to our health and goals. I am truly passionate about helping others achieve the good ones and adversely learn from and move beyond the bad ones.
Coming off a weekend spent entirely with my fellow coaches, I am just filled with this overwhelming feeling of gratitude. I am thankful for these people and this experience. We share stories, we have the opportunity to learn from some of the BEST and we learn from each other. In one of the speeches the topic was building relationships. The speaker was referring to relationships with teammates, fellow coaches, customers etc, and it got me thinking. I am lucky enough to have made (and kept) a LOT of friends through various stages of my life. Because of that some of you may not know my story… how did I get here? And more importantly, to bring it full circle, WHY am I staying here.
A hot topic every time we get together is our “why.”
Our “why” refers to the driving force fueling our desire to be successful in this business. My immediate thought is my family - I work my butt off day in and day out to help provide for us. Deep down I also want to show my daughter that once you find your passion - dive in, let it consume you and cultivate it until you’ve created this life that looks EXACTLY (or damn near close to exactly) like you want it to.
My “why” also consists of helping others along this healthy lifestyle journey. My journey to get to where I currently am is LONG...my weight has literally run the gamut. I’ve seen the 105s and I’ve also seen the 205s. When I think back the number on the scale may be a little blurry, but what is spot on is how I FELT during the different stages of my life. I can literally “feel” the memories. I desperately want my friends and family to feel these highs but I also want to hold their hands, and support them through the inevitable lows...
Let me elaborate…
I have always been an active person - 3 sport athlete in HS, played collegiate softball and continued working out 4-6x a week after graduation, heck I still aim for that. The problem for me was although in my head (and heart) I was still that rockstar 17 year old who ran miles, did hours on the pre-core, took daily strength and pilates classes at my gym - nobody told the college me, or the me whose metabolism became a glacier at the age of 30 - that this wasn’t going to be the case any longer. I won’t get too deep into the post baby “get your body back” journey because it will eventually be a post all in its own - so lets keep it at a higher level.
When we are younger and tend to have fewer responsibilities it is A LOT easier to spend all this time focusing on our health and fitness - especially if you actually enjoy it. As we grow older and are slowly removed from that bubble, circumstances change and with it the effort required to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
I have been too tough on myself, and my body for my entire life (talk about exhausting). As I mentioned before I have seen the spectrum on the scale and I am currently residing somewhere in the middle. Difference right now is I am the healthiest, happiest and most comfortable I have EVER been.
Truthfully I spent too much time WAAAAAY heavier than I should’ve been - quick sarcastic thank you to the Freshman 45 that stayed with me until a year or so after I graduated. I literally cringe thinking back to those few years...I made stupid decisions DYING for the wrong sort of attention (dying to feel normal). And you know what I so vividly remember? People can be MEAN and it can be really, really lonely.
College and the year or so after is very conflicting for me because I literally had the TIME OF MY LIFE. I made some of my best friends, I met my future husband and I got the internship that started my corporate career in media during this time. On the other side of it, I have NEVER felt worse about myself. I was working out daily but its more like I dialed it in. I was going through the motions, I didn’t push myself through those workouts, I did those workouts. There is a BIG DIFFERENCE... and it showed.
It’s so funny as I look back now because in my head I was still that active person, working out everyday - except now I was also enjoying the daily adult beverage(s) and the cafeteria (WHY ARE THEY OPEN 24 HOURS?!). After this stage, I can say without a shadow of a doubt - I was not blessed with a metabolism that would do the work for me. I stopped caring about my physical self and as it deteriorated, so did my self esteem.
I credit my husband for pulling me out of this downward spiral. At a time in my life when I felt ugly, alone, undeserving of a real relationship he came along and made me feel beautiful, loved and most importantly worthy of all of it. This wasn’t a quick realization by ANY means but the more and more I began to believe it - truly believe it - the more I started to feel like my old self again. In turn, I started taking better care of myself and re-establishing the day to day of a healthier lifestyle...my norm.
Once out of that funk I actually stayed out of it until after my daughter was born. I gained 65+ lbs when I was pregnant, and good to note I also worked out until the day my water broke - I probably could’ve used a few less Kit-Kats, but for the most part my body gained what it needed. What it didn’t do was go away as easily as anticipated.
You hear all the advice the moms in your life give you but you don’t really HEAR it until you’re actually in it and living it for yourself. Once I got clearance from my doctor I started doing everything that I did before my pregnancy; elliptical, classes at the gym, Turbo Jams, running/jogging (yogging?) - but NOTHING was working. It was here I found barre classes and fell in love with the smaller class atmosphere, the low impact workout and the way I felt after taking 55 minutes to myself; refreshed, alive and stronger than ever.
Again I was de-funked. I was slowly removing myself from my Mommy bubble and making myself a priority. My body was changing in ways I didn’t think were possible anymore and I loved the confidence I was getting back. I was hooked. I wanted everyone to experience this with me because I wanted them to feel this way too. I loved it so much I jumped out of my comfort zone and eventually became a group ex instructor... I just HAD to pay it forward. I wanted other girls to know that it was possible to go from the biggest girl in class, who could barely do a sit-up to the one teaching. And most importantly that it was OK to take this hour to ourselves (we HAVE to lose the Mom Guilt…a post for another day).
I think this is why I have fallen head over heels in love with coaching. It’s the positive emotion and the passion, people have for bettering their lives. This “job” and my love for a healthy lifestyle has allowed me to reconnect with so many people I’ve lost touch with over the years while also getting to know a lot of my friends even better. These people are letting me into their lives and allowing me to share in their dreams, fears, struggles and accomplishments.
I am humbled and honored so many of you have already entrusted me with this role and I literally can’t wait to learn and crush more goals with you. I am eternally grateful you’re on this journey with me and I want you to know that you’re helping me too (truthfully, probably more than I’m helping you). You are consistently solidifying that I am doing the right thing and that at the end of the day, I am EXACTLY where I should be.
Wherever you’re at in your journey - beginner, dabbler or expert, and you want some company - I’ve been where you are and I would LOVE to celebrate the highs and fight the lows together...because at the end of the day isn't it always better with someone by your side?