As a child… I was always active and had a ‘gymnast’ build.  I was an athlete….. Who am I kidding…? I am still an athlete!

I participated in sports year round….and tended to lean towards team sports.  I was the starting volleyball setter and softball pitcher in high school.  I have won many awards and set records, yet I was NEVER the smallest on the team.  I was a muscular 125 as a senior….and I loved it.  That body was rockin!

Then, I left the safe zone of high school and went to college. I had 2 colleges ask me to try out for their volleyball team, but they didn’t have the degree I wanted.  So, I studied physical therapy assisting at the University of Cincinnati.  After the first college quarter, I pulled my act together and was a good student.  I graduated with a 4.0 GPA.  However, that first year of college was not pretty.  I am from a small country town in Ohio.  I graduated with 49 people and I knew most of their parents.  People knew my name (from a large family & sports) and I was very comfortable, but really wanted to leave that little town.  College was my opportunity, and I didn’t waste any time throwing myself into big city life.  My new found independence also included making my own meals…. or, ordering them.  Pizza and Chinese carry out were popular among dorm life (I think we kept “Red Pepper” Chinese restaurant in business)!  I never drank in high school, but I quickly learned that I loved the taste of “Boone’s Farm Strawberry Hill” – cheap alcohol.  I didn’t gain the freshman 15 because I cont. to stay active with exercise and playing Volleyball on intramural teams.  However, my body did change in college.  My breasts decided to start growing & my metabolism slowed and I went up a size.

Post college, I joined a gym and got fit again.  I wanted my therapy patients to respect me and believe in me, and I felt like if I was young & overweight, then they would wonder why I didn’t exercise like I was asking them to do.  I remember doing a kickboxing workout and seeing my abs. I was about 22 years old.  I LOVE defined abs!!

Then, I met a boy, moved to Fort Wayne, got married, and my life changed yet again.  I was making meals for 2 of us on a budget while working long hours as a therapist (12 hour days).  We ate out often.  The bartender at Applebee’s knew our drink order when we walked into the door!  Because of my age, my metabolism was still clicking away (mid-late 20’s) and I was still working out at the gym, although I always felt a little lost…. as in ‘Well, what do I do next?  I did the treadmill and elliptical… guess I should lift some weights….. But I don’t want people to think I’m an idiot because I’m doing it wrong.” (Sound familiar??)

At 29 years old, I was blessed with a baby.  My son was a preemie, born at 32 weeks.  I spent my days sitting beside his tiny glass incubator, watching the machines that monitored his body temp, heart rate, breathing….. And prayed they kept moving.  It was rough… I won’t lie.  My body went through some horrible stress problems…..it was ugly.  I wasn’t eating well at all and would make myself feel better by getting a black raspberry smoothie from Zesto’s on the way home from the hospital…. at least 4-5x/week.  I thought…. “I need the calories and its milk/berries, so I’m doing something good.”    (OMG!)

Over the next 3 years, I suffered 2 miscarriages and had gained 15lbs.  I belonged to a local gym, however my son always cried and my name was announced on the loud speaker to please come get him within 15 minutes of getting on cardio equipmemt. I soon quit the gym.  I pushed the stroller 2 miles almost daily and did some home workouts, and did exercises with my patients to lose some of the baby weight.   Almost 3 years later, I got pregnant for a fourth time.  Once again, symptoms of miscarriage & high risk pregnancy wreaked havoc on me.  My highest weight was about 175lbs when pregnant.  My daughter was born at 38 weeks and very healthy!!  That’s it… we were blessed with two and I was content.  Now that I had my family and was done having babies….it was time to get that rockin’ body back!!  I started running because my SIL wanted to run a 5K.  It was a perfect time for me to run with her & I didn’t want her to beat me.  She still beat me… and she was in her first trimester of pregnancy at that time!!  AAh… embarrassing!  That led to me wanting to become a stronger runner.  I realized that ‘speed’ wasn’t my thing…however,  ‘endurance’ was, so I focused on that and am now a marathon runner.  I will be running another marathon next month!

Running alone will not cause much weight loss.  I needed something to help me with my diet as a full time Mom and part time therapist.  I needed a structured exercise/strengthening program too & didn’t want to join the gym.  My friend was a Team Beachbody coach, and so I tried the ‘Slim in 6’ program, and got bored.  I wanted more, but didn’t want to pay full price, so I became a Team Beachbody coach!  Helloooo discount!!!  I then completed the P90X program, which led me to the Insanity program.  During this time, I did a timed mile run each week and my speed was increasing…. Without actually running!
I began drinking Shakeology and lost 10 pounds with P90X, but more importantly, gained back my muscle!!  Insanity helped me to lose another 5lbs. and I felt great.  More energy, better patience with the kids because my frustrations were being put to use during a workout, mentally I felt better, and I wanted to shout it from the rooftops!!  I decided at that time to ‘pay it forward’ and share my journey with others.  People believed in me; realizing I was a typical Mom & if I could do it, others could too.  So, I went big and started my own company that I use as an umbrella for all the other fitness/nutrition work I do…it’s called “YourFitness-411.”  Have you heard of it?  (coy smile)  I have about 40 coaches on my team at this time and we are always looking to grow.  These people have some AMAZING s journeys that will inspire even the couch potatoes who get tired walking to the mailbox!  I’m excited about the diversity of people on my team & how truly inspiring/caring they are for others.  It makes my heart smile to think about them and see what a difference they are making in people’s lives, but more importantly… in their OWN life.

I decided that if I wanted people to trust me and choose ME over all the other Team Beachbody coaches, I needed to have a great team & I needed to be a successful leader.  I already had the therapist degree under my belt which was marketable, but I needed more and becoming a personal trainer didn’t interest me too much.  Therefore, a friend whom I met through Team Beachbody and I took online courses together through the ISSA to become specialists in sports nutrition.  Writing those papers and doing that research ate up a lot of my time & created sleep loss/frustrations!  Thank goodness running helps my brain/emotions in tact!  During all this, I completed my first marathon….and quickly added that to my resume.  Who wouldn’t want a coach who has her own company, nutrition certification, therapist degree to assist with injuries and muscle building/body knowledge, has experience in weight loss, has people with AMAZING personal journeys on her coaching staff/team, and is completing marathons?  #LeadByExample

I still have 10-15 pounds I want to lose!!  I’m still on my journey!!  And I’m ok with that. I’m built like a rock….I do not feel as though I look like other women who are my weight and I’m proud of what my body can accomplish.  Did I mention I ran 20 miles recently and my only pain is a little ITBand tendonitis and mild quad muscle soreness??
I’m not going to allow that weight goal to stop me from accomplishing other fitness goals or helping others.  I know that once this marathon is over (all this running does NOT create much weight loss, don’t let anyone fool you) that I will lose the weight because I will be doing much more strength training.
Now, you know my journey.  You know more about me as a person, and not just a cyber-fitness coach.

Did you also know that my favorite word in the dictionary is ‘BELIEVE?’  It represents many things for me and makes me smile when I read it.  I believe in each person on my coaching team and my clients.  I believe there is a greatness inside each one of us.  Thank you for believing in me!  I believe in you too!  Question is:  Do you BELIEVE in yourself?

For more information on my company, how to join my team, & where to follow me on social media – Click **HERE** YourFitness-411