My Story, My transformation

My story isn't something that would make an infomercial, it's not some extreme transformation where I went down to half my size; it's more about a mental transformation which lead to the physical transformation.

I have always been active, enjoyed athletics such as swimming, cheer, and track in high school but there was a big part of me that didn't exude confidence. It didn't matter how many races I won, or what I accomplished, I was still very shy and just didn't feel like I was worth the hype.

Feeling that way made me eat. I am an emotional eater and I still struggle with it today. My biggest problem is when it comes time to put down the fork. One cookie is never enough, and even at 5 cookies it is hard to just stop. If I'm feeling down, it's 10 times worse. I just felt like I didn't have that "Off" switch in my brain to allow me to stop. I just kept eating. The same goes with fast food...once I start I just can't stop.

So as I got older, and my metabolism began to take a nose dive due to me not being active every day, the weight started to come on. Pair that with the anti-depressants and anxiety medication that I was on from a difficult time in my life and you have the recipe for disaster. I gained nearly 20 lbs in a year. 20.

I had never considered myself fat, and at that weight I still didn't (I think fat is a very ugly word); however, I did consider myself very different from what I was used to. We will put it like that. It wasn't until I started seeing pictures of myself, and then stepped on a scale that my mind became BLOWN. I had to do something.

I decided to sign up to be a Zumba instructor, and while that was fun, the weight still wasn't coming off (and my routines were INSANE). Why? Well because I was still eating like garbage due to my "lack of time" for cooking. Between my 50 hours at my day job, Zumba 4 nights a week, and a full time school load the only thing I had time for was Easy Mac and a Cheeseburger, or maybe even some Raman Noodles (hitting home, anyone?) That's when I tried Shakeology.

I noticed the change in about 2 weeks from drinking it. My stomach wasn't as fluffy and I did have more energy. It prompted me to learn about the various nutrients in the drink, which then lead me to learn about clean eating, which then started making me make small changes in my diet here and there to start loving healthy foods instead of fattening foods (and yes, healthy foods can be AMAAAZING!)  The change in my diet paired with my workout at the time, Turbo Jam, lead to a 5 lb weight loss. Not much! But it was something. I decided to become a coach largely for the discount at the time.

Once I became a coach and received my Shakeology on discount and the workouts on discount, I started experimenting and took on P90X and Brazil Butt Lift. I was definitely challenging myself, but I had this crazy new mindset that I could do ANYTHING...so I also signed up for a half marathon (crazy, I know). But being an inspiration to others allowed me to become an inspiration to myself. When people started looking up to me it was the biggest high I have ever felt in my life. It was like having an amazing workout and feeling that endorphin rush all day, every day. The feeling was indescribable. I was someone people looked up to, and the other coaches were people that I looked up to. Surround yourself with positive people and you start to achiever positive results!

I accomplished ALL of it. Finished P90X, Finished the half marathon, signed up for another half marathon, and moved on to all sorts of different programs. Since January 2012, I have lost a total of 22 lbs using Shakeology and Beachbody's programs. I don't really want the weight to drop anymore, because I like my body. I think I'm a good size for ME. Now I am looking to tone up..and that's where my journey is going to continue to go... Wish me luck!