I suppose you could say college was when my health and fitness journey started.  This is when I first started regularly working out.  I would try to get to the gym at least 4 times a week and do about an hour of cardio, crunches, pick up the 8 lb weights for 5 minutes, and walk out.  I am pretty confident that the bottles of Pinot Grigio that I carried around campus were heavier than any dumbbell I touched at the gym.  I tried to eat healthy when I could but then ate pretty much whatever I wanted and drank 2-3 nights a week.  Not having control over my diet or any real education on exercise caused my weight to have a yo-yo effect throughout my 4 years of college.

 

By senior year, this took a serious mental toll on me.  I became obsessive (I hate that word) and would do anything to get my weight back down even though I knew I was taking unhealthy approaches (no not drugs).  Fast forward a year later, I am out of the college environment and living with my parents so the diet was slightly better but I was still lacking the fitness expertise.  I ended up overworking myself with hours on the treadmill and developing patellar tendonitis in both knees.  Of course I ignored it because I couldn't face the possibility of taking a few measly days off from running.  Fast forward again to 2014 and after multiple physical therapy programs the pain and inflammation is still present.

 

Now, there is a light at the end of this tunnel!  I decided that this was going to be the year that I was going to make a change for the better.  I knew there had to be a way to battle this tendonitis and get myself healthy, both mentally and physically.  But I knew I couldn't do it alone.  I decided to invest in an online trainer in hopes that I could learn a thing or two.  Turns out I ended up learning a lot (and am still learning!), not only about nutrition and exercise but also about myself.  Being healthy makes me feel good and it is a lifestyle that I want to maintain.  I even decided to take on multiple nutritional and fitness courses and go WAY out of my comfort zone to hit the stage for my first bikini competition in the spring of 2015.  2015 was the year of bodybuilding and I ended up doing two shows; one in the spring and one in the fall. 

Bodybuilding alone is a whole different topic and you can read more about my experience in my post "My Experience with Bodybuilding".  

 

Overall, I hope that by sharing my journey I can inspire and motivate others to be fearless of their goals and to live a happy and healthy lifestyle.

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