All smiles and the chronology of my journey

Today I decided I would mix up my Turbo Kick routine a little bit...I mixed my routine up with some older rounds and newer rounds. It was really fun. I had some new participants and some old participants...and no mic.

So. I had fun. I screamed. My voice cracked. And I didn't care. I was there in class loving life.

At the end of class I mentioned that one of my friends was a personal trainer at another Y and also a massage therapist. A few people came up to her after class and asked her some questions. One woman, i'll call her Mary, came up to me and we ended up chatting. She said that she loved taking my class and Nick's class because we made it so inclusive. I told her that's the beauty of health, health should be accessible to anyone. I told her about my own health journey and that I was close to 230 pounds a few years ago and I decided to take my health seriously. I joined Weight Watchers and was in all of the Y classes I could take. There was a point during all of those classes that I knew I wanted to become an instructor.

After class I walked downstairs, full of sweat, and some new participants asked me more questions. They wanted to know when I taught and if the class could take 12 more people. I said of course. The new participants are part of a local program and they said that they enjoyed the class and wanted to keep coming - it was good for them. I smiled. I'm not perfect at working out or teaching, but I am all smiles.

I left the gym floating. I called my workout instructor inspiration and told him thank you for what he does.

This is where I've come from...
















To now:

Be Your Inspiration

This week...be your inspiration.

I get healthy competition...like seeing someone jumping high in class...and then being all...I want to jump higher than that person.

But, still. Be your own inspiration. Society encourages us and even forces us to be in a constant place of comparing ourselves to others...of course we can't be happy where we are, we must always look to who we aren't.

I don't buy that anymore. I remember running across the finish line during my first half-marathon...and being so excited. I was inspired. If I would've been comparing myself to the number of people who were ahead of me in the race I wouldn't have been able to celebrate that moment if I had based my accomplishments on what someone did or didn't do.

Today, I'm choosing to be inspired in the moments of today...and not compare myself or my situation to others.

Celebrate where you are today...you've come a long way from yesterday.

Health 'n' Hair

It's only been two months since I chopped my hair off...I know, weird huh. My hair is growing like a beautiful plant. I really like it. Today I looked at myself in the mirror and smiled...and said, I really like my hair.

So, Friday night K and I went to our friend Caleb's art opening. It took us 30 minutes to get into the actual show. We kept running into friends and catching up. It was really fun to celebrate. Moving on...I'm chatting it up with friends Emily and Amanda when a stranger, who looks familiar, taps me on the shoulder. She asks if I would be interested in attending a natural hair meet up. I was so happy that I wanted to scream a little bit. OFCOURSE. I'll get to learn from others who are vets and newbies and figure out what they use...how to make homemade products! And anyone who wants to come can come...anyone who wants to learn more about hair and good hair products.

Finding like-minded people who care for their hair and their health inspires me...

What's inspiring you today?

Why I'm a Workout Instructor

I never became a workout instructor because of the money, trust me. I remember writing some New Year's Goals one year and becoming a workout instructor was one of them. I enjoyed going to classes where the instructors encouraged me to try new things and to try harder. I enjoyed the camaraderie they created in classes. And I liked that they were in class for us...they weren't getting their own workout, they were there for us.

Now, with all of that, I'm not saying that I want people to look to me for those things.

I became a workout instructor so I could witness people's transformation into their truer selves. 

I've been a member at the Y for a number of years and am pretty familiar with the people there. When I began teaching at First Comp I had a new group of people who had never done Turbo Kick before. I'll never forget those first few weeks of class. Remembering those classes keeps me inspired in these current classes. We've all heard it...the participants become the instructors :) They truly have.

So, let me give you the top 5 reasons I'm a workout instructor:
1. I like seeing the moment when people get a complicated workout routine and then explain it to others.
2. I like to have fun.
3. I enjoy being inspired by people's growth - not just physically but also emotionally and socially. I've seen people become more confident in themselves through classes...nothing I've done...that's all them.
4. I like setting up the groundwork but then stepping out of the way allowing the students to lead the way. I think i've said that before.
5. Seeing the familiar faces each week.

Wakey wakey...

Since cutting out a majority of the processed sugar in my diet I've noticed that I am able to wake up a lot easier than before. There were days I would drag myself out of bed, go to the bathroom, turn the tv on and then go back to bed. But the past two weeks I've caught myself getting up before my alarm or having an easier time waking up than normal.

And I'm happy. I remind myself of how it felt to go to sleep with an overly full stomach...and how it felt to wake up in the morning in a sugar hangover.

AND...why am I awake right now.

:) Good night folks.

Week One: Gym Therapy

I finished the first week of trying to watch what I'm eating...I feel like my body has fell into a natural way of eating that feels good. I am some seafood and dairy. I'm lactose intolerant, but I'm learning that if I eat dairy that is closest to the source I'm usually good.

Last night I wasn't sure I was going to stick with it. I was craving a lot of brownies, dense chocolate cake and some icecream. I stopped and listened to what was happening. I was freaking out about returning to work. I've been away from the office for almost three weeks - with my office's conference and our week of vacation - I wasn't sure I could get back in the swing of a 9-5 without a nap.

Today was one of those days. I'm thankful I made it out alive...during the day I was giving a friend an hour-by-hour update on what was happening and I told him that I wasn't sure I was going to go to the gym. He teaches this class...Body Attack, it's a hot mess. I told him that I had three goals...1) drive by the gym 2) go to half of his class 3) finish his class.

At the end of the day I was spent but I had this epiphany. I'm so tired of the following:
1) People telling me what I should or should not do with my body, feelings, emotions...I mean, I welcome people and their concerns for my well-being. What I'm tired of is allowing people to affect my mood and stress level to the point that I allow that to be more of a priority over my health. There have been times I've left work just to leave and go home and take a nap to ignore the day. I had the familiar head and fatigue around 430....and all of a sudden I realized I'm not letting stress dictate my day.
2) Allowing stress to dictate my day...I've allowed stress to tell me when to sleep, stay awake...what to eat, what not to eat...when to exercise, when to not exercise...when to talk...when to be quiet. Stress has become my familiar friend, but today I chose my health above stress...

AND I GOT MY GYM THERAPY!

I looked at the clock..it was 5:30 and I decided to start my workout...looked at the clock...6...thought well I can stay and see if I can make it through this next song...I would make it...then I realized that there's just two more songs...then I made it to the end. I made it. From 5:30-6:30 I felt like myself again.

I need to remember this feeling...I'm sort of floating. I made it home, finished my workout, and have felt incredibly relaxed. And I didn't have to say a word during therapy...I just had to be.

Get your gym therapy today.

211 Days until I'm 30

Today is August 1.

I turn 30 in 211 days and I'm so excited!!!!

In seven months I'll be celebrating my birthday!!!!

And I'm going to enjoy every single day until my birthday and celebrate health.

And I need to finish my list of health things I wanna do.

I want to blog more about that list this week.

Yeah!