"Working out" became a part of my life when I realized what I was doing with my eating habits and amount of exercise was not working out for me. Clever right? But I say "working out" because this initially entailed multiple sessions on the stair master with obsessive eating habits minus a knowledgeable base whatsoever. But nonetheless I found myself wearing a size zero and feeling quite accomplished (and hungry). This all took place pre-highschool. Upon entering the minor league of education, if you will, I dabbled in some weight training here and there and mainly found myself playing yo-yo with my diet and trying any and everything that might speed things up to "lose weight." Staying a size zero and eating is extremely difficult. Go figure. You name it- South Beach Diet, Detox tea diet, Hydroxycut, those insane "take these 75 pills and you will feel and look the BEST you ever have!!!!" diets... (no thank you) and also the only-eat-sugar-free-jello-for-10-days diet (I think I made that one up.. it worked.. but then I realized.. one cannot live on sugar jello alone.. again- GO FIGURE. Oh and then I gained those 10+ pounds back). It was utterly exhausting. It was a sick joke I was playing on myself. I went on to find the freshman 15 my second semester of college and a slew of other issues seemed to follow. I got fed up with all of it. I was tired of failing. I was tired of momentary short cuts that led to worse failure, and I was ready to show myself that hard work and dedication were dying to show up in my life. I researched and read articles about nutrition and fitness and began my journey. But the real turning point was the day I had my first session with a trainer. She showed me the ropes and awakened that drive and dedication I had been searching for. It all seemed to click. It was beautiful... A challenge with sweat and determination that ended in actual results. It was no longer a search for some miracle weight loss plan. Tying together the threads I discovered along the way about nutrition and how to really use a gym... It became a passion and a lifestyle that changed me forever. And I have not even really scratched the surface of it yet! So exciting.

It's something personal almost.. it's proving to myself that I CAN. It's that feeling when I didn't think I could do one more.. and I do. It's the art of transforming the body and the science of caring for it. It's inspiring others when you don't even realize it. It's the glorious release of endorphins. It's realizing I deserve to wear a shirt that says "Eat Clean.. Train Dirty." I love working out because it's not just something I do.. it's who I am and it never gets old.