I use to work out about 3-4 times a week back in 2004-2005 and then Katrina hit the Gulf Coast and destroyed the gym along with everything else down here. We bought a BowFlex after life settled down, but I was used to going to a gym and did not have the motivation to workout at home or on my own. My husband then found P90X and got me to do that with him and did for a while until I got sick and had to stop. In May 2014 we found AdvoCare and that got me focused on my health and wellness again. In January 2015 I did another 24 day challenge and started working out with a personal trainer. Things were great and I was making good strides with fitness until we found out my mom had stage 4 cancer and it threw life totally off course. I worked out when I could and tried to maintain good eats, but I won't lie the stress has been tough and I've done my best.

That was when I found the Oxygen 90 Day Challenge with a chance to land on the cover of the magazine. I told my husband about it and he immediately said I needed to do it. I said this is not the time to try and take on such a challenge with helping take care of mom and going out of town. So I debated for about 2 weeks and Derek kept asking if I had signed up for it and I would tell him no and he would ask why not. I said I just don't think it is the right time and he said now is the perfect time for you to do this and I know that you can do it too, but you have to put your name in to run for the cover. Well I finally decided that it would give me something positive to focus on and be something for ME. However, seeing all the other 5,000+ ladies and some who are already really fit makes me feel a little inadequate although I know they had to start somewhere too.

In January I realized that working out was a good energy boost and motivating. It helped bad days turn into good ones and allows me to vent all the frustration, anger, worry, and stress that life carries right now. Although, in the pictures I look like a match stick and about to blow away I do have more muscle definition than I've ever had in my life and I am almost 39. Why didn't I do this sooner? Dang!!

I am ready to gain some weight and lean muscle mass so people will STOP body shaming me, because all I get from some people is either I look anorexic, I need to eat some cheeseburgers, I need to eat more, I need to stop losing weight/dieting, and need to stop that Advocare crap. Firstly, AdvoCare is not crap and it is what changed my life inside and out not just from the products I take but by the uplifting and never ending support that you get. I've never had so many people believe in me as a person as I have being a part of the company not to mention the awesome friendships I've been able to create with people that I never would have had the opportunity to meet.

I wonder how they would feel if I told them "Hey, your looking really fat today how about you stop eating all those cheeseburgers, you seem to be gaining weight, you look really puffy and bloated today, or hey how about you go on a diet because your getting to look obese." I know without a doubt that person would literally flip the hell out and go off on me or curse me out if I shamed their body the way they love to shame me for mine. It works both ways! However, I would never call someone fat or obese, but they have no problem doing it to me in the reverse.

Some people are just so unhappy with them self though that they project it onto the people they know actually are trying to better their life. Sad that people just cannot be happy for others or so afraid to help them self by being healthy because they think it is too hard or too expensive.