My story is typical; grow up, get to work, gain weight over time, get married, gain more weight, eat out regularly, stress, dislike my body, stress, stress and more stress without healthy release, no exercise and certainly no concept of fueling an efficient body. Any attempt at weight loss failed me and I couldn't seem to crack the code to my body and make it do what I wanted.

It wasn�t until I got extremely sick at 37 and found myself facing exploratory surgery that I started to understand just how horrible my decisions in regards to food, stress, exercise, smoking and even my relationships had been for me and my health.

I will forever be grateful for that 21 day hospital stay because it gave me an awful lot of time to think - really think. I will never be the same for I made a vow I would never ever be weak and powerless again. That was May 2008 and I've never looked back.

I love how I feel every day - powerful and strong.
I love how I look and how clothes really flatter this body instead of hiding imperfections.
I love the confidence that spills over into other parts of my life.
I love knowing I'm in the best health of my life and moving forward it's only getting better.
I love not growing old gracefully!
I love the feeling and the endorphins that exercise develops.
I love knowing I feed my body what it really needs and making it a priority.