I grew up in the small town where food was your comfort, that is why they call it comfort food, right? Everything I put into my body was unhealthy. Growing up, I probably had 3-5 sodas a day and never remember drinking water. Of course at 13 this wasn't a concern when I was involved in cheerleading and softball, but boy did it become a concern when I no longer had those sports and the metabolism of a teenager. I also had really low self esteem due to the weight gain after High School. I was 160 and always sick. However, I married an awesome man in 2012 and through him living a healthy lifestyle I started to realize that I needed a change, not just how my body looked, but I needed to change my attitude. I had to quit giving up when things became hard. I was sick ALL THE TIME and since changing my diet over the last 6 months I have had less illnesses than ever before. I'm starting to feel how my body reacts to different foods I put into it now, BUT I realized recently that eating well is only half of it, so I've decided to make a commitment to working out. I've penciled it into my schedule/calendar so that things don't "come up" to get me off track. If working out isn't a priority I will let other meaningless things come between me and my health/fitness.

I love how I FEEL. I love how I push through a workout and it makes me MENTALLY stronger. Of course I wan't to become physically stronger too, but to me nothing feels better than overcoming a mental road block. So, for me I love the change I see in myself, I love becoming a person that follows through with a challenge or accomplishes something difficult.