I got married in 2011, then I had a baby by the end of 2012, and thanks to God, I finally got a full time job in 2015. Through all of that time, it was difficult to try and balance everything. I felt like life was taking hold of me because I was overwhelmed with work, family needs, and chores. Finally, in 2016, I realized that at my job I am successful because I write down everything that I need to do & when I need to do it. I don't do that at home. I don't have set days for meal planning, grocery shopping, chores, or special family time activities. I always tried to handle chores and everything else on the weekend and ended up feeling cranky by Monday when I had to go to work because I did not take any time to rest or spend time with my family. Finally, I realized that nobody is going to take care of me the way that I need to take care of myself & I can't try to handle all of my family life issues all at once on the weekends.

Before I could mentally talk myself out of going down this road for factors x & y, I just told myself- "Just do it." Being healthy is truly a lifestyle. So, my plan is to schedule my time to include working out, meal planning, grocery shopping, chores, and everything else that needs to be done so that I am not overwhelming myself by trying to do too much in one day.

I love feeling fit and conditioned. I used to play volleyball in college and although I never looked lean & cut, I was able to experience the feeling of "being in shape." It makes everything else you do in life that much easier. Also, since I am tall and it is a pain to find clothes, it is much harder to find clothes being overweight and tall. I want to be able to fit my clothes & look good in them too!