I've always liked lifting more than I liked cardio. I forced myself into distance running in high school (cross country and track) but I was always terrible at it. I intentionally bulked up before my senior year in high school because I seriously considered going into the military. Four years of high school (with 2 years of cross country/track) including 1 summer of lifting and I went from a scrawny 95 pounds to 125 by the time I graduated (I stopped growing at 5'2").

Started slowly gaining (unhealthy) weight after I stopped doing college athletics. It's amazing how much I lifted with a weight trainer vs. now but I'm getting there. Slowly but surely.

I was in a relationship with someone (for a little more than 2 years) who did not encourage healthy habits and in fact I picked up some of her un-healthy habits. As with any break up, I needed to get my mind off of things and get back to 'center' as to who I was and/or who I wanted to be. The gym was where I went and I'm still going as a sake of sanity, health, and retreat.