Imagine if your dreams became your reality…
LOOKING FIT DOESN'T COME NATURAL TO ME EITHER!
I wish I had a drastic 60lb weight loss story to tell you, but that's not the case. I was just blessed with big hips, thick legs and along with that came thick EVERYTHING (thanks mom)! I was never drastically overweight, but I sure wasn't petite either.
I see so many online fitness influencers leading you to believe that adopting healthy habits is easy, trying to convince us that we can train our minds to not compare ourselves to others (let's just be honest), claiming you can eat "intuitively" without structure or limitations and still get results. INTUITIVELY I WANT TO EAT COOKIES ALL DAY
Even after falling in love with fitness and nutrition
choosing the gym over watching the bachelorette ISN'T EASY
choosing healthy options over McDonald's chicken nuggets ISN'T EASY
feeling confident as a thick chick in a world of size 0's ISN'T EASY
This is my story, MY TRUTH and I want you to hear the good, the bad and the ugly.
GROWING UP I WAS USUALLY THE "BIGGER" ONE OF ALL MY FRIENDS
After years of hearing "here Meg these are too big for me, you can have them", and comparing my size 9's to their size 0's I couldn't help but develop insecurities about my body.
Although I led people to believe I was confident, I was actually really insecure and had a laundry list of things I hated about my appearance.
Once I moved away to college I started going to the gym with my friends. 30 minutes of cardio, a few Ab exercises, and a liquid detox once a month barely prevented me from gaining the freshman 15 but didn't lead to a super fit body or make me feel any less insecure.
I MADE ONE OF THE BIGGEST COMMITMENTS EVER!
A year or so later, I got on one of my random spurts of motivation and hired a personal trainer, which somehow lead to training for a physique competition.
I went ALL IN, fully committed to the gym and a "clean" meal plan. Overnight I turned into that chick carrying around a gallon jug of water, 6 Tubberware containers of my precise, weighed out meals and doing intense workouts that left me laid out on the gym floor.
In the process I became passionate about health and fitness, if I wasn't at the gym I was reading or watching something related to health, I became a group exercise instructor and was quite a little fitness guru.
The morning of my show I remember looking in the mirror, shocked, and telling my mom "I can't believe I look like this."
I didn't win, but being on that stage was one of the most rewarding moments of my life. I walked out on a stage in front hundreds of people, wearing a tiny rhinestone bikini with all the confidence in the world.
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE I DIDN'T FEEL INSECURE
BUT that wasn't all she wrote...after my competition, I was still in college and over the course of the next 3 years I had a few too many beers, my health kick was put on the back burner and I slowly gained 25lbs, which left me 10lbs heavier than I had ever been.
ALL OF MY INSECURITIES CAME FLOODING BACK X10
but this time as a young adult I was also dealing with the stresses of a career, money and the future. My insecurities turned into serious social anxiety
I worried about everything from something I said to someone weeks ago to stressing about a picture someone tagged me in on Facebook that I "looked fat" in.
I stayed in relationships with men that didn't value me, that made me question my own self-worth
I hung out with friends that were really good at giving backhanded compliments and making me feel like everything was a competition
I had this pattern of starting on a workout plan, then giving up and repeating that same pattern over and over
I FELT COMPLETELY DEFEATED
My health became an issue when I started experiencing this strange fatigue that literally made me feel like I couldn't stand up for long periods of time, a pounding heartbeat, brain fog, dizzy spells, and doctors had no idea what was wrong, nor did they take me serious until I passed out and busted my head open (10 staples and 8 stitches later)
The journey to figure out what was wrong with me literally took YEARS! so to keep a long story short I discovered I had POTs syndrome. There isn't a whole lot doctors can do to help relieve you of the symptoms, but staying hydrated, exercise and a low carb diet was suggested.
I KNEW AT THIS POINT I HAD TO MAKE A CHANGE
I signed up for an online workout program that laid out a workout plan for me and it was exactly the structure I needed, instead of wondering around the gym with no clue what workout to do.
I spent a lot of time learning as much as I could about a Keto (low carb diet) and following it to a T. But it took a little trial and error to realize that even though I know now what foods I can and cant have, if I don't set limitations or track what I'm eating I easily fall off.
Two months into my new healthy lifestyle, I had lost the weight I had put on and then some, the fatigue and brain fog had diminished and I felt better than I had in Over 5 years! I had forgotten what it felt like to feel normal and I NEVER want to feel like a fluffy, anxiety filled person again!
I was high on life! I had forgotten how much the food we fuel our bodies with effects everything from our body weight to how our brain functions.
I HAD COMPLETELY CHANGED MY LIFE
I started sharing my fitness journey on social media and was taken back by the support I received and it lit this fire inside me.
MY PASSION FOR HEALTH AND FITNESS WAS BORN AGAIN
People started reaching out to me for advice and it gave me this incredible sense of purpose.
My AH-mazing husband Josh saw how passionate I was about health and helping other women, so he told me to quit my corporate job, to pursue my passion.
I became a NASM Certified Personal Trainer, working one-on-one with local clients and now I've transitioned into helping women nationwide through my online training programs, a complete blueprint to knowing exactly what to do in the gym.
IM ON A MISSION TO CHANGE OVER 100,000 LADIES LIVES
I want to inspire other women to live a life of purpose, gain confidence by taking care of your body, and provide them step by step guidance to completely crush their goals.
MY FIT GIRLS AREN'T JUST CLIENTS, WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER
I have a free Facebook Group, The Ladies Locker Room where we share workouts, recipes, get gym and diet advice and empower each other to SLAY! You can totally work out with us!
I'd love to hear your story and help you get started on your own fitness journey. You can message me here.
