SO! With that said, I felt it appropriate to give y'all my story... my inside scoop if you will. This isn't owing anyone an explanation! Simply stating, I haven't always been this way.
I have always had a love for physical activity. I have never been that girl to shy away from sports or hard labor of any kind. However! I will gladly admit that I WAS that girl to shy away from making it a habit DAILY. I had that mentality of, "Well that's for SUPER healthy people. The hardcore folks..the FREAKS!" And I really REALLY did not want to be considered that kind of person.
Now I'm gonna get personal with y'all. Which isn't a shocker due to my inability to filter. However! There are certain things that I don't necessarily discuss. Life has an incredible way of teaching us and molding us and sometimes those life experiences are better left remaining personal :)
When I was 13 years old, I started having seizures. Completely unexplained, dramatic seizures. This is all that junior high and high school consisted of. When I was 19, I had what I thought would be my last episode. Meeting with my neurologist, she informed me that because I was reaching adulthood, she could guarantee I would not be growing out of them. I remember being confused and frustrated, but also having the attitude of, "Oh really? Watch me."
So fast forward! I lived in Georgia (not the country) for a year and a half and never had a problem with my seizures or my medication. Upon returning home is when I started to experience those challenges. Unfortunately, 5 weeks ago, my streak of being seizure free came to an end. I had some tests done which came back abnormal and verified that I had epilepsy. Basically stating, this condition wasn't going anywhere!
Amongst the health challenges I was facing, I decided to take control of the situation I was in. I had the thought, "This is my body. I can do whatever I want to it, right?!" I figured if I started exercising daily and eating right that I could decrease my epilepsy in some way, or even make it cease completely. I was then introduced to an app featured by Nike called Nike Training Club. I absolutely loved it and still recommend it to people! I loved that I didn't have to go to a gym and that I was able to use my own body weight against me. Within 4 weeks I saw definition in my arms! Another 4 weeks I was able to do workouts that exhausted me in the past. And with greater intensity! I was receiving an incredible amount of confidence as well. The best part was, it wasn't coming from any outside source; shopping, boyfriend, food, etc. It was all coming naturally.
Remember how I told you my 4 year streak came to an end? After my seizure a while back, I got extremely bitter, angry, and hostile. I felt as though everything I had been working for all summer was for nothing. I felt betrayed by my own body and no longer saw the sense in continuing forward with this new habit. I started thinking about the lack of control I have with epilepsy and then realized WHY I love exercising! It love that I can control it; the movements, the duration, my tempo, everything. I may not be able to control my condition, but I can control being healthy the rest of my life.
I wanted to share my progress with others..not to be annoying and rub it in their face! But to show how far I had come and I wasn't where I used to be. And most importantly to motivate someone else! A friend of mine saw my posts, messaged me on Facebook and asked if I wanted to be a coach for a health and fitness company called BeachBody. I jumped on it, even though I was pretty intimidated! I chose P90x for my workout regime (not knowing what to expect!) And so far, it's been an incredible journey.
I have been doing P90x for 5 1/2 weeks now and as hard as it is, I love it. I'm encouraged daily to challenge myself, to give MY full 100% and I do! I have never EVER liked doing pushups, I think they are awful, ok? 4 weeks ago I thought I was hot stuff for pumping out 2! Haha and then barely making three! Almost 6 weeks in, I can now do 8-10. Which for some folks, that isn't a lot, but look where I was before!
We only get one set of skin, bones and muscles. There's no "trying it on" seeing if it fits, if you like it, etc. THIS IS IT. For some, they may not like that idea. We do not realize how much control we have over that! I'm a believer in a higher power creating my body and my taking care of it, is an amount of respect and gratitude for that creation. Regardless, I believe in listening to our bodies. Coming to know how they function and making sure WE are helping it along.
I don't care where you start, how you start, just start somewhere!
We only get one set of skin, bones and muscles. There's no "trying it on" seeing if it fits, if you like it, etc. THIS IS IT. For some, they may not like that idea. We do not realize how much control we have over that! I'm a believer in a higher power creating my body and my taking care of it, is an amount of respect and gratitude for that creation. Regardless, I believe in listening to our bodies. Coming to know how they function and making sure WE are helping it along.
I don't care where you start, how you start, just start somewhere!
Your body will thank you for it.
