Getting Started

 

I might be a little biased, but I have the cutest fitness fluff around. Everyone deserves the same amount of support that my dog gives me. Who wouldn't want to push harder when you have a squeaky Chewbacca being chewed in your ear? 

But let's back up. Working out and fitness has never been my thing. The only fitness I could refer to would be how many donuts could I fitness big mouth of mine to be completely honest. I have never been in a shape other than round throughout my entire life.  My weight has yo-yo'd back and forth. I've tried a few different things to make this weight fall off, but nothing has ever stuck with me. Recently, I began playing a game of medication roulette: blood pressure medication, metformin for my PCOS all on top of anxiety medication. At 28 years old, this is not the most idealistic situation to put myself in. Who and what is to blame? Is it genetics? Sure, maybe part of it. Is it the steroids in chicken nuggets that I ate as a child? Probably. That's what my dad tells me anyway. At the end of the day, the only person to blame for my weight is me. 

August of 2020: I was at my heaviest weight to date. I knew the scale read an ugly number and my clothes were tight, but I don't think I realized how bad I had let myself get until I saw pictures that were taken with my dad and brother outside of a seafood restaurant. 

 

Swollen and puffy. Uncomfortable. It was hard to look at, but these are the reference photos I always go back to. A big smile on my face doesn't mask the unhappiness that I had been feeling and I knew something had to change.

One of my best friends and former roommates, Kenzie, had been doing a nutrition program and various exercises through Beachbody. After she had her sweet baby girl, she worked her ASS off to make that baby weight melt away. I knew this from not only our daily Snapchats, but from her posts on Instagram, too. I thought while I watched them, "I could never post anything like that. What would people think of me if they saw me trying to exercise from home? That's a sight no one wants to see." I didn't believe in the hype and it wasn't until those pictures of me were taken that I decided I couldn't live like this anymore. 

I reached out to Kenzie, who connected me with Karlee, our Team Relentless Legacy leader and super boy mom. The two of them helped me pick the best workout and nutrition programs for my goals and so the journey began. Honestly, I thought it would be just another diet that I would try, drop a few pounds, but would fall off track because of life and quit. But here we are, six months later, and the only place I've fallen is in love with trying to better myself and my health. (Wow, that sounds so cliché putting that into writing.) 

So far on this FLUFF to FIT journey of mine, I am down 36 pounds, several inches in my waist, hips, and arms, and I have been taken off of that blood pressure medicine mentioned above. I'm working on my fourth Beachbody exercise program, 9 Week Control Freak. It's Autumn Calabrese's new baby and I am HERE for it. *Insert claps* (I've linked the Beachbody blog website with more information about it if you're interested.) Ultimate Portion Fix, which is another one of Autumn's genius programs, is how I am battling the kitchen, which I have learned is the HARDEST PART TO CHANGE. Sheesh. Anyone can get up and get moving 30 minutes a day, but changing the things you eat when junk is so easily available has been the real challenge for me. I still have a long way to go in that department, but there are so many options available out there that can help out in the kitchen and track what you take in daily. You have to just find what works best for you. 

Beachbody nutrition and exercises are what's helping me thrive currently. But what I cannot stress enough is how my mindset is shifted. The weight did not come on overnight so it's not going to leave overnight either. It's working your ass off, especially on the days you don't feel like it. It's reminding yourself of your WHY and what keeps you going. It's finding someone or something that supports you and holds you accountable. It's scary and freaking hard work, but it will be worth it in the long run. At least that's what I keep telling myself every day when I hit my alarm four times and don't want to get out of bed to workout.

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