Why Is Fitness so Important to me? And How Did I Get Hooked With it?

There are so many facets to how and why I spiked an interest in fitness and honestly I could go on for hours trying to explain it to you. But since I love you and now how precious your time is I will give you the shorter version. My whole life I have dealt with horrible stomach problems. I spent a few years going to a GI that was never able to diagnose my condition even after all the tests. He put me on a prescription that helped a little. During my high school years it got worse! It started being linked with my anxiety and periods. Before my senior year of high school; my mom and I decided we needed to go to another GI and see if we can find a solution. I could not live my life running to the toilet and getting sick all the time.

My new GI literally diagnosed me after 5 minutes of me talking. No tests, no crazy theories, and no drama. She informed me I had IBS-D. There is no cure. The best way to manage it is with good probiotics, exercise, staying stress free, and healthy living. I could manage this! The kicker was that the trigger foods were chocolate, greasy food, caffeine, and sweets. That was so not a happy moment for me. Another trigger was any stress in my life good or bad; basically any extreme emotions would cause me great sickness. At least I knew what was going on and has an idea of how to fix it.

After that I went on Instagram and started following all kinds of healthy people. I needed inspiration, ideas, and help. This whole process was new to me. I had seen my mom start weight watchers so our dinners as a family were healthy. Most days though I had cheese its, popcorn (2+ bags a day), mac&cheese, quesadillas, and next to no veggies or fruits. This spiked my interested even more I started learning about Kinesiology and decided that I wanted to major in that in college. I had a free gym at the place a worked and would work out maybe 3 days a week and tried eating healthy all that I could. It was extremely hard with no one holding me accountable. I failed all the time and would digress and become sick again. 

Once I turned 18 and graduated high school I landed a full time job. I had been following a girl named Jessica who was a Beachbody Coach and we had been talking for over a year. She had inspired me and gave me the dream to do what she was doing and become a coach. I wanted freedom for my life and I wanted a solution that would work for my health. I joined and failed as a coach at first but I learned so much about my health and how important that was to me. Shortly after that I landed an even better job that was in the corporate world as a data entry person. I was very good at this job, but it took a HUGE toll on my health due to the stress and sitting all day long. Even though I was working out and eating healthy I got sicker and sicker. I eventually developed a condition called TMJ where I grind my teeth together at night due to stress. I literally went to bed worrying about work and woke up thinking about. I could not help it or control it. I ended up spending $240 on massages and chiropractic visits. My aunt got me using essential oils which helped but by no means took the toll off my body. I would need time to recover and heal again.

When I got TMJ it kind of all set in that something was really wrong that maybe I was not where God wanted me to be. I quit my job and went back to college part time and focused on my health; physically and mentally. It was an amazing time to just focus on my needs. I think in the long run this health and fitness love of mine is so needs based. I also love it and enjoy all the learning. I used to tell my mom if I could just study for the rest of my life I would be so happy. I was good at it and it was fun to me. This gave it to me in a way.

All in all health and fitness had been my medicine. Coaching has given me motivation, emotional support, and the ability to help provide for my family. I am by no means a fitness expert or have any kind of health degree but I have learned from a very tough road I have traveled. I am always learning new things that can help myself and others live healthier lives.