Some days are just hard.

Unfortunately in life, it can't always be easy. Sometimes I seriously have to push myself HARD to keep going. To make healthy choices and of course get my workouts in. Sometimes, it just suck.. I drag my feet and whine (A LOT!).  But those always seem to be the days that I find that little extra bit of strength hiding deep down inside of me and I know that by setting my excuses aside, I am making myself a better person both inside and out.

Lets face it, if it were easy, everyone would be doing it. We'd all be our own boss, running our own business, looking fit and healthy & put together ALL the time. But it's now, it takes effort & self motivation because at the end of the day the only person that can make me get off my butt and push play, is ME!! If you want it, you have to work for it, you have to make sacrifices and you have to make those little life changes. But the good news is, you can do it!

It's not always easy, but it's worth it.

Sometimes I just have to take a moment to remember why I started. If you lose your motivation, sit down and find it again. Let your life and loved ones be your reason "why" not your excuse.

This is me.

So this is me.  I am a wife, sister, daughter, photographer, coffee addict, lover of life, (soon to be) world traveler, mommy to an english bulldog and recent health and fitness coach. 

I used to be "that" girl! You know, the one that was always looking for the next biggest thing in weight loss. The fad diets, the quick fixes, the overnight success stories of losing 20lbs fast. Yes, that was me. I am pretty sure I've done just about everything. Healthy and otherwise. I'll have to say that I did manage to lose weight in some instances, losing it wasn't as much the problem as keeping it off. I could never get off of my crazy diet schemes because as soon as I did, I gained all my weight back and then some. Before I knew it I had gained more than the original 10 that I intended on losing. It was a never ending vicious cycle of unhealthy habits that I just couldn't seem to break. I had given up, honestly I had no idea what to do or how to treat my body with love and respect, or how to even be healthy. I just figured that in order to lose a pant size I would need to starve myself and I was sick of it. I gave up.

Once I got married, I put on another 10lbs and FAST. Apparently being happy and weight gain go hand in hand?? I was so upset with myself, how did I let this happen, I saw absolutely no way out. I couldn't stick to my gym memberships, I mean I bought them, but after the first few weeks I fell off the wagon and hard!! 

I was on Facebook one day and a friend of mine was always posting all these wonderful before and after photos with beautiful stories of inspiration and success. I had talked to her  a few times about the programs she and others were doing but thought "it's so expensive! I can't afford that." Being newly married and wanting to feel the very best about my self that I possibly could, I felt like I couldn't afford to not talk to her one more time. Not to mention that I had just come from the Drs. for my yearly physical where they had informed me that I was borderline diabetic and had borderline high cholesterol. YIKES! "I'm 24 years old, this can not be my life." That's what I thought to myself. So not only was my self esteem at stake, but more importantly my health. 

So I sucked it up, messaged her on Facebook and asked her to help me, I'd do anything. She recommended a program and I without hesitation bought it! 

This is where I left "that" girl in the dust. I got my first Beachbody program October 9th. I completed 3 full weeks of the 21 day fix and my life was changed! Did I lose 20lbs in 3 weeks? No. But I did learn to love and take care of my body and by doing that, it would in return take care of me. I only lost 3.5lbs but I lost inches, a pant size and gained muscle and confidence. 

I became a beach body coach to help others who have struggled the same way that I have. I became a beach body coach to keep myself accountable. I became a coach because I am not perfect, I still have check of a long ways to go but that doesn't mean that I can't help others know that they're not alone. 

So this is me, in the raw. All my struggles and triumphs. I can't promise to be perfect, but I can promise to be real. I hope to share lots of things, recipes, workouts, faith but most of all, the value of loving yourself. God created us all in his image, that should be worth something.

Today I challenge you to look in the mirror and find 3 things that you love about yourself. share them in the comments.