My Fitness Journey
My Fitness Journey
And what it’s taken to get me where I’m at today
I finally feel like I’ve hit a breakthrough when it comes to being physically “fit”. For years I made the excuse of “Oh I just don’t have the time to exercise” and “I’m just too tired when I get home”, and the list goes on. And because of these excuses, I spent many years feeling overly fatigued, self-conscious of what I wore, felt sick all the time, and all these stacked up to a very unhealthy lifestyle. After I gave birth to my son in 2012, I was at the largest weight I had ever been in my life which was just crazy to me. And the weight didn’t want to come off! I heard several moms say “oh it’ll come off within the first year!” and that didn’t happen for me. It was a struggle, until May of 2019! The straw that broke the camel’s back for me was when my Pastor looked at me one day and said “Jen, you really need at least cardio in your life. You would feel so much better.” And that set me off to try and figure out something to turn things around.
These are super old images of myself! One to the right is just after I had Jared in 2012. And the one to the left is me in 2014. This was the heaviest weight I had ever been and I just didn’t feel good physically.
I started by looking at my schedule and trying desperately to find a time slot for the gym. (Because in my mind the gym just had to be the solution, right?) There was just no way possible! Every way I looked at my schedule it meant either hiring a babysitter to come to the house at the crack of 5 am or going in the evenings and missing precious time with my family. Neither of which I was ok with. I thought about joining a gym in Red Bluff close to where I work during the day but again, that wouldn’t work cause how on earth could I work out and find a shower before my 1-hour lunchtime was up? Yeah, not happening there either… But then my mom told me about this really cool and fun fitness program she found online called, Figure 8 Fitness. My ears perked up. I looked it up online, watched the preview videos and the testimonials of others that did the program and had great success stories. I was sold!
I started my first 8 weeks of Figure 8 Fitness at the end of May 2019. And I tell ya what, it really kicked me in the booty at first! The program was created by Jaana Kunitz, an award-winning ballroom dancer. The different workouts she created were based on 5 Latin-American dances, Merengue, Samba, Salsa, Paso Doble & Jive. It really focuses on your core and cardio. I lost 3-1/2 inches off my waist by the time I was done with the 8 weeks! The program also supplied a healthy eating manual that I abided by as well. I’ve come to realize that clean eating and exercise go hand-in-hand, and it worked for me! I started by reducing the number of bad carbs I was eating and replacing it with a high protein diet. I stopped counting calories and instead focused just on the protein and carb combination. I also made a point to eat breakfast within the first 30 minutes after waking up each morning. That was hard for me! I was never a breakfast eater, until now! If I don’t have breakfast within that first 30 minutes, my stomach starts eating my backbone… Seriously! Haha!
After the 8-weeks was over, I continued to repeat the workouts until I decided to purchase the Advanced Program! The advanced is a 4-week course with harder workouts that are really targeted at sculpting your body with a stronger cardio burn. After this phase, I was down 14lbs and 4 inches off my waist! I was feeling GREAT about myself! But I knew I didn’t want it to end there. I had to keep this up. I owed it to myself and to my family to continue this healthy lifestyle! And I knew deep inside that if I didn’t challenge myself I would potentially fall back into the bad habits and lack of exercise. So I kept going!
The place where we (my mom and I) purchased Figure 8 Fitness, called BodyFX, also had another fitness program called JNL Fusion. This program was created by Jennifer Nicole Lee, a super fitness model. The theory was fusion training in 30-sec intervals rotating between a strength move and cardio. I knew it was time to add weights into my fitness routine and build up those muscles that had been weak for way too long! The first workout I did with JNL Fusion was the Shoulder Shredder. And let me tell ya…My shoulders and arms were SO incredibly sore after this workout! It was insane! But this program has really helped me build muscle strength and burn more fat! At this point, I have lost a total of 16lbs and several inches off my thighs, hips, arms, etc! I’m on a roll! And I keep telling myself, I’m not going back! I’m going to keep pushing myself forward! I set goals for myself, like completely losing the kangaroo pouch that comes after having children, building a six-pack, strengthening my knees, doing the side plank easily, stretching where I can wrap my hands around my feet, and the list goes on. Setting goals like this puts a level of accountability in my routine. When I don’t feel like working out, I think about these goals and realize that if I don’t do a workout I won’t achieve them. And that keeps me motivated!
As of the writing of this blog post, I have completed 25 weeks of exercise with a clean eating diet. If I can do it, you can too! I hope I can encourage someone out there that may be struggling like I was, to not give up but instead check out different options or methods of exercise. If you can fit going to the gym in your schedule then do it! But if you can’t, try looking at a home exercise program and see if that works for you. And as always, I’ll be here cheering for you!
WE CAN DO IT!
Love, Jen
Image to the left, Matt and I shortly after we got married in 2017. And the image to the right was just last month (2019) and in this image I was 125lbs and feeling sooo much better!!!
“But with God, all things are possible!” -Matthew 19:26
