2013.
Newly single after 2.5 years and living in an apartment that was shared, by myself with an 8 week old kitten. As many people do, I coped with this break up by laying in bed, lounging in sweat pants, binge eating ice cream, and having rom-com marathons. The usual why should I care I’m single starter kit.
Sure enough all that ice cream and hardly moving from bed to couch (except when I had class) caught right up to me! By March I had gained 16 lbs; I went from 103lbs to 119 lbs.
Which to some... might not seem that bad but for me, I had weighed between 98-103lbs for the last 10 years pretty consistently. I took a look at myself in the mirror and saw that my pants weren’t fitting how they used to, I was exhausted all the time, and just generally unhappy with myself.
One night I was having trouble sleeping so I got up and decided to watch some TV. Thank god I did... I was fascinated by an infomercial for Insanity and knew at that moment I needed it! Now I didn’t order it from the number on TV or even through the website... instead my “thrifty” unaware self ordered a used copy through E-Bay (boy was that stupid but the past is the past)
I was so excited the day my package came, I excitedly came home from class, and popped the DVD in! This was the easy fix I needed to bring me back to my “normal” self. Again, I say what the F was I thinking? Easy fix? I sat and ate ice cream for almost 3 months doing nothing to help myself. It was going to take more than an “easy” fix... and boy did Insanity deliver!
I’m pretty sure I temporarily died that first day... and that was the fit test!!! My god was I out of shape. That first week, heck, that first month, I pressed paused or just did continuous jumping jacks during every single workout. That’s not even an exaggeration.
After the first days of Insanity, I kept seeing ads after the videos about coaching and a superfoods shake. So I decided to finally log onto the website and see what it was all about! I really wanted to try the shakes because it was quick, simple, and something I could bring to class. But WOW that price!? For a college student, newly living on her own, that was hefty!
So, again, being the thrifty person I am I signed up to be a coach specifically for the discount on the shakes! I began to get my confidence back, I was happier, healthier, and ready to take the world!
With my new found self-love and confidence, I applied and was accepted, to 8 different nursing schools. I previously let someone tear me down and tell me I was “too stupid” to be a nurse and now it was time to do something FOR ME! So I did.. I moved to Milwaukee and started nursing school that Fall.
I attribute not only my physical change but my mental shift to Insanity 100%.
2015.
For 2.5 years I was a discount coach. I got discounts on all the DVDs, products, my shakes, etc. And then a friend of mine who was trying to really do the whole coaching thing, invited me to the biggest coaching event of the year.
I had always wanted to go to Nashville and I’m always up for a good trip.
During that event I was honored to listen to some of the most genuine people, I connected, embraced, and understood what being a coach meant. It meant that I could change lives before they got to the hospital!
When I got home, my mindset had immediately changed to wanting to really see what I could accomplish with coaching. I set out to find a partner in crime and I was introduced to the person that would become my upline in 2016 and continues to be a dear friend.
2016.
I could finally sign up as a coach under my new friend in Milwaukee. I quickly sold my first challenge pack to one of my best friends, who reluctantly agreed to be a challenger and was convinced it wasn’t going to work for her. It was not long before she saw results and signed up to be coach under me.
My upline and I started our combined themed challenge groups. We wanted to start a fit club in our town so that people could join us live for workouts! I even got my mom on board, and anyone knows that getting a parents approval in ANYTHING is next to impossible it feels like. The fact that I got her approval to be a coach, her constant cheering with my fitness journey, and then she even wanted to be apart of it says a ton!
9/19/2018. The day everything changed.
“There was a fire at the house... and we don’t know if the animals made it... or what’s left” my dad screamed into the phone a little after 12pm that day.
Not even 2 weeks prior I had moved 4 hours away from my family to start my first nursing job. I felt helpless... I was 4 hours away. I used to be barely 1 hour away. An easy and fast drive home if anything ever happened.
I don’t remember getting up off of my couch and collapsing, helplessly, in my hallway just sobbing on the phone. My dad was a 1.5 hours away at work and my mom was out running an errand for less than hour.
That’s all it took for a dog to accidentally trip on a laptop cord, send the laptop to the ground, and the (what we now know was faulty) battery pack sliding across our floor, landing so nicely underneath the couch. Igniting it and setting it and everything else surrounding it on fire.
I found out on facebook that Hank, 1 of the cats died. I saw pictures of all of the animals being revived from the dead, covered in soot. Why is it journalists are so eager to make the news break that they don’t even wait a few hours for the news to be broken to family.
My mom was purposely waiting to tell me the news of any injuries or deaths until I was home safely... it was bad enough driving home upset because of the fire, now, thanks to a facebook post I knew 1 cat was dead and 1 dog was requiring continuous oxygen and close observation.
By the time I arrived home Gizmo had passed away as well. The other 3 dogs and 1 cat were covered in soot, coughing every few seconds, and we were displaced to a hotel until further notice.
I went inside that night. I needed to see that it was real.
I cried. And cried some more. The house was destroyed on the inside. Windows smashed in, things melting off of walls, signs of how terrified the animals were. Everything was black and smelled like the bonfires I will never be attending again.
What’s up hell, how have you been? I yelled at God... why us? why now? We lost my grandpa (my dad’s dad) in May, my dad is currently fighting cancer, isn’t that enough? What lesson is there in destroying our home?
I was pissed.
Personal development went out the window. Exercise? Screw that. Coaching was out the window. I didn’t want to pretend to be upbeat, happy, and workout. There was nothing upbeat and happy about losing 2 members of the family and your entire family home. There was nothing happy about throwing away memories or seeing what your parents worked for destroyed. Why was I going to bother to work on my business? For what? To watch something take it away from me?
So I stepped down. Stopped posting. Stopped reading personal development. Stopped talking to my team. Stopped running. Stopped lifting. All I did was cry with my family, worry my other pets were going to die, and question why us?
3.5 weeks went by and I was feeling even more empty, alone, sad, and exhausted. I gained weight (137.4lbs). I broke out in acne all over. I could hardly sleep. I was more unhappy than the day of the fire. I quickly realized that part of the emptiness was not having my business to work on. I missed talking to my team everyday. I missed checking in on the challenge groups. I missed connecting with other nurses wanting to better their health. I missed reading personal development and working on me. I missed it all.
So after some deep digging, conversations with the ones I love, and conversations with my team... I made the decision to relaunch my business. To make changes. To really go after it. To connect with those going through similar struggles, whether it’s a house fire, the loss of a pet, the loss of a family member, nursing school, or whatever connection we may have.
I wanted to be there as a safe place. Someone that people could turn to for help or to talk. Someone that not only wants to help those people reach their goals with fitness, nutrition, and mental health but is also going through the process of improvement with them.
I decided to lead by example. To actively go through the full body revamp with everyone else. My life can’t be defined by tragedies. I can let the tragedies happen and then I can choose how I react to them. I want to help others learn that as well.
Now.
While I wish I could tell you I am an elite coach, I cannot...yet.
What I can say is my family and I are surviving a tragedy. I graduated nursing school. I work for the #1 hospital in the country. I have learned self-love, positivity, and grown my friendship circle. I have found new ways to cope, new ways to rise above, and built the confidence to try new things and push out of my comfort zone.
Never. In my life. Did I think this would be the path I would be on. But I am excited to see how my experiences directly change future and help my business, confidence, and coping skills grow.
I know that I can say coaching has changed my life. Without it, I never would have had the confidence to apply and accept a position at Mayo Clinic before graduation even happened. I never would have run a marathon with plans to run more. I never would have found personal development and found the value in it. Most of all I would have never reconnected or found some of my best friends in the world.
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