When I began this new lifestyle I knew I needed something that I could call my own. I wanted somewhere I belonged and I wanted somewhere that motivated me daily. Going to the gym was a struggle for me unless I had a partner. If […]
Who here loves turkey chili? I know I do! I was actually never big on chili growing up because my mom never made it for us. When I started this fitness journey I knew I needed to find recipes that worked for me. I love […]
Hi everyone,
I’m so excited to finally have my blog up and running. It’s been a long time coming, but better late then never, right? Writing used to be my outlet so it will be interesting for me to have a public place to write about my journey and lifestyle.
About 2 years ago, right before I started dating my boyfriend (now fiancé), I was in a very bad place mentally and physically. I didn’t like who I had become. I was drinking a lot and not really focused on my future. I was in a rut after college and gaining weight by the pound. Not that the number is important, but I was at my all time highest weight and I could feel it starting to effect my performance in daily activities. I knew I needed to make a change, but I was nervous to start because I knew it wouldn’t be an easy road.
My first move was cutting back on drinking. I limited myself to drinking once a week on the weekend with my friends. That definitely helped, but I wanted to see more results so I knew I needed to incorporate more physical activity, but the gym just wasn’t my scene. I found myself getting super distracted and I wasn’t that motivated. My dad belongs to a dojo where he takes karate classes (age 61 with a black belt, he’s a bad ass).
He mentioned to me that they had some HIIT class (high intensity interval training). It sounded hard, but I was up for the challenge. So I started attending the classes with my 60 year old mother (another bad ass). The classes were awesome and only 30 minutes. Also, it was so inspiring to see so many different ages taking the class. It ranged anywhere from age 16 to 60.
The classes really kicked things into gear for me because I knew that they wouldn’t help me if I didn’t get my diet under control. You know how people say weight loss is 80% diet and 20% exercise? Yeah, well, they are right. The first week of eating clean and meal planning was hard. I didn’t know what foods worked for me and I didn’t want to get bored with eating the same thing every day.
Breakfast has always come easy for me. Many people struggle to eat in the morning, but breakfast has always been my favorite meal. I was very good about making time in the morning to sit down and enjoy my meal. Eggs are my addiction so it wasn’t hard for me to eat a nice balanced breakfast. Lunch always seemed to be the most difficult because I was surrounded by people that didn’t really eat well (temptation is a bitch). Fast food galore, candy, chips, you name it and my co-workers were eating it. So I made sure to pack myself plenty of snacks.
My family actually laughed at me for always bringing so much with me, but I didn’t want the other food to get in the way of my journey. When I saw people eating candy I ran to the fridge to grab my grapes or something covered in dark chocolate (because I love dark chocolate). When people were ordering their 4 for 4 from Wendy’s, I made sure I packed a nice hearty lunch (chicken, sweet potatoes, and broccoli). It wasn’t easy, but within 8 months I lost around 30 lbs! I went from 172 lbs to 141 lbs and it felt amazing.
It was awesome to hear people noticing it along the way, “Hey Janine, how much weight have you lost now?” That changed my whole way of thinking about myself and life. I’m someone that likes to have a good time and I LOVE food. Seriously, I’d rather go food shopping than clothes shopping. I love cooking and I love working out.
What made my journey even more rewarding was getting my fiancé back into working out. He had lived in Madrid for two years and was drinking a lot. When he came home he had a job that required him to be on the road for most of his time, so he found himself not eating very well and he had little to no time to workout. Once he found a new job he started working out consistently six days everything turned around for him. He started to look at his life a differently and it made my journey a whole lot easier knowing I had a partner to help keep me motivated.
My fiancé was my first “client”, and after helping him turn his life around I realized that this was something I wanted to do. I loved helping him and I loved motivating him. I want to continue to help motivate people and show them their full potential.
