"No exercise?"

When I worked in cardiac rehab, I was always so amazed by the responses of the heart patients that had just had heart surgery from heart attack or blockage...when I'd ask them "what was your daily routine before this happened?"

#1 answer : NO exercise

Then, my first year of teaching, I taught P.E. so I thought I was in that school to motivate the children to lead healthy lifestyles, but I was wrong. It was the teachers that needed the help! I was MORE than happy to do so since I have struggled with weight my ENTIRE life, you see this was why I went to school...to help others who needed that extra push in the right direction...

You see, as a college student, my weight had gotten out of control, I was NOT exercising, I was NOT eating healthy and probably drinking too many adult beverages as well. I met a few (in shape, fit) people that lived in my apartments, I started asking questions about what they ate each day, what type of exercise and then one day, they talked me into going to the gym(now I was terrified of the gym being the weight I was), but I went! I cannot explain what happened after that...it was like all of the years I had struggled with weight, I had found something that I LOVED more than food...the release it gave me, the confidence I had, the new feeling of LIFE I was lacking...it was amazing! I owe those college friends so much! So, I lost 78lbs in four months and NEVER gained it all back..and this was over 10years ago! This then motivated me to change my college major from journalism to health and exercise physiology...I LOVED IT! I started working at a local gym, teaching aerobics, personal training and sharing my story to help motivate others....what a great feeling it is to help others that are struggling just as you once did, it's a feeling like NO other!

...and so back to the teachers at my school needing help! I came up with a weight loss plan for our school and it WORKED! See, these teachers said after school they liked to "snack" and then were tired and could not find the energy to exercise. So, my fix...I started teaching an after school aerobic class(where ALL of the teachers felt comfortable) and I'd meet with the teachers about their eating and we'd decide where they needed help. I sent out weekly recipes and by the end of my first year teaching, I had helped our school lose over 700lbs! Do you want to know the BESt part??! Our school was full of junk food, snacks, vending machines and by the end, I had ALL of the teachers exercising at least 4 times a week, eating a MUCH healthier diet, we got rid of the teachers lounge VENDING MACHINES, and our administrators started serving healthier options for parties and such!

Now, you're probably wondering why I shared this LOOONNNGGG story?

It's because

we all have the motivation to do GREAT things,

we just have to find it in ourselves.

Being a mother, we tend to focus on everyone before us, but if we're not healthy for our children, how can we really be there for them?

If your answer to the question, "What is your daily routine?" would be, "no exercise!", then its time to give it a try...try something new and different, do it WITH your family, find others to help take the journey with you...as always, I am here for ANYONE that needs suggestions on how to get started, to get motivated...after all, this is why I started this blog in the first place!