“For each new morning with its light, 2012 has been my favorite year so far. I think I am finally figuring out who I am and I am loving it. I have experienced a huge amount of support and love from so many people; friends and family that live both near and far, and amazing past and present trainers that have coached me on fitness, wellness and nutrition. There has been a lot of change this year, but I have embraced it. I am just getting warmed up - even greater things will come in 2013. I hope the world is ready - I know I am!
It is Thanksgiving break, after all, so this seems like a very appropriate time to give a shout out and say thank you. I am grateful for so many things. I have everything I need; my health and happiness, a wonderful family, good friends, a job, clothes on my back and a roof over my head. I am thankful for all of the people in my life who push me every day to become a better woman. Thank you and hopefully I won't make any of you blush too much. I am so thankful for my healthy body and the amazing things it does each day. Physiologically, the systems within it operate on their own without much conscious thought on my part to their function. This is simply amazing. I sprint, row hard, climb, lift heavy weights and push tires on a daily basis. I am rough on myself every week, and usually have nothing more than some awesome callouses, scrapes, broken blood vessels and lots of bruises. My body facilitates this level of activity and never ceases to amaze me with how quickly it recovers and is ready to support the next thing I do. My family is supportive and caring, although they are far away. I am overwhelmed by the sweet comments, messages, support and genuine interest they have exhibited from another time zone. Specifically, my parents are incredible and have been extremely encouraging throughout this journey. Though there may be some aspects that I know they do not fully understand, they support and love me unconditionally. Ultimately if I am happy, they are happy. Mom and Dad: I love you both so much and am so thankful of everything you do for me. I look forward to telling you all about my training and hope you do not grow tired of hearing all about it! Hopefully you will be able to see all this in action some day! I am very fortunate to have lived in some amazing places; New York to Boston to Austin. I still keep in touch with good friends from high school and college and love catching up with them and hearing all about the wonderful things happening in their lives. So much has changed for all of us over the past few years. We have moved on from the theme parties and have found life, love, careers and even offspring. Crazy. I am in a much different place than I ever would have predicted I would be just a few short years ago. This makes me happy. Happy about how much I have grown and most of all excited about the potential and promise my future holds. Kristen and Sarah: I am thankful to have your support and love. You both help me in every way you can and are there for me in moments of both seriousness and fun. Thank you for listening to me talk about my weekly goals and training ideas. You tease me relentlessly about my meals (among many other things), but I know it's all from a good place. Thank you for always being there for me and especially for letting me know when I am being too hard on myself. The days when I get to workout with you ladies are great. You are both so receptive to my #classicTK moments. If I am in the zone, you veer away, if I need a thumbs up, you immediately provide that encouragement - and let's not forget about our dancing and "that's what she said" moments. Keeping it classy at Beyond FIT. I have had the pleasure of working with two fabulous trainers over the past year and a half. Adrian: I would like to thank you for everything you taught me. You helped get me started and I truly believe that if I had never met you, I would not be where I am right now. You helped me to realize my potential and find my passion. You believed in me from the second we first met and I am extremely grateful for that. I wanted to quit, and you didn't allow that to happen. There are so many significant milestones that we reached together and whenever I think of them it brings a smile to my face - not an easy feat! It is so nice to get to catch up now and even talk shop! Chad: You have stood by me throughout this entire process; wearing different hats at different points. We have been friends for a few years and you have watched me change in so many different ways. I admire your ambition and drive. Your work ethic is incredible and I hope to train clients as effectively as you do sometime in the very near future. I am beyond thankful for you. I am thankful for your patience when I pester you with questions about macronutrient ratios, meal timing and ways to increase my upper body strength. Thank you for pushing me when we are training and you know I need it and for reassuring me when I am having a moment of self doubt. You helped me find the fire inside of me, you lift me higher when I am down and make me strive to improve in all aspects of my life. I have so much to be thankful for; wonderful people (many of whom are not even mentioned here), health and ambition. Things are great and they just keep getting better. I am working really hard so I can achieve all that I want. I am so grateful for all of the people that have helped me make positive changes in my life over the past year and a half and push me every day. I am only looking forward - and it's all really exciting! Here are some recent including a group shot from the great day at the Warrior Dash along with a progress shot from Thanksgiving Day 2011 and Thanksgiving Day 2012 and some other recent highlights. This week has been really motivating! I am taking it in stride since I know from personal experience that there are highs and lows on any journey. The Warrior Dash was so much fun and it really inspired me to set some concrete goals with deadlines! I have set some Body Fat Percentage goals, competition goals and trainer certification goals. I am still working on solidifying my strength goals. Everything is written out, posted and visible to me every day. More importantly, I carry them in my heart every day. Feature on eatfitnation.com In addition to some good workouts, super clean eating and some great laughs with my girls while training, I received a great virtual thumbs up from an online fitness community. One of the highlights of the week was being featured on Eat Fit Nation. It is a social hub for individuals who are passionate about nutrition and fitness. Photos, transformation stories, workout tips and meals are shared. I follow them on Instagram and submitted my story to be featured a couple of months ago. It was a great feeling to see my own face and story posted. I hope it resonated with some of their other followers and I know this is just the beginning of great things for me. Make progress or excuses. Your choice. Fasted cardio workouts have made their way back into my fitness program two mornings a week. I have had great success with this method in the past and am continually pushing to make progress each week. The caffeine in a cup of black coffee before the workout not only gives a push at the early morning hour, but also helps increase my fat burning window as I continue to fast until my first meal at 12 p.m. I have also added some carbohydrates into my post-workout meals on cardio days. This means that in my third and final meal of the day, I have added about 200 calories; 50g carbohydrates of fruit into my shakes. Since insulin sensitivity is low in the evening it is harder for fat cells to absorb sugar, making the P.M. a more appropriate time to eat fruit, especially when you are working to lose body fat. I am excited to see how both of these changes to my program influence my progress. I am focused and committed. I have a burning desire to achieve my goals. No one else can want it for you. Those around you can help, push and support but it is ultimately up to you. Your desire to change must be greater than your desire to stay the same. Every day I am continuing to push myself and work hard. There are no excuses. I get results because I work hard. I keep going and strive to make it happen. It is happening!
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