She said, “You don’t need to do ‘this,’ look at you, you’re already in shape.”

At first I was confused because I was at a Beachbody conference and my first thought was, “You of all people should understand why I do what I do.” Come to find out she was just a guest of a coach. So, feeling a bit relieved, I told her, “I am only ‘this way’ because of what I do.”

Hearing that woman say that to me, made me realize how important it is for me to talk about WHY I do what I do, and how I got here. Let’s be real, at first glance, people probably think exactly what she did. She’s already skinny, she’s already in shape, she’s already fit. She doesn’t need to do this. Truth is, I worked hard to get to where I am. I needed this, BAD, and I made a choice to make it happen.

Before I started getting in shape, I was unhappy. I was tired. I couldn’t sleep. I was weak. I had incredibly bad knees, and couldn’t do anything high impact because of them. I also had immensely weak wrists from years of sleeping in the fetal position with my wrists bent. That resulted in severely damaged ligaments and pinched nerves. I couldn’t lift anything heavy. I couldn’t even do a pushup without using my fists. I was 21, and I felt old and decrepit.

Most importantly, I didn’t believe I had the power to change any of this. I never thought anything would ever change. It was simply in my genes. I was destined to grow old, become overweight, lose the desire to be active and then die.

All of that is crap, and I am living proof. This is WHY I do what I do. To inspire others to believe that they can make the choice, and the change, just as I did. We have to work for what we want, like anything in life. I want to be healthy, fit, happy. I hold the power to make that happen. I wake up everyday and decide that I will make that happen.

I’ve learned that not everyone will understand my journey and most will not want to. I accept that and I move on. There are so many amazing people that I surround myself with on a day to day basis that are like-minded and want exactly what I want. I am so grateful for that. It is not my job to shame people for not understanding my lifestyle, but it is my job to educate people on why I do what I do. I do all of this for my health. I do this because it makes me feel happy and there is nothing more important to me in life than pure happiness and self satisfaction.

It is a choice. I choose this lifestyle.

“Whatever you decide to do, make sure it makes you happy.”