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My earliest memory of being overweight was during the 50 yeard dash test in first grade. All the other children seemed to run it effortlessly, however, when it was my turn, I could barely complete the distance. I had been chubby all of my life, but so was everyone else in my family, so to me, I was normal. Throughout elementary and Jr. High school, I remained overweight. I remember trying to hide, or play sick every year during those school physical fitness tests and weigh-ins.

Fast forward to the summer before my senior year of high school. I'd had enough of being the fat friend...the girl who was told, "...but you have such a pretty face..." I decided to do something about it. That summer, I lost 50 lbs, by nearly starving myself and running. I thought I was finally happy, but as soon as school started, I gained it ALL back, and then some.

I continued this back and forth, lose-gain cycle for years. Then in 1999, something clicked and I 'discovered' working out. I lost 60 lbs and this time kept it off for five years until I had a lumbar laminectomy (L5/S1) in 2005. During my recovery, I couldn't workout and I began to sink into a depression - paying less attention to my diet as well. At this time, I had been a TurboKick instructor for a couple years, so I knew that the TurboKick workout was being made into a consumer product called TurboJam. I stumbled onto Beachbody to buy TurboJam, but discovered an entire new world of workout products. Even though I had not been given the go-ahead to resume working out from my surgeon, I ordered P90, determined that I would begin my 90 day journey as soon as I was medically cleared.

Those first 90 days changed my life. I started out slow because my back was still sore, but as I began to see my body change, I also noticed my old confidence returning. As my cardio capacity increased, my waistline decreased. During that first round of P90, I really stayed plugged into the message boards and I know without a doubt that it was the support and motivation that I received from the Beachbody community that was the driving force behind my success. Through my interactions on the messagte boards, I learned how to become more aware of my eating habits. I learned that in order to be truly successful in reaching my fitness goals, that my eating would be just as important as my workouts. After completing two rounds of P90, I felt it was time to attempt P90X.

Because of my recent surgery, I was initially a bit intimidated, however I learned that I could succeed and complete the program because I could modify any of the exercises so I wouldn’t injure myself. To say P90X changed my life would be an understatement. Through Tony Horton's on-air guidance, I learned how to modify the workouts so that I could do them (even after my surgery). I learned that I didn't have to settle for second rate workouts just because I'd had surgery. I learned to take control of my workouts and (most importantly) to take control of my body. After completing P90X, I noticed that I no longer monitored my progress solely by the physical changes. Oh yeah, the physical changes were still there, but there were even greater rewards, I’d gained a renewed sense of confidence, higher self awareness, strength, and power…and the weight loss, it was now an added bonus.

I have lost over 30lbs and 4 dress sizes using beachbody products. I am more determined then ever to help other people reach their healthy lifestyle goals as I have reached mine.