About Me
Welcome friends! Thank you for stopping by. I am honored to share my journey with you.
My story really begins when I was an infant. At 14 months old I got my first pair of glasses due to severe myopia (basically I couldn't see at all). As a child I was not allowed to play sports due to fears of getting hit in the head. Any type of trauma to my head could cause me to lose my vision. When my younger sister started to take dance lessons, my mom relented and let me join her. At age 9 I was FINALLY allowed to play sports with all the other kids in town. I played one glorious year of soccer, basketball and softball. Then things changed.
One month after I turned 10, I was coloring with my little sisters and I kept seeing what looked like a kaleidoscope of colors. I went to my room to read and it continued, so I told my mom. My dad had just gone through four eye surgeries for detached retinas, so she immediately did some quick vision tests with me and called the doctor. My dad came and took me to get checked. Turns out my retina had detached in my left eye. I was sent straight out to Boston that night to prepare for surgery the following morning. I could tell my dad was upset, but I didn't really understand why. When they told me in the elevator that I wouldn't be able to play sports anymore, I shed a single tear. Soccer was about to start and that was my favorite sport. I had really been looking forward to playing again. That was the only time I cried. We went out to Mass Eye & Ear in Boston and I had surgery the next morning. I stayed in the hospital for about a week before getting sent home. They performed a buckle procedure to secure my retina, but I did not get my vision back. I had to wear an eye patch and shield over my left eye for 6 weeks. School started a few weeks later. I wore the patch to school. I couldn't go outside for recess. I could no longer take gym class. Everything was restricted.
Two years later I had surgery in my right eye to freeze holes that were forming in my retina. At age 14 I was finally able to get contacts. Once I was no longer wearing my super thick glasses, we noticed my left eye was turning in. At 16 I had surgery to straighten the muscle in that eye. I continued along a path of pretty much no physical activity outside of riding my bike. At 25 I got into two car accidents about 6 months apart. Both times I needed laser surgery to stop holes/tears that had formed in my right eye due to trauma from the accidents.
My whole life I felt "different." I was the girl with big glasses who couldn't play sports or take gym class. I was never really into exercise. I had been told all my life that I shouldn't run, jump, or lift anything heavy. I was always afraid of doing something to damage my good eye.
I began to "exercise" in college. I had no idea what I was doing, but I discovered I liked outdoor activities, dancing and using the weight machines at the gym. I would work out, but I never really noticed a change in my body.
Fast forward to Spring of 2011. By this point I had been married for a few years and I had just given birth to my second child in less than two years, both by c-section. One day while the kids were napping and I was sitting on the couch with my daily snack of nachos and/or ice cream, I decided I needed to make a change. Instead of watching TV and pigging out during naptime, I began to force myself to do the Wii Fit for 30 minutes. I would also put the kids in the stroller and take them for a long walk. I started to feel better. I liked my newfound discipline.
One day I came across a posting for this thing called Team Beachbody. I was intrigued. I knew nothing about them, other than the one Insanity infomercial I had watched. I decided to take a leap of faith and sign up as a coach. I wanted to be healthier. I wanted to be a good example for my kids. I knew if I became a coach it would help me stay accountable to those goals. Maybe, just maybe I would also be able to help others do the same thing. I started out simple with Yoga Booty Ballet - Ab & Butt Makeover. Since that fateful day I have had two more beautiful babies, all by c-section. I have completed ChaLEAN Extreme, Hip Hop Abs, Rockin' Body, Brazil Butt Lift, Focus T25, P90X3, and the 21 Day Fix. While pregnant I did Yoga Booty Ballet - Baby On The Way. I have also done parts of Les Mills' Combat, TurboFire, and PiYo. I am also a certified PiYo instructor. What??? Who would have thought that the girl who was never allowed to play sports and was scared of physical activity would actually be teaching a fitness class??
After baby #2 I got my body fat percentage down to 9.4% using Yoga Booty Ballet - Ab & Butt Makeover and ChaLEAN EXTREME. What??? After baby #3 I lost 10.6 pounds and 17.5 inches with T25 in just 10 weeks!!!
I am now working on getting back into shape after baby #4. I just completed my first round of the 21 Day Fix and I'm currently busting a move with CIZE.
Beachbody has changed my life in so many amazing ways. I am healthier, stronger, and more confident that I have ever been. I have made lifelong friends through the Beachbody community. I have had some incredible experiences. I've even done live workouts with most of the top trainers - Tony Horton, Shaun T., Chalene Johnson, Autumn Calabrese, and Sagi Kalev, to name a few.
A whole new world of dreams and possibilities has opened up to me. I now have a very clear picture of what I want in my life. I have defined goals to make that happen. I know I wouldn't be where I am without Beachbody. Sometimes a leap of faith leads to a lifetime of amazing opportunities.
