About Me

Thanks for stopping in and checking out my blog! I'm a 39-year old mom of three crazy active kids. Besides juggling those crazies, I'm also a full time high school history teacher, dog mom to a loveable 3-year old Golden Retriever. With all of that as my everyday norm, I'm just trying to balance life all while trying to stay fit.

I've always considered myself a reasonably fit person as a former rower but after having 3 kids in under 3 years, I was in search of something to get help me get back in shape and in control of my life.

Everyone says you never get your body back after having kids. Unfortunately for me, I never had the body I wanted before having kids so you can imagine where I was at emotionally and physically after having 3 kids! I've mentally struggled with accepting my body and my weight for my entire life. Many of my relatives struggle with weight loss and I grew up in a house where as kids we were very active in sports but there wasn't a lot of explicit training in how to eat healthy or model exercise. In fact, I have a very clear memory of being put on a "diet" in middle school and sneaking M&Ms at a friend's house since I couldn't get them at home. My relationship with my weight and food as a result was always a little off. Thank god for rowing, where my body was an asset. Rowing taught me to appreciate my strong legs, my muscular arms and shoulders, and my strong back.

My struggle came after college when there was no longer any team to keep me accountable, when I discovered that working out on my own was not nearly as much fun as it was with a team. Once I had kids, finding the time and energy to fit in a workout became even more of a challenge. I mean who has the time, right? Life with 3 little ones at home and a full time job presented challenges in terms of carving out the time for myself. So I gave in. I stopped taking care of myself and I ate pizza with my mom-friends. I ate ice cream with the kids. I baked and baked and baked. And I beat myself up in my head every day, every time I ate something that I knew was contributing to the problem. Yet I didn't know how to stop or change.

I experimented a little bit with home workout programs after having kids but never stuck with them for very long. Someone would get sick or I'd get in a batch of papers that needed grading or the kids wouldn't be sleeping through the night and I would let the workouts slide. Once the workouts slid, any semblance of healthy eating also slipped. I mean I LOVE good food and I love to cook. Not a great combination.

Enter Insanity. A friend told me I should try P90X. I looked it up and wound up stumbling on Insanity. After 2 hours of watching transformation stories on YouTube I was sold. I wanted those stories to be my story. I bit the bullet and bought Insanity. 60 days later I was stronger, leaner and more confident than I'd been since college rowing.

Since starting Insanity in the summer of 2012, I've regained a love and appreciation for fitness, have embraced home workouts, have rediscovered the joy of the early morning workout (it's my only guaranteed quiet, kid-free time all day!) and am doing my best to eat more cleanly and help provide healthy options for my family. Don't get me wrong, it is still a constant juggling act with making time for myself and my own health but I love the changes I can see in my body and the fact that I'm modeling a healthy, strong lifestyle for my children and especially for my daughter. That is enough to motivate me to get my butt out of bed every morning. It's enough to remind me that eating and cooking healthy foods for myself and my family are worth the commitment.

My goal on this page and as a coach is to inspire others to take control of their own lives and health. I want to do what I can to be there for others who are seeking to make similar changes.