I was born and raised in Minnesota. Fitness has became a passion of mine through my 11 year journey thus far. I wasn't always in shape or interested in a healthy lifestyle.  I was overweight growing up.  Starting at a young age I had body image issues.  It didn't get really bad until high school and into college.  I felt uncomfortable in my own skin and was battling my insecurities daily.  The day I decided to change my lifestyle was the day I started building a stronger mindset and overall confidence in myself which eventually led to a career helping others overcome life's challenges.

I started exercising consistently in 2008.  I stopped eating out, drinking alcohol, and eating junk food.  At this point in my journey I knew little to nothing, but didn't let that stop me. I started to research things on the internet, although there were not as many resources available back then as there is now.  

After 8 to 9 months of dedication I was down roughly 50 pounds and feeling great!  With my new found confidence I started going out and doing things and drinking again, which was typical college behavior. Unfortunately one summer of going out and drinking regularly led to gaining back about 10 to 15 pounds.  I learned the hard way that I gained weight back a lot quicker than it took to lose it. 

I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't let it happen again.  However, life happens and a few years later I found myself losing focus during a stressful time in my life and gaining weight again. I fell off my diet and made too many unplanned meal decisions.  I got back on track, worked really hard and lost it again.  Unfortunately though, my body image issues got worse.  I became too thin and was obsessed with staying that way fearing gaining even an ounce of fat back. I battled these body image issues for months until one day I decided to record myself talking about how I felt. I watched it back and it was eye opening. There I was looking extremely frail talking about how I think I'm fat.

After watching the video and realizing how out of touch with reality I was I started my journey of self love! From that day forward I began to lift even more than I already was and started to become stronger.  As the years went on I continued to evolve because I learned more and more about how to lift correctly.  Lifting weights helped me to feel empowered especially as a female because it still wasn't as common back then.  Lifting also helped to reinforce my journey of self love as it was teaching me both mental and physical strength, which is something I continue to work on and progress daily.

In my health/fitness lifestyle journey I have experienced all kinds of ups and downs.  I've been overweight at times, and at other times I was too thin.  The only thing both of those experiences have in common is that ultimately I wasn't loving myself.  What sticks out the most to me is the amount i've grown mentally during these times. This lifestyle will transform you in way much greater than physically, most importantly it will transform you mentally. It all starts with your mindset. No matter where you're at in your journey, know that you can progress.  You just have to choose to believe in yourself.  No one will do it for you, it has to be a choice from within that you want to better yourself.  Your current situation is not your final destination.  There will be ups and down, but that is how you grow!  Start believing in yourself today, and it'll be the start of something amazing! 

If you've chosen to start believing in yourself and want to move forward by starting to your journey to your best version of your self, I want to be there for you!  I want to remove some of the steps that I struggled through.   One such step I struggled with was learning how to lift correctly and put together a plan.   I kept doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results which just so happens to be the definition of insanity.   That's why I created my intro to weight lifting program! I want to help you feel comfortable in what is an uncomfortable environment for a lot of people.