Rekindling the fire.

Well, I'M BACK! The past 2.5 years were pretty wild. Started PA School, got engaged, got married, finished PA School, relocated to Texas, and passed my boards. Now as take a moment to breathe, I can't help but feel my heart being drawn to another calling.

All my life I have wanted to help inspire people. My goal has always been to impact 1 million people (indirectly) before I die. Whether it's encouraging someone to exercise, convincing someone to get that mammogram/colonoscopy, teaching someone to eat clean and meal prep, promoting community service, or showing someone the gracious heart of God, I just want to be apart of their journey. I'm not actually counting the people I impact, but I'm going to continue moving forward and hope that I'm remembered as an inspiration to many.

A friend of mine inspired me. (For privacy, we will just call her B). I remember sitting on the couch after I completed my boards and I was browsing social media. Someone commented on B's page saying she looked amazing, so I did as any FB user would do, I went to B's page. HOLY COW! B lost 80 pounds over the last year! I think the biggest transformation was in her spirit. She was SO happy and radiant! And that's when the fire was rekindled...

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Many of you know that I have my own health and wellness coaching and solutions business that allowed me to help people virtually all over the country. Many of you may also wonder why I haven't posted anything about it in quite some time. Especially during clinicals in PA School, I unfortunately had to take a break in order to focus my attention on school. I still used the products and continued working out, but I wasn't able to help coach others. Well, B inspired me to jump back in. Yes, there is an immense amount of fear that comes with starting again....Like: What will people think? Will they think I failed the first time? What if they think I'm just trying to be a sales person?  What if people doubt me? What if they think this is a gimmic?

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As all of these thoughts rushed into my head, I stopped for a moment, and remembered my goal, my team, my vision.

GOAL: To provide solutions for others, whether it be weight loss, energy, performance, wellness, or earning a plan B income.

MY TEAM: The best group of individuals that uplift, inspire, and motivate me daily. They encourage me to add value to my life, and their support and friendship is incredible.

MY VISION: There are 2 big problems in America: Health and Finances. PA School has left me with a mortgage in student loans. I have watched friends do incredible and often unbelievable things - including finding debt freedom, so that's where I'm going. There are others looking for help with their finances and health too, so with the same vision in mind, we can tackle this problem.

I know people probably think I'm absolutely crazy, and that my dreams are larger than life and unreachable. I promise you, that's where I'm headed. Someday I will inspire you with my debt free success story, and you'll think, "Wow. She did it."

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-Jessie

Inspire.

      

That's all I've ever wanted to do. Whether spiritually, academically, physically, emotionally - I have felt the need to share what I've learned in hope that it would improve someone elses life. 

I found this quote on Pinterest tonight, and after that, my wheels started turning. 

                                

In all aspects of my life, I have tried to be the best I possibly can. I try (and it is always a work in progress) to prioritize my life by God, Family (including Clint and his family), School, & everything else.  I work very hard in school just to stay afloat, but still find the time to stay physically fit and live a healthy lifestyle. I maintain great relationships with the people I love. I try to get friends actively involved in fundraisers that benefit others, and I donate what I can to those in need. I obsessively check animal rescues and pray that those animals find forever homes. 

So if I died tomorrow, would I have left my mark in this world?? 

                    

I feel like I have, and let me tell you why. 

While looking through old pictures of myself, I realized that I have come a LONG ways in my fitness journey. What started out as a chore, has developed into a way of life. I now LOVE sharing advice with people, inspiring them to change their life, and ultimately, help them regain their LIFE. Being overweight and unhealthy is exhausting. You feel terrible. Your health is terrible. And someday, your doctor (Or P.A.) will yell at you. 

                                  

Just LOOK at my chubby cheeks. I'll admit, Little miss Haley looks adorable as a chubby tot, but me? Ugh. I definitely did NOT have abs then.. nor did I know what eating healthy was. I'm fairly certain I was hung over in the top picture also. Underage. Hungover. Lost. Way to go Jessie, way to go. 

One day, I just decided to change. Ya see, I had a scary doctors appointment that changed my life forever. I was 20 years old. I just started a new job, I transferred colleges, had no idea WHERE I was going in life, and now a health scare. This Doctor, bless her heart, was very blunt and told me I HAD to change my lifestyle around if I ever wanted to feel healthy again. So just like that, I did. When you're TERRIFIED that this lump you just found could be cancer, and these lumps are a consequence of your stress and DIET, working out and eating healthy was a no brainer. 

I started with at home work outs because I didn't know WHERE to begin. From there, I gave up alcohol COMPLETELY and started eating healthy. From there, I established fit clubs in my community to work out together. From there I started online coaching to help people with their nutrition and exercise. It became FUN to inspire & motivate people. 

  

I got my family involved. My mom was even losing weight doing a 10-min at home workout! I loved getting the updates from my family.  I would come home from work and have kids BEGGING to workout with me. Whether it was a simple family walk. 

                          

A 5 mile run while this feller biked. His red face is adorable. :) 

   

My summer bootcamp. 

    

My FAVORITE. Family push up contests. (OK. Megan won. There, I said it..)

   

                    

TOUGH races with my brother. (Tough Mudder) 

                   

Workouts with Hayl. Yes, She lasted all 48 minutes on that elliptical as I ran. 

And lastly, post workout seal stretches. 

Eventually, my family started working out on their own. My brother, Todd, challenges me to work harder and join races with him. I look forward to hearing updates from my sister, Holly, that her clothes are loose, or she is doing a race. I smile when I see Andrea pin healthy meals on Pinterest because she loves her junk food. I'm still working on JJ..... BUT, the biggest transformation of all has been miss Megan. She started her journey by losing 26 lbs on the 24 day challenge, and then after that - she did the rest on her own. 

                                 

After getting my family on board, friends started to join. I started getting text messages like this:

                                  

I have been so blessed to have the opportunity to help some friends obtain more self confidence, find more energy, and accomplish their fitness goals. I've also been able to help some get extra income by coaching others. My ultimate goal, after I graduate PA School, is to share my fitness and nutrition tips with patients by establishing a community program. 

In the meantime, pick up some weights. Lace up your shoes. And throw out the junk food. Start today! Get friends and family to join you, and pass the inspiration on. 

Imagine if we all inspired just ONE person each day, think about how quickly the world would change. <3 
       

How bad do you want it?

I haven't been on here in a while - my apologies! I have been incredibly busy with school. Finals are approaching and then I have an entire month OFF. Yay! :)

Today I wanted to reach out and not only write for you, but write for me too. Sometimes writing is my form of therapy. If you know anything about PA School, you know we need all the therapy we can get!

A few years ago, I made the decision to change my life. I decided to stop drinking alcohol because it added no benefit to my life. I decided to eat healthier because little by little, I was killing myself with junk food. I stopped drinking pop (or soda as you may call it..) I eliminated some toxic "friends" that didn't support my change. I started working out.

These changes did not occur over time. I had cheat days, and I still do. After months of slowly transforming into the new ME - I realized something. I realized I was investing in my health, and my future, and by making these decisions, it added so much purpose and VALUE to my life. I know that might sounds crazy to you, but I dare you to try it. This is all you need to do.

1. Give up junk. Junk Food. Junk TV. Junk Friends. Slowly but surely, your junk attitude will go with it.
2. Replace it with HEALTHY food. Start being active! Go read a book, see a play, listen to new music, travel, pick up a Bible, GROW as a person. Surround yourself with new, like-minded, supportive people (unless you already have them. Then keep those ones close!) Change your cant's to CANS. Allow your life to change.

Again, those will happen over time. It helps having a supportive group of friends throughout this process as well. After I made the decision to change my life, I was introduced to a company that allowed me to be surrounded by amazing people. I do not for a minute think that this was by chance. I think it was a divine plan and the grace of God that I was introduced to these people. Every day they supported me to be a better me. I still, to this day, think that AdvoCare is a personal growth company disguised as a nutritional company. It makes helping others and reaching out so much more rewarding.

Maybe your journey doesn't involve PA School, or traveling. Maybe it doesn't involve AdvoCare, or working out. REGARDLESS of your journey in life, I hope to share a piece of information that can help. Whatever your goals, whether fitness related, school related, life related, WHATEVER, -

Success is determined by how bad you want it.

This is an important concept that I really need you to understand. I'm sure you've seen the YouTube video about wanting success as bad as you want to breathe, but do you get it? REALLY get it. It's a concept that even I have to remind myself.

In PA School, I have to force myself to study for hours and hours, regardless of how exhausted I am. In a class FULL of brilliant students, I constantly feel dumb, and for whatever reason, settled with the fact I wasn't as smart as some. Then it hit me. I got into this program for a reason. Now, in order to pass, I just have to want it. Work the over time until I get there.

Fitness wise, I had to push myself to the limits to change my body. Nutritionally, I had to give up everything I knew and start over. I had to read books on what to eat. Learn exercises that would transform my body. Hang out with people that would support me, and exercise WITH me. ANd most importantly- I had to shut up the little voice in my head that told me I couldn't do it.

Changing is a terrifying thing sometimes, but you have to WANT it. I think too many people are in the pre-contemplation stage.

Yeah, being a healthy weight would be nice, but you cannot give up the food you're all to accustomed to.

Having abs and strong arms is the definition of your dream body- but you dont have time to work out because you are watching a show to see which housewife is desperate.

Getting A's in school and doing well would be ideal, but for some reason you feel dumb, and feel like you don't deserve better than what you've been doing.

Getting a promotion at your job? EARNING what you are WORTH? That thought sounds like a DREAM. Well guess what, it's true. You can have those things because many of my friends do now. You just may be in the wrong area.

What I'm getting at is this: too many people think they want it, but they don't want to put in the work for it. And if they don't want it, it's typically because their negative thoughts or negative friends/family are holding them back.

Please - let go. It all starts with a decision.

 

 

After making those changes, I have learned so much about myself.

 

I'm a fighter. I'm resilient.

And I refuse to let anyone else get in the way of my happiness. 

 

Be Inspired.

There are so many things that I should be doing right now. I SHOULD be looking at chest x-rays, or listening to heart sounds. I SHOULD be studying for my pharmacology exam, or preparing for my congestive heart failure presentation. My list is literally endless.. Before I return to the books, there is something that I feel compelled to share. 

Every single day I go to the gym - I'm inspired. As our group of girls grows more and more, I become more proud, more excited for them, and just... inspired. 

I normally go to the gym with 2 friends, Sara and Taylor. Both of these girls are just as crazy as I am. They enjoy circuit workouts that make them want to puke just as much as I do. The more we sweat, the more progress we made. The more we want to scream, the more we know our muscles are working. We've been doing crossfit style workouts for a while, and we absolutely LOVE it. 

Last week we invited some other ladies from the P.A. class to join us. I wish you could've witnessed their faces when we explained a typical workout. They were completely terrified! The fear they felt never stopped them from coming though. So imagine - 5 girls who have never really done a vigorous exercise before, getting thrown into a crossfit style workout. Some of them have never lifted weights before, or done a series of push ups. Regardless, they gave it everything they had. When they finished, their faces were pink, they had sweat beads pouring down, and they probably felt a mixture of oxygen deprived, dizzy, and nauseous. They not only finished, but they maintained good form while pushing themselves to the limits. I was SO proud!

The next day they were extremely sore. I was expecting that, but I wasn't expecting them to be so excited to work out again. Day after day these ladies join us, and I find myself becoming more inspired. 

Most people are afraid to start working out. Most people let fear win. Most people don't know where to start, and are too intimidated or embarrassed to ask someone for help. Most people continue living the same way because they are too fearful of change, and the path they are on is leading to depression, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. 

I'm not saying my friends in my PA Class were on their way to being obese because they are itty-bitty, and completely adorable. That part doesn't matter though. What does matter is the fact they had the COURAGE to come to the gym and try something new. And after just one day of experiencing how fun and rejuvenating fitness can be, they made the DECISION  to continue on this path.

Their progress leaves me speechless every day. Its only day 5 and they are doing more than they EVER have before.  For instance, todays workout was 20 minutes AMRAP (As many reps as possible) of 15 push press, 10 push ups, & 5 burpees. Even I was screaming during this workout, but that didn't stop them from finishing. 

Its never too late to get started, and if you're in that stage where you don't know WHERE to start, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE reach out to someone and ASK! Ask me! :) I LOVE this stuff!! 

       

(My cork board. I see this every single day.)