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 My desire in life is to serve. Fitness and health have rooted themselves in my life in such a way I realize I can use them in a powerful way to serve others. Click the links to the left to learn more about my background and my development as an athlete.
I am from a small town in central Kentucky. Growing up, my family lived with my father's mother, Granny. Everyone who knows my grandmother calls her Granny. If you picture a "granny" in your mind, you've pictured mine: white hair pulled up in a bun, always in a dress and knee-highs, and seems to always be wearing an apron because she is the world's best country cook.
I use the word country to describe a way of cooking using lard or grease that is best if used over and over. Now thinking back, I wonder when, and if, that skillet ever got cleaned. This type of cooking prefers bacon fat, it's better for seasoning. It doesn't like to measure amounts of butter, sugar, or salt, everything for taste. And who would ever dream of cutting the fat off your meat? The more the tastier. It's iced sweet tea or Coke to drink. Of course, Granny makes the best lemonade around.
My family and I were raised on Granny's cooking. Our education of nutrition went as far as having a meat and vegetable at every meal that everyone would like to eat and what we could afford to buy. Dessert was something that we all looked forward to after each meal and Little Debbie's were a dollar a box. We raised our own corn, potatoes, green beans, and tomatoes in order to save money, not to be healthier. There was no knowledge that a healthier way might exist. For everyone who lived in our town, eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner were no different. That was a time to come together as family and eat down home country cook'n.
The greatest obstacle I had and anyone will ever face when attempting to make a life change is their mind. In the eighteen years I lived at home, I never became overweight, though it was a different story for my Mom, Father, and sisters. My battle was not as tough physically, but mentally it seemed as if a mountain had just placed itself between me and eating.
 I hooked up with a bodybuilder, Jeff Lauber, who had recently won the Jan Tana and was on the rise in his career. We worked out together for seven months. The first thing I learned was that I still didn't know the first thing about eating properly. He introduced me to Parillo training and supplementation. During that time, I saw a huge change in my body. I gained a significant amount of muscle while losing unwanted body fat. Jeff asked if I would be interested in competing in a novice bodybuilding show. Not knowing exactly what I was in for, I agreed to. The next three months were the toughest I have ever faced. I now know that for some people the regimen I had is a lifestyle, but I had never before done like it---up at 5:30 AM to run on a treadmill or bike for 30 minutes. Eat breakfast, which wasn't biscuits and gravy, instead Cream of Rice and protein powder, back at the gym to weight train by 7:00 AM. Must eat at scheduled times and food that was prepared in advance for the rest of the day. This was a crash course in discipline Tupperware container of brown rice and a 6 oz. chicken breast. By week three, I had gone from "I want to do this" to "why is this happening to me?" My husband, who could eat anything he wanted, was so very supportive. However, he could eat anything he wanted!! That would frustrate me, and I would go from mad to tears in ten seconds flat. There is new meaning to the phrase, "Blood, Sweat, & Tears" for me now. I think it had mostly to do with my choices. The choices of food that I had from before were taken away but my desire for them was still there. However, I wasn't about to quit. I hate the feeling of thinking back and saying to myself, "You know you could have done it but you wussed out." I can honestly say now that was the greatest mountain I have climbed to date and have been so blessed because of it. From then on, the choice to eat the way that properly fuels my body so mightily outweighs the choice to just eat. Through that experience, I developed a new desire for a greater discipline that I'd had before.
I want every woman that might be remotely in the same position I am to understand it has been a journey for me. It will also be a journey for you. Discipline is not a quick fix. Sometimes it's not that you wake up unhappy with your body, but that you come to a place where you understand you NEED the knowledge and you NEED discipline in your life if you want quality of life and inevitable quantity of life. Discipline reaches each of us in every aspect of our lives. For so many of us, it is health and fitness, but it could be any other area of our lives that need some personal tending to. My prayer is that you start your journey right now, don't wait. Or if you have started keep pushing to go the extra distance…..for at the proper time we reap a harvest if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9). I have not yet arrived at the peak of this mountain. But already my life if becoming contagious to family and friends. To me, that's the most exciting part.
Today I stay active competing in fitness competitions, running my all women's personal training facility, and just trying to figure out how I can help the next lady successfully accomplish our goals.
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