In seminary, Jenn and her husband, Jason, were two of our closest friends. Our husbands even worked together while we were all getting our master’s degrees. It has been such a blessing to watch them continue to pursue the Lord wholeheartedly. Watching their transformations from the inside out has been such a blessing. They have been such a team through it all. Their encouragement to one another has not only strengthened my faith and encouraged my own health journey, but they’ve been such an example of how building our spouses up publicly and privately is so powerful.
Here’s Jenn’s story:
I have been overweight and struggled with up and down weight all my life because I’ve always tried diets and exercise that weren’t realistically sustainable. After having my two boys, I never lost the baby weight. Then, after two miscarriages, I was the heaviest I’d ever been and struggling with depression. My doctor told us to wait two months before trying for another baby, so I chose to try Insanity because I knew it was 60 days from seeing infomercials. I had tried the gym and a personal trainer, but I couldn’t get to the gym enough to make a difference and I didn’t know what to do with my nutrition, so I felt desperate.
After my first day of Insanity, I contacted Michelle in tears because I thought I was going to die. I couldn’t even complete the first 3 minutes! Michelle encouraged me to continue pressing play each day, doing the best I could. She also told me not to be afraid to press pause…that was freedom in itself. She promised me that as long as I showed up every day and stuck to the plan, I would get stronger every day and get the results I wanted. So while I thought she was crazy, we met in seminary, I know she was a woman of integrity and that she wouldn’t promise me anything that wasn’t true. I trusted her, and she was right. It did get a little easier every time I just showed up.
Other than my physical transformation, (To date, I’ve lost 60 lbs. and 33 inches), the biggest change I’ve seen is becoming a person who loves fitness. Michelle helped me see physical, emotional, and spiritual fitness all go together. I had to face myself and realize that I was not a disciplined person in these areas and that to honor the Lord, I had to make some changes. While this was a hard reality for me to face, following Michelle has given me some tools to help incorporate discipline/consistency in these areas and have success.
I didn’t realize what a gift fitness can be to your family. Because Beachbody is in-home fitness, my children and husband have been a very real part of my journey. We’ve done it together. We’ve dripped in sweat together, encouraged each other to finish strong, tried new recipes, failed together and then picked up and started again. These moments with my family have been greater than any pounds lost.
My biggest NSV has been the freedom to say “Yes.” Yes, to my kids wanting to play chase and tag all day and know I could keep up with them. Yes, to going swimming and not being embarrassed. Yes, to going places with my husband and not feeling ashamed or crying because I felt horrible in my clothes. Yes to not being afraid to try new things.
Outside of encouraging me through my personal fitness journey, Michelle introduced me to coaching. I never thought I would be able to help other women reach their fitness and nutrition goals, but I am so thankful to experience the joy that comes in helping other women not feel trapped inside their bodies like I once was.
If you’re struggling with getting started…Just do it. There is no excuse or fear that outweighs what you have to gain in building your fitness. If you are willing to try, I think you will find that not only will your strengthen your physical fitness, but you will increase every other area of your life in a positive way.
Watch this video below to see if you’d be the right fit to join us in the Myers Cross Training community.
Still here? Fill out this application, and I’ll be in touch about getting you connected to the Myers Cross Training community very soon!
