About Nourished VIP
I recently read a really wonderful description of how subtle changes can become monumental over time. Imagine you spend a lot of time in the same room every day. Every night, while you’re sleeping, someone comes in and changes the wall color a teeny tiny bit. You don’t notice the changes, but in a year you look up and suddenly realize you’re in a place you no longer recognize. That’s a pretty good explanation for a lot of life, right?
I spent three and a half years working in a high intensity strength training facility. I had a full time salaried position (uncommon for personal trainers!) and I truly enjoyed the one on one connections with clients. I attained both a level 1 and level 2 certification with Precision Nutrition because I wanted to be able to help clients with more than just their exercise programs and nutrition is another piece of the wellness puzzle. I finished my level 2 certification in April of 2020 and began looking for ways to incorporate my new knowledge.
Covid-19 has brought about a ton of change this year for everyone and for me it also brought about my awakening. I looked around and saw that the walls were a different color. When gyms were shut down, we scrambled to figure out how to continue to work and train clients while they were at home. Despite my own hesitation and doubt and fear, my teammates and I found ways to train clients virtually using Zoom and Facetime. There I was, working from home and getting to spend more time with my children. I had somehow found my dream in the middle of a pandemic. I told my boss that I would like to work from home for as long as possible, even after gyms reopened. Covid changed the way we were doing business but things were going well.
Then came the call the last week of October. The company was “going in a different direction” and I was being let go. It was an unexpected blow and I felt like I had been punched in the gut. There really aren’t any words to properly convey all of the many things that go through your head in that moment and then you’re left with the aftermath. What comes next?
In truth, it was a blessing in disguise. Things didn’t go the way I planned, but I was given a gift — an opportunity to start new without the guilt of leaving my friends and clients in the lurch. I had talked about helping more people and putting my nutrition knowledge to work, making my own hours and setting my own schedule and now God was pushing me to stop the talk and start the walk. Scary and exciting, right?
This experience has taught me that stress matters, sleep is absolutely necessary, change will not kill me, and a whole lot of people have my back. That’s powerful. That’s the stuff that keeps us moving forward even when we can’t see the road clearly. I am incredibly excited to walk that road with you!
What is that thing that’s been gnawing at you and holding you back? Are you excited about your future, or are you grinding away without a plan for what comes next? Change is hard, and life offers no guarantees. Find your tribe, make a plan, and take a step in a new direction. Let’s paint those walls with a color YOU choose!!
About Yvonne
I am a mom of 4 and I have two beautiful grandchildren. I am a NASM certified personal trainer and a level 2 PN coach. I enjoy lifting weights, doing mud runs, baking, reading, gardening, lounging in my hammock, and spending time with my family.
I have struggled with weight on both sides of the spectrum. When I was younger I struggled with anorexia and bulimia and just wanting to be “skinny.'“ After I got pregnant with my son, I used the pregnancy as an excuse to eat whatever I wanted, even if that meant ordering two breakfasts as Bob Evans! Not surprisingly my weight ballooned and I gained 75 pounds by the time he was delivered.
I remember looking in the mirror and being so overwhelmed and honestly just disgusted by my body. How did this happen? I felt defeated and I had no idea where to begin. How in the world was I going to lose all that weight? Unfortunately old habits resurfaced and I relapsed into disordered eating. It’s sad how it sort of sneaks up on you, quietly and with a vengeance. I got back down to a healthy weight and when I got pregnant with my last child I was determined not to repeat the cycle again.
After my sweet Gia was born I found myself looking in that mirror again and feeling overwhelmed. “Here we go again.” But this time I wanted to do it differently. I wanted to be healthy for my family and I was tired of the yo-yo dieting and the destruction that disordered eating causes. I wanted to be HAPPY. I needed to do better for myself and for the people that loved me.
I came across P90X and as crazy as it sounds, that program changed my life. It ignited the spark that got me on this path. I had finally found something that I enjoyed doing and that allowed me to get stronger not just physically but mentally as well.
I continued to try out various at home workout programs before I ever set foot in a gym. Once I got there, I spent some years focused on lifting heavy and then I took a year to cut and compete in a show. While I prepped to compete I decided to become a personal trainer. During my long cardio sessions I would study and I was so nervous about taking the test that I didn’t even tell anyone until after I did it and passed. I’m tellin you, after all those years as a stay at home mama, I wasn’t sure if my brain could remember anything anymore!
While competing was on my bucket list and I am glad I did it, that’s not the life for me. In all of the various ways that I have trained over the years, I’ve learned a lot of valuable lessons and I am grateful for every experience because they got me to where I am today.
Today you’ll find me in the gym less and in my backyard more. I started my first vegetable garden this year and added 2 chickens to our family. If you would have told me a year ago that this is where my life would be, I wouldn’t have believed you. But here I am…just your average *almost* empty nester living my best life and looking forward to whatever comes next.