Hello, my name is Crystal, I am an over 40 child of God called on a journey to get fit and healthy, so I can help others get fit and healthy. This is not a new passion for me, but a renewed passion. My preferred time to workout is first thing in the morning, because then it is out of the way and it gets me pumped up for the day.
There is a lot that I want to write in this section, so I’ve decided to include it all.
I will start with the reason I am writing this blog. To be honest that’s what I believe most people want to know anyway. The rest of what I am writing is for those of us who are nosy & want to know more (I did say us…because I would want to know more.)
As I start this blogging experience to inspire, encourage, guide, lead & lay open my vulnerability before all, I will let you know life experience is the qualification I have to work from. To gain my life experience I started dieting at age 13, which may have lasted two weeks. I have counted calories, participated in weight watchers, Atkins, South Beach, & taught First Place 4 Health at my local church. I didn’t rely on everyone else teaching me. I took action by studying books on eating healthy, researched exercises, & I have had gym memberships. Accountability partners & gym buddies have come and gone. I have gained and lost a gazillion pounds (a little exaggeration but it feels like it).
I view my most successful journey as the time I ran the First Place 4 Health classes at my local church. I had been counting calories and started losing steam. The pastor’s wife was looking to start this program, however as pastors lives go she was busy. So I picked it up and ran with it. My lowest weight was 157 pounds but my average was 160-162 pounds. I kept it off for a year! I should have arrived… Then life happened and I reverted back to my old ways of emotional eating.
So what is different now? That is in my 1st blog post, “My why now?”{insert 1st blog post link here}.
This journey I have been chosen for is to continue to grow as a person. I say chosen for because God has renewed the desire to help others in their struggle. The best way to do that is walk in it with you. I believe this journey will be great, scary, & messy along the way. I predict successes, slip ups, falls, & some humbling moments. In the end my ultimate goal is to be FREE! Free from emotional eating & my other bad habit of emotional spending. I will have gained confidence, inspired others (to start or start again), keep going, believe in themselves, face their fears, overcome anxiety & more, so much more than I can imagine.
Some other things about me are, I have been married for over 20 years. My husband & I have two boys. We started young, so they’d be grown while we were still young. Our first son is 19 and serving in the greatest Air Force. Our second son is 18 and getting ready to graduate high school. We have 3 dogs. Bella, our 3 year old Great Pyrenees, boarder collie & yellow lab mix. Bailey, a 2 year old, 3/4 Australian Shepherd, 1/4 Queensland healer mix, who went missing for 8 months, but got to come home. Brinkley is our 1 year old, crazy funny puppy that is an Australian Shepherd. She’s also Bailey’s Aunt.
Thank you for joining me on this journey!