My health and fitness journey began about twenty five years
ago! Holy crap!!! Yes…. I am talking
about the late 1980’s/early 1990’s. Going
back all the way to middle school I was a relatively active child. It was at this time that I experimented with
team sports: basketball, volleyball and cross country. Although I possessed some natural athletic
ability, I was too insecure to embrace the truly competitive spirit necessary
to excel in such activities. (I hope to instill
a fire in my children, so that they can embrace a competitive nature and all of
the esteem building properties that come with such territory. My little girls already flex their muscles
and call themselves super hero princesses!)
Freshman year of high school I switched my focus to dance and made the
Jr. Varsity dance/drill team….the Killeen High Kangarettes….Ha!!!! The
Kangarettes may not have seemed hardcore, but we worked out _HARD_ and the
foundation of my continued flexibility was built on that team.
My father, being active duty military, moved our family
around the country (around the globe actually) quite frequently, so I had to
transfer schools my sophomore year.
While trying out for cheerleading at my second high school I severely
injured my right hamstring (an issue I still deal with to this day-my right
hammy is always tighter). Then I had
surgery on my left foot followed by an eight week recovery. As a result, I faced a weight problem for the
first time in my life. I had the body of
a woman and could no longer afford to snack like a child while being incapable
of participating in physical activities.
My mother tactfully recommended that I not gain any further weight, so
together we embarked on the Richard Simmons weight loss plan. From what I can remember you were given a
series of cards representing the food groups.
Based on the portions of your
meals you traded in your cards. Don’t
hate. Don’t roll your eyes. I lost fifteen pounds in a few months and
felt confident in my appearance. Richard Simmons introduced me to the world of
portion control! Sweatin’ to the Oldies
is mega fun too! Don’t be a CrossFit
snob! One of my Facebook friends posted
pics of herself at Richard Simmon’s studio in LA. He looks great J
By my third high school I was totally burned out on
attempting to fit in, making friends, trying out for teams, and discovering yet
another new set of social mores. Looking
for a physical release I asked my mother to purchase me a gym membership at a
small local club. Ship Shape
Aerobics. SSA changed my life! I worked out every day after school. With my dance background I was naturally
drawn to all of the step classes. Senior
year I started teaching two-three classes a day. Soon I was teaching at a second location and
subbing around the Houston area. Did I
wear bright thong leotards? Hell
yea! Who didn’t? Did I wear bike shorts, thong briefs, and
mid-drifts? Hell yea! Don’t hate; you probably did too. Did I wear long socks and scrunch them down
my calves? You know it! Part of me still thinks that look is hot!
Freshman year of college I traded in my thongs for
incredibly short shorts and cut off tank tops.
Class, class, class, was my motto!
I transferred to a ginormous gym filled with tons of testosterone laden
muscle bound men. What was I thinking
wearing such apparel? So naïve! I ended up dating one of those bodybuilder
types (don’t mention him to my mother-he wasn’t the nicest human being). For all of his numerous faults, however, he did
provide me with an incredible weight lifting knowledge base and introduced me
to the concept of a low sugar lifestyle.
My fitness arsenal of tricks was continuing to grow.
The following year my parents offered me the opportunity to
live in Korea for a year. Eager to
explore, I readily accepted their offer. While living abroad my fitness focus
shifted. Teaching aerobics was no longer
an option, so I took up running to compliment my weight lifting regime. I ran 40-50 + miles a week but in the process
destroyed my left foot and right knee. Living
in Asia provided me with so many unique life experiences. Korean “modeling” scouts took note of my
physique (and long curly blond hair) and gave me “modeling” jobs from time to
time, I was able to attend school with Korean nationals and made some fun Korean
acquaintances, but most importantly I met my husband, Shane. He was a young lieutenant crazy enough in
love to risk dating the teenage daughter of a superior officer. Ha!
There are quite a few tales of our dating adventures.
Shane whisked me away back to the states where we lived in
sin for a year. Sigh……amore……good for
the soul not for the waistline. I
attended school, worked full time, worked out most days, but my diet was
atrocious. I quickly became unhappy
with my appearance. I HAVE to watch what
I eat. Genetically, even in my late
teens and early twenties, I am not the type of woman that can eat an unchecked
diet. Why did I choose to forget the
lessons Richard Simmons and my freshman year meathead boyfriend taught me?
Then came the Great Schism.
Shane and I separated for a couple years. We refer to it as my sabbatical. During that phase of my life I continued to
workout at various gyms, but my passion for fitness had waned. For the first year of our separation, I lost
a ton of weight by eating sporadically.
I did no cardio but lifted weights regularly. Year two, I started eating again. I was vain
enough to keep my calories in check and health conscious enough to keep hitting
the gym regularly, but my heart was not working to my full potential. I was being fueled by an unbalanced low
fat/high carbohydrate diet. I had no
goals and limited drive. This
unmotivated attitude continued after Shane and I got back together. Our wedding photos are a startling reminder
of the fitness rut I remained in for years.
Looking at myself, I know I was just going through the motions. It wasn’t until Shane and I moved to Alaska
that I found a new passion!
Alaska is an amazing place to live, and Anchorage is an
incredible town. Often referred to as
“little Seattle”, Anchorage just has this healthy, cool vibe. With crazy access to the freshest wild fish-
I mean you literally go fishing for the day and come home with King Salmon, Red
Salmon, Silver Salmon, or Halibut. I was in paleo paradise (without even
knowing it). Such a culture begs for
yoga studios. I caught the yoga bug big
time and discarded my weight lifting regiment for a time. My body became so limber and my core strength
improved greatly. Continuing to run,
taking yoga three times a week, eating superb food with proper levels of
protein, I felt GREAT! So
great,,,,,,,,,, my biological clock went wild.
I wanted a baby _NOW_!!!
It took many months, almost two years of grief and multiple
losses before I was finally able to conceive and carry Brenden past the first
trimester. Shane and I left paleo
paradise (how I wish I had discovered the primal lifestyle while living there)
and moved to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Moving from Alaska to Kansas = culture shock. I must say, however, Kansas proved to be a
positive experience. We lived in a small
community not too far from Kansas City, MO (which is a killer town). I finally got preggers after living there for
a year. Paranoid from experiencing
miscarriages, the faintest amount of spotting or the tiniest twinge in my belly
sent me spiraling into a deep fear. For
the first few months I worked out tentatively.
During the second trimester my doctor discovered an abnormality in my
placenta. I was put on partial bed rest
for a month then directed to avoid any strenuous physical activity. At 37 weeks Brenden came into this world a
healthy 8lb 4oz. Muscle memory aided my
delivery. I was able to push my little
man out in about ten minutes! Shane told
the delivery room staff, “You don’t understand.
My wife isn’t like most people.
If you tell her to push, she is going to push harder than you’ve ever
seen.” Pretty nice compliment.
Losing my baby weight became a huge motivator. It was time to hit the gym again. It felt great being so pumped! I started back with step aerobics,
kickboxing, Body Pump and yoga. I was
the person in the front row jumping, leaping, sweating, pushing herself hard
each workout. My yoga instructor even
inspired me to start training to teach my own yoga classes. Upon reaching a plateau of weight loss I
decided to join Weight Watchers (it offers programs for nursing mothers). WW enabled me to lose more weight, but it
wasn’t until I went to a seminar on low carbohydrate lifestyles that my body truly
changed. The program called for no rice,
no pasta, and no white potatoes. No
problem. The weight fell off, I started
teaching a few yoga classes, and I felt even stronger and leaner.
Another move. . . this time to North Carolina. Shane and I decided to have another
baby. Once again we faced multiple
painful losses, but we were rewarded with double Blessings. TWIN GIRLS!!! The only downside, I spent the
majority of my pregnancy in misery. I
_wish_ this was an exaggeration, but unfortunately it is accurate. I projectile vomited the first few weeks, then
remained nauseous until the third trimester when an incredibly uncomfortable
heartburn took over. Plus I had the
pleasure of facing numerous bouts of sciatica-not the numbing of the
extremities variety- the kind that is so painful it literally felt as if
someone was stabbing me in the ass and dragging a knife down my leg into my perpetually
numb ankle. At one point during my
second trimester I threw out my back and could only crawl. I recall my friend, Jamie, coming over to
take out my trash. The last month of my
pregnancy became even more awful as my whole body swelled painfully. The skin around my ankles felt as if it had
been stretched to the limit. I couldn’t
even wear flip flops! You could push a
finger into my thigh and a dent would remain for thirty seconds! How much working out do you think
occurred? None! And my diet,,,, oh my goodness,,, I was on a
milk shake diet. I couldn’t stomach much
else. Sleep deprived, queasy, grumpy… I
faced all of this alone! Shane was
deployed at the time!!! But, we are so
very Blessed. Brielle and Bridget were
delivered by c-section at 36 ½ weeks (awesome for twins) at about 7lbs each
(super awesome for twins)!
I went into the
operating room at 205lbs. A long road
lay ahead for me. After my required six
weeks of recovery the gym beckoned for me.
My back had been destroyed, so I was incredibly discouraged with
yoga. I couldn’t do a fraction of what I
had previously been capable of doing just a year before, so I found yet another
new passion. Spinning!
Between spinning and hiring a personal trainer with my good
friend, Jamie (also looking to lose baby poundage), the weight slowly started
coming off once again, but I couldn’t get a grasp on my diet. I reached another weight loss plateau. I fell in love with spinning classes and once
again became known as the girl that kicked ass in class (Now I kick my own
ass-preferring my own style of HIIT intervals on the bike), but without that
proper diet component a layer of fat remained over the muscles I was developing
with my trainer. My trainer called me
She-Ra Princess of Power due to my strength, but my hard earned muscles were
hidden beneath a layer of dough. Story
of this woman’s life!
When the girls turned eleven months I stopped nursing to
undergo a hernia surgery. A piece of
essential fat had escaped through the damaged fibers of my abdominal muscle
wall. That’s what carrying twins
weighing about 7lbs each will get you!
Not classified as an umbilical hernia, the surgeon still went in through
my navel (which is nice and stretched out now- many thanks) and repaired
multiple tears in my abdomen with surgical mesh. This resulted in another six week recovery
for me. Rest for a week; slowly add in
low impact cardio; no jumping, running, or lifting for up to eight weeks. My fitness pursuits took yet another hit.
Guess what??? We
moved again! This time to Kentucky. You have no idea how much I did not like the
idea of moving to KY; I literally threw a temper tantrum with tears and
stomping feet, but I ended up truly loving it for the year we were there. First of all Louisville is super cool- a very
accessible city with all of the amenities this girl needed, but what changed my
life ONCE AGAIN was the gym I joined… Energy in Elizabethtown, KY… I joined
Energy because I needed childcare for my small brood of children; what I ended
up with was a whole new perspective on diet and exercise.
The first time I saw Gary Esperaza I thought please don’t
let that young, super cute guy be my trainer.
I had signed up for a series of personal training sessions and requested
working with someone that would really challenge me. The fitness director hooked me up with my
perfect match. Gary. Gary rocked my fitness world introducing me
to a whole new way to approach weight lifting- power sets, circuits, sculpting,
HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), CrossFit, power moves to build lean
muscle and burn fat. He also got me back
on track with my low carbohydrate lifestyle.
I went from 135 lbs 23% bodyfat to 124lbs 15%bodyfat in a matter of
months. I was someone other people
noticed at the gym; a regular sized woman throwing around impressive
weight. Gary referred to me as his
Prized Pitbull. A fire had been lit
inside of me. That fire is still
burning!!!
At Energy I became friends with Laura and Amber- CrossFit
chicks. Both are the most feminine,
lovely ladies you can imagine, and both rule the gym. Amber is tiny, but she can throw around more
weight than most men- not exaggerating, and Laura is tall, super lean with
crazy foot speed and endurance. These
inspirational women introduced me to paleo eating, but I wasn’t ready for the
transition just yet.
After training with Gary for close to a year and achieving
my bodyfat goal I was ready for a new challenge. A group of fabulous mothers started training
for figure competitions. I thought my
body wasn’t quite ready for that lofty of a goal, but I wanted to work for
something, so I started training for the less muscular bikini division. Big mistake.
The judges thought I sucked, but I learned SO MUCH from the process. I learned that I could function and perform well without grains. I learned that my style of a CrossFit/sculpting weight lifting regiment rocks! Much appreciation goes out to Gary of DPO Fitness, Jennie of Optimal Fit Jen www.youtube.com/user/OptimalFitJen (you have to check out her sight for truly unique takes on weight lifting exercises); Valerie of, www.busymomgetsfit.com/ (another informative site); Christi; Cara and of course Dr. Randy.
The judges thought I sucked, but I learned SO MUCH from the process. I learned that I could function and perform well without grains. I learned that my style of a CrossFit/sculpting weight lifting regiment rocks! Much appreciation goes out to Gary of DPO Fitness, Jennie of Optimal Fit Jen www.youtube.com/user/OptimalFitJen (you have to check out her sight for truly unique takes on weight lifting exercises); Valerie of, www.busymomgetsfit.com/ (another informative site); Christi; Cara and of course Dr. Randy.
That takes me to today, living in
Virginia-right outside of DC and LOVING IT!!!
As I mentioned earlier, a fire is alive inside of me. I work out _HARD_. I’m constantly researching and experimenting
with new exercises, still training in my sculpting/CrossFit hybrid style and yoga
is slowly coming back into my life. Most
recently I took on the challenge of becoming a personal trainer. People have been mentioning this career to me
for years. A trainer at my current gym,
Laura, inspired me to take the plunge.
Many thanks Laura! I’m so
excited! I’ve been studying for my
certification and hope to complete the process in a few months.
So where does all of this lead
me. . .
It has led me to create Cave
Princess. A woman FUELED BY NATURE- a
strong woman ready to embrace a natural, “back to the basics”, predominately
organic lifestyle. This is the most
logical choice for my health and fitness goals.
Combining all of my life experience and research has led me to a primal
approach to nutrition. I LOVE being
FUELED BY NATURE. I can’t wait to share
what I have experienced and learned with all of you! Thank you for reading! Please come "like" my Facebook page Cave Princess for more recipes and info!
