For years I had allowed my hypothyroidism to be a crutch. An excuse for why I didn't have energy and couldn't lose weight. So, for the first time ever, instead of focusing the things I couldn't do, I focused on all the things I could do to feel better. I had always set huge goals like "Lose 25lbs" then wouldn't which led to me feeling like a failure. It was no way to live.

This time, I didn't focus on my weight, but instead chose to focus on feeling good and I set small micro goals to make it happen. Those little things I could do each day to feel better from the inside out. For me, it was walking or doing body weight exercises in my room for at least ten minutes a day and fueling my body with foods that didn't leave me feeling like garbage.

When you start small you have more reasons to celebrate all along the way! That's what helped me stay encouraged and motivated to keep moving forward. It may have only been ten minutes a day, but I was so proud of the progress I was making inside and out.

Staying motivated...

Those small victories are what allowed me finally say good-bye to extreme diets and routines and truly change my lifestyle. I learned to love myself and treat my body like the amazing gift it is. My 10 minutes a day slowly turned into 20, 30, and sometimes even 45 minutes! And BONUS - I had a 45 pound weight loss transformation as a result of that new lifestyle!

Through it all I developed a deep passion for helping other women understand that they deserve to have a healthy, happy, hot body and live their best lives too! I knew the emotional pain I had gone through all those years and knew I needed to help other women avoid that at all cost and that's when Love Sweat Fitness was born.

Two years after my own weight loss, I became a certified personal trainer and group fitness instructor and started sharing my story, workouts and tips on Instagram. I created meal plans based on how I learned to nourish my body so I could reach my goals and still have fun!

Now we have over one million women a part of #TeamLSF who have all come together to support one another each day in their own journeys and thousands of women who have also had major transformations of their own!

It's been almost ten years since I lost the weight, but through the years I've realized, it's less about what you lose during your transformation and more about what you gain. Confidence, self love, self respect. These are all things I was lacking. They don't magically happen as soon as you loose weight, but the physical and emotional hurdles you have to jump over throughout your journey change you. They force you to grow in ways you never expected and leave you stronger than before.

No matter where you're at in your journey remember this:

"You already have everything you need to create the life you want and make real change. It all starts with believing YOU ARE WORTH IT!"