The Healthy Mama Series - Meet Megan

This post in my Healthy Mama Series has special meaning for me. Megan is my trainer, but she's become so much more than that - she is my dear friend, prayer buddy, and encourager. When we workout, we counsel one another and cheer on each other in good times and bad.

I am so honored to share her story. Her story is WHY I make fitness a priority - when your body can change and get stronger, it translates into so much more.  Your mental health improves. You improve. Megan's story has not been without heartache and struggle, and I can't wait for her to inspire you.

I am extremely honored to be asked to share my story with you. Health and fitness have become a huge part of who I am, but it certainly didn’t start out that way. My journey began from a need to be more than just physically healthy. My mental health was terrible and getting worse by the day.

Unfortunately, addiction has touched the lives of many, and it is a big part of how my story starts.  I am a mother of two beautiful daughters, and I also struggled with a dependency to alcohol and with severe depression and anxiety. The alcoholism made me gain a weight because 1. I didn’t care about myself and 2. beer and wine have many calories! Once I got help and stopped drinking, the real battle began.

With nothing to mask the depression, I had to face it head on. Panic attacks and all. I could hardly face the grocery store alone - so the gym? Forget it! Not knowing what to do, I decided to start running bleachers. I thought if I started to lose weight, I might start to feel better about myself. Then maybe - just maybe - the depression and panic attacks would stop. After all, my girls deserve to have a happy, healthy mom. I had to make a change. As it turns out, that one decision to try something different changed everything for me.

The bleachers were a building block. They set the foundation to show me I am capable of change AND that I don’t have to be that sad, isolated person anymore. Hitting the bleachers even when I didn’t want to helped break through the mental barriers that held me back in other areas of my life. Sometimes you just have to fake it ‘til you make it, and that’s what I did. Having my daughters there to watch Mommy be strong was a huge motivator. They need to see me take care of myself. I wanted them to know it’s good to love yourself and take pride in your accomplishments. I stuck with the bleachers for about 6 months until I had shed about 35 pounds.

Let’s be honest - life can be a crazy, loopy roller coaster ride. But for the most part,  I never gave up on eating right and working out. It made a tremendous difference in my depression. I did eventually break down and seek medical help for it, and the doctor strongly encouraged me to keep after my physical health. For the first time in as long as I could remember, I cared about myself and decided to join a local outdoor fit camp.

On the days I didn’t really want to work out, I was still motivated to go because I built relationships with the other fit campers. I wanted to hang out with these new people who became my friends. My kids went with me. The boot camp became family.

After a year of attending, the owner asked me to start a camp in my area. WHO ME? Someone wanted me to LEAD my own boot camp? I was terrified, but I knew I had to do it. This experience brought so much to my life that all I wanted to do was help other moms build their confidence too.

Soon, I was certified as an NASM Personal Trainer and began teaching my own class, Fit for Life - Boot Camp. The girl no one would have ever expected. I am now in the best shape of my life; I have the most amazing bond with my daughters: and I have built friendships I could have never dreamed of having before this transition. To me, these bonds are why health and fitness are more than just looking good.

There is so much out there that life has to offer and sometimes all we need is a little confidence and motivation to be able to go out there and grab it. Society seems to do nothing but teach us to compare ourselves to others and to tear each other down. Fitness is an outlet I want to use to change those feelings. I want all of our children to grow up knowing they are beautiful inside and out. What better place to learn that than from their mom?

We don’t need to compare our insides to each other’s outside. None of us are on the same journey. Let’s be there for each other and be accountable to one another so we can be the happiest, healthiest version of ourselves. Let’s get Fit for Life!

I want to close in saying that if you battle with depression, anxiety and/or addiction, I pray you will reach out. If not first to a doctor, then talk to a friend and know you are not alone!

And a big THANK YOU to Kim for being an amazingly dedicated client, dear friend (and cheerleader) and for giving me this opportunity to share a piece of myself with all of you. God Bless!

Thank you, Megan, for sharing your story. As always, you inspire, encourage, and love - such a great example for all the busy moms out there.

To see more of this series, click the link at the top of the blog to read all the amazing stories of women who have changed their lives for the better. As Megan states here, a transition can occur mentally as well as physically. If you have a story to share, please contact me. We need to keep learning from each other.