About Me
Hi, I’m Jacquie. I live in a small town in Ohio and I spend most of my days trying to find the balance of working a full-time job, running a household, taking care of myself, and having some semblance of a social life. I’ve struggled with my weight my entire life so working out and eating healthy is top priority but balancing that with a social life can be tricky. And let’s not forget the never-ending list of household chores that need to be completed. It can be overwhelming, but not impossible. I believe that you can have it all when you have the right mindset. Here you will find how to lead a healthy lifestyle through exercise, goal setting, time management, habits, and clean-eating.
Growing up I was always a little overweight and got picked on because of it. I was an active kid, always playing sports, but I was just built differently than most girls. I’m grateful for it now, but back then I just wanted to look like everyone else. I come from a large family of women and weight was always a topic of conversation. There were always five or ten pounds that needed to be lost before happiness could be achieved: a date, vacation, big event, etc. I developed the mindset that only “thin” people are happy. You couldn’t have a loving relationship if you weren’t the correct weight and vacations couldn’t happen unless you reached your goal weight. There was always a fad diet to try. I missed out on doing things because of my body. Every break-up resulted in me thinking that if I had been skinny he wouldn’t have left me. Then one day after a really bad breakup it just hit me…this mindset isn’t normal. I shouldn’t be falling apart because of someone else’s feelings about me.
Once I realized the problem, I couldn’t wait to fix it. I started working out, not to lose weight but to take care of myself. I read every personal development book I could get my hands on. My mindset started to shift. I started to have a positive outlook. I was a happier person. Things were great until they weren’t. I hit a wall. I became stagnant. I was unfulfilled and had no idea how to fix it. I realized I had more work to do.
I started researching again. Reading more development books. This is when I realized I had stopped pushing myself. I had stopped setting goals. I was living status quo and that isn’t who I am. I like the challenge of trying to achieve more. We grow during the journey of reaching our goals and I had stopped dreaming. So I did what any sane person would do, I signed up to run a half-marathon.
I should preface this by saying I have never been a runner. I ran my first mile when I was 31 years old and to date the most I have ever ran at one time is 3 miles. Clearly a half-marathon was the logical choice. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about this challenge, but I’m excited. It’s hard but I look forward to seeing how I am progressing with every run. The race is still four months away but I am taking it one week at a time. I have no idea how this will turn out but I’m happy knowing that I am pushing myself outside of my comfort zone. I plan to document this journey and to share what I have learned about achieving a healthy lifestyle along the way. I hope that you will join me.
