About Me

Hello! My name is Angela. 

I am a wife, mom, sister, daughter, granddaughter, aunt, friend and newly found lover of fitness!!

Here is my journey.

Growing up I was the girl in school who got teased for anything and everything (apparently I was an easy target, at least that is the way it seemed). I never felt good enough, pretty enough or smart enough. In grade 5 kids at school started to call me "fat". Looking back at pictures, I was a scrawny 10 year old with little shape to my body. I soon became really self conscious of my body and started to wear baggy clothes and lots of layers to disguise my shape. 

I felt this way for a long time. By the time high school hit I was over weight and very unhappy. I had good friends though, which made life a whole lot greater. They were the ones telling me how great I was inside and out. By the time I graduated high school I had enough confidence to know I wasn't a complete waste of time, but I always felt "held back" by my weight.  I used to think "one day, when I'm skinny I'll have a boyfriend" or "one day I'll be pretty if I could fit those jeans"...(all really unhelpful thoughts). 

Though I was over weight, I still enjoyed fitness. My problem was I never stuck with it long enough for it to pay off. I played rugby from grade 9-12 and a few years after. I joined rugby because every girl who tried out made the team (how great is that?!). 

I eventually went to University, where I graduated with a dual diploma in Social Work and Disability Studies. During University I went to the gym and attended some fitness classes. I started to increase my cardiovascular capacity and realized I loved to run. I wanted to be a runner so badly, but I had to drop some pounds before I could realistically run with ease.

Almost every night I would go to sleep telling myself "tomorrow, you are going to work out, eat better and lose weight". I spent a lot of time thinking about losing weight, but not a lot of time actually doing it. It became a vicious cycle.

During the summer break of 2009 before my last year at University I started to take a 6AM Bootcamp class 3 times a week. I wanted to get in shape and FINALLY lose weight. The first session was 6 weeks long, by the end of the 6 weeks I was hooked. I LOVED it. I ended up signing up for 2 more sessions which lasted the rest of the 4 month break. I also started to go running after bootcamp some mornings. I was in the best shape of my life. I signed up and ran a 10K that summer as well. It was a great feeling!! I was confident and really loving life. I had gone down to about 175lbs, which was the smallest I had been in my teenage and adult life. Along with working out more, I was also eating better. Food was the challenge for me in terms of weight loss.

Wedding DAY! It was a great day!

Now fast forward a year, it was June 2010. I was getting married!! Even though I had gained back all the weight I had lost, I felt beautiful and confident. I had stopped working out and eating healthy. I hadn't committed to a lifestyle change. Later that year I got pregnant. I started out my pregnancy at 200lbs. The one thing I LOVED about being pregnant is I never worried about losing weight. It was AWESOME! Unfortunately I was quite inactive before getting pregnant so I became even more out of shape by the time I gave birth to a healthy beautiful girl in July 2011. 

I was SO ready to get back in shape after having my daughter I was so excited when that "6 week post birth" time came. I, like a lot of women, did the 30 day Shred by Jillian Michaels. I remember doing a jumping jack for the first time. WOW! I never knew I could feel my insides move!! It was so HARD!! I didn't quite do the entire 30 days, but it definitely made me aware of how much work I had ahead of me. 

  I finally decided that Thanksgiving I would start a weight loss program. I started Weight Watchers Online at 200lbs. It was great for me, I could track my food and my activities and stay accountable. I told myself "if I can work hard and get my body into shape, and lose the weight I need to get healthy and be happy for the rest of my life...isn't it worth it?!" (why YES it is!!!!). I also understood that gaining self confidence doesn't happen overnight. I had to start my journey being happy and confident. 

About a month into the program I started to also focus on working out. I wanted to get

back into running. I ran a 5k that December...which was WAY harder than I thought it would be...a 10K in January...which was also hard, but easier because I was 25lbs lighter...then I decided to train for a half marathon!! On June 9, 2012 I ran my very first half marathon. I had lost just over 50lbs and I felt incredible.

Almost at the finish line! Footstock Half Marathon 2012

Also during my half marathon training I decided to also become a Personal Trainer. I had often thought about becoming one growing up, but never entertained the thought long enough to believe it could happen. So I signed up in April and took a online and in-class course to become a Certified Personal Trainer. I passed my last exam in July, which makes it official! I'm a Personal Trainer. It was a great program that has given me a solid foundation to build on.  I still have days where I feel gross and blubbery, and I have to remind myself where I have come from and what I have accomplished. I also need to remind myself that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. What matters is that I feel beautiful being me!!

So this is my journey to a healthier, fitter me. It doesn't end here, it will keep going for as long as I let it. Thank you for letting me share a piece of me with all of you.

My next goal is to start my own Personal Training and Bootcamp business. Starting this blog is step number 1 towards that goal!!

I hope my story has opened your mind to thoughts of accomplishing goals you have for yourself. I believe in YOU!! We can all relate in someway to not feeling good enough. I know that it takes hard work and dedication, but I truly believe you can do anything you put your mind to....even writing a BLOG! ha!!