About Me

My name is Jenn of Frost Bites. I am an over 40 (yikes!) mom, wife, fitness fanatic and a *retired* Nurse Practitioner.

I never had an issue with my weight until I got married. What does that tell 'ya?? I guess I was happy, content and I knew my hubby loved me and would continue to love me the way I was/am. Then the number on that darn scale kept creeping up and I knew I had to do something. I looked in the mirror one day and didn't like what was looking back. I was a size 12 at my heaviest which was around 140 lbs., not obese but definitely uncomfortable. I have always loved working out (although my time going to the gym had seriously declined). I danced in high school and some in college.

BEFORE 

(1992...I'm not preggers)

Diets fads I've tried:

- Atkin's diet - I couldn't even finish the first week

- Diet pills - gave me heart palpitations

- Alli pills - kinda "gross" 

- Weight Watcher's - very convenient because it was "At Work", lost 17 lbs. total!

Workouts I've tried

- Cindy Crawford workout tapes - fun but got boring

- Health Rider - OMG...I got obssessed, working out sometimes 3-4 hours a day...lost a lot of weight

All the while, I've been going to the gym, sometimes 3-4 times a week. Until around 2006, when an instructor at the local gym encouraged me to take the Les Mills Body STEP certification class so that I could be a sub for some of her classes. I thought, "Geesh...she must see something in me to ask me to do that".  Well, after about a year, she left to pursue other ventures and guess who took over her classes? I love the people that I've come to know and enjoy working out with and of course, the Les Mills programs offered. Now I am certified in both Body STEP and Body ATTACK. I took it even further and recently got Certified as a Fitness Trainer. In 2011, I also became a certified Zumba instructor.

Now after all these years, I've realized that it's NOT the number on that darn scale that will ever satisfy me....it's the way I feel and what I choose to feed my body. It is how I've learned to live my life and my ongoing journey to be healthy and fit. I believe in trying to maintain a healthy, well-balanced life but I am a "real- average- unpretentious- kinda- girl". I'm not a vegan. I'm not a vegetarian. I'm not a raw-food fan (except sushi------yummmm!) I have my weaknesses: I eat chocolate (especially when I'm stressed), salty chips (particularly popcorn) and every now and then *greasy food*.

AFTER 

(2010... )

This blog is about waking up everyday, the adventures that lie ahead, my journey to live a balanced, healthy life, my hubby, my daughter and my dog, Smalls :) It's my way to keep in touch with family members near and far. I hope I'm able to inspire and at least teach and learn from others..because that's what life is all about.

"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the worls needs is people who have come alive". ---- Howard Thurman