Finding Kaia girls that are willing to share their Kaia FIT journey with me for this blog is one of my favorite parts of the job. I can’t ever thank those that have shared their stories enough. Recently, I was thinking about how much courage and strength it takes to put your story out there for all to read and I realized it might be time to step up to the challenge myself.
Most of you know me as your Coach or as the writer of this blog, but many of you probably don’t know about my own journey to Kaia FIT. I don’t think I can come even close to being as inspirational as the previous profiles written, but I do feel that I owe it to all the girls who’ve told their stories to tell my own.
In March of 2011 I was a self-labeled runner and yoga-lover. I had completed 5Ks, 10Ks, ran on a relay team for the CIM, done a handful of half-marathons, and a trail run or two. I was practicing yoga 3-5 times a week and overall, felt pretty good. I was thin, and always have been, but struggled more with feeling healthy than I have with the numbers on the scale. I understand that some of you might have just rolled your eyes at me and thought, “Oh, lucky her.” Well, I am here to tell you that being naturally skinny has it’s own set of challenges.
For most of my life I ate what I wanted. I didn’t play sports in high school. I loved Dr. Pepper and all the wrong snack foods. I was skinny but I most certainly was not healthy. As I started to run in my early 20s, I experienced the exhilaration of exercise and how good it felt it to be sweaty and sore. But running came with a whole new set of problems… Mainly, keeping weight ON. At one point I saw the number 114 on the scale (I am 5′ 6″), had little to fill my bra with and just felt like skin and bones. I started to back off on my running because I didn’t like the way I looked even though I loved the way I felt. Running 10 miles was easy but holding a plank in my yoga class was a whole different story. This is where I began to realize what I was lacking… STRENGTH.
A friend of mine (Chantel E.) tried Kaia FIT Sacramento’s very first BRIK (January 2011) and RAVED about it. I finally gave in and signed up mid-March. I was scared, not only of the workouts but of getting up at 5:30 a.m., but I did it. I was the sorest I’d been in my entire life. I felt defeated. The only thing I could do confidently during class was run and the rest was all incredibly hard. But, I stuck with it and I gave 100% to every class. I could not believe how quickly I found strength, saw muscle tone and progressed in my workouts. I’ll admit it, I became Kaia obsessed!
By July of 2011, I started coaching a little. I have since been Kaia FIT and TRX Certified and am always looking to increase my knowledge base. I have maintained a healthy weight at Kaia (much more appropriate to my height) and have realized I can do anything I set my mind to! I can climb ropes, push cars, jump on boxes, lift weights, sprint, swing Kettlebells and HAVE FUN while doing it!
One of my biggest joys at Kaia has come from my soon to be mother-in-laws own journey (read about it here!). Sharing this community with her has brought us so close and having her in class at 6 a.m. makes it that much more fun! Kathy is one of the many, many women that inspire me in this gym every day. I can’t express how much motivation and inspiration I gain from my Kaia girls and Kaia coaches!
Kaia FIT has become my sanctuary, family and favorite hour of the day (it’s maybe made me a bit of a fitness junky too!). Kaia has empowered me, introduced me to Sacramento’s most amazing women and made me capable of anything I want to do, while still challenging me during every workout!
I am here to tell you that STRONG really is the new skinny and I couldn’t be happier to be living proof of that.
Much love,
Megan
