Welcome to TurboFitLife!

Welcome to my first “official” blog post! If you’ve looked around at all you know there are some posts out there already that you’ll hopefully find helpful (and at the very least entertaining!). I figured I’d use this post to help introduce you to me, why I’m doing this, and how in the world I get the energy to do this on top of everything else life throws at me.

About Me

So… who am I? I’m Terry.

A 30-something work-from-home technologist that manages projects for my full time gig. I love my job and while it’s super challenging it’s super rewarding as well. Computers have been my passion for as long as I can remember. Then in 2009 I was bored and broke so i decided to start going to bed early and going to the gym in the morning since i had nothing else i could afford to do. Then a friend recommended ChaLEAN Extreme and I was a full on fitness addict. For the first time ever I stuck with a program to the end and did it consistently without skipping too many days. I kept going to the gym for a while doing Zumba classes and jumping on the Elliptical, but eventually I cancelled my membership and started working out exclusively at home- I mean… it’s so much cheaper! After finishing ChaLEAN I moved on to P90X and fell in love. I was hooked!

The Year That Everything Changed

With Sandy before my first race ever

In 2011 I kicked off the year with Chalene Johnson’s 30 Day Push program, that helps you focus every day on determining your goals and getting there. Truly I can credit everything that has happened in my life since then to starting the year with that program. It taught me so much about goal planning on positive self talk and dreaming big that now I love sharing those things with other people. That year I also signed up for the Shamrock Shuffle 8K (having only run 2 miles ever in my life… ten years earlier). After going on a few short training runs (my longest training run was a mile and a half) I somehow ran the whole race. The feeling crossing that finish line was what has become a complete addiction. I signed up for more races and even a half marathon that fall and somehow pulled it off! I joined a running group that runs with people that are currently experiencing homelessness called Back On My Feet and would wake up super early (stars were still out) to run with them. In less than a year I had gone from someone who dreaded running to someone who couldn’t stop running.

Vegan

Visiting Poplar Springs Animal Sanctuary in Maryland

In 2011 I also started the year with PCRM’s 21-Day Vegan Kickstart program that provides 21 days of email support and recipes to help you try vegan. It was also life changing! I had finally realized how horrible eating eggs and dairy were (I was already vegetarian) but just couldn’t kick my deep dish habit! Luckily in the middle of the year I said farewell to all animal products and have never looked back. The combo of running and going vegan took my BMI from overweight to healthy faster than I ever dreamed possible. I still struggle to get it back down to healthy but I am now equipped with all the tools and knowledge i need to make it happen!

Going vegan changed my life in so many ways but one thing it did was make me more aware of everything I put into my body- what vitamins I needed, how much protein people actually need, and all sorts of other factoids about food. I love researching nutrition and one day will have a certification or degree in nutrition for sure!

This Is How We Do It

Once I started working out I started posting about what I was doing. I posted some of my results. I posted healthy recipes and lots and lots of food pictures. And people made fun of me. My friends mocked me. And I didn’t care because I got (and still get) messages from random people thanking me for my posts. Saying they changed their eating habits or tried meatless Mondays as a result of my posts. They got up off the couch and worked out because they were inspired. they tried P90X or a Zumba class or went for a run because of something I said. That feeling of motivating just one person makes it all worth it. I became a Beachbody coach this year because I want to be able to help the most people possible the best way I can- my paychecks are a direct reflection of how many people i help. What could be better than that?!

Thanks so much for being here and checking out the blog! Let me know if you ever need anything in the world or if you have anything you want me to write about! I’m here for YOU! xo