Life Change at 41 | Clover Hill Personal Training Midlothian VA | Sarah Kane Photography
/Life Change at 41 | Clover Hill Personal Training Midlothian VA | Sarah Kane Photography
I can honestly say, without hesitation, that photography has truly changed my life! I absolutely LOVE what I do. I love meeting so many amazing new people, I love capturing a family's love, a child's smile (or devilish grin). I love being able to be creative every single day! I love making my own schedule and having flexibility for my family. I know every amount of effort I put in I will see a return! Running my own business has been a challenge and I've been faced with many obstacles, but it is also so rewarding and fulfilling and I couldn't imagine doing anything else.
A few weeks ago photography led me to a major life changing experience. I was hired by Clover Hill Personal Training in Midlothian to photograph some of the women who have been working their butts off (literally) to achieve their own personal fitness and health goals. I was looking forward to photographing outside of my normal newborn and family portraits (it's always nice to shake things up a bit) and had no idea at the time that this session was going to change my life!
When I arrived I started making conversation and asking more about the program. I was immediately intrigued because I have had every excuse under the sun why I don't exercise even though I really want to!
I was fortunate in that I inherited my dad's high metabolism, so I was able to eat anything I wanted for the first 18 years of my life. My metabolism checked me in college though letting me know that consuming large quantities of beer and pizza at 2 a.m. was not cool and instead of the freshman 15 I gained the freshman 30 in 3 MONTHS!! (the left is the summer before college, the right is the Freshman 30)!
It took 3 years, but I finally got the weight off and a better handle on eating. Although I had to make some minor adjustments in my eating habits, I was still able to consume large amounts of food, carbs and sugar and not gain much weight. Please don't hate me for this. I know it's unfair, but don't worry Nature wasn't entirely kind to me. I was cursed with scar baring cystic acne, a severe overbite, crooked teeth, and major anxiety!
Once I turned 40 my metabolism thought it necessary to once again put me in check and slow way down. So here I am a 40 year-old mom of 2 who's tired all of the time, still pretty physically weak, trying for years to eat healthy, but has no idea what that even means! I may be on the thinner side, but I am by no means in shape. The older I get the achier I feel and less energy I have. I hate this! I don't want to slow down, I want to have energy for my kids and (in the very distant future) for my grandkids. That anxiety I mentioned, yeah these thoughts are constantly swirling around in my head on a daily basis, yet I wasn't doing anything to make changes. Not because I didn't want to, but because I had no idea how to even begin. To top it all off, I had blood work done as part of a physical when I turned 40 and found out my blood sugar is high and I could be at risk for type 2 diabetes (that's a whole other blog post)!!! It was time to make a change!
The women I photographed at CHPT blew me away. They were all around my age and so strong. They were doing things that I've NEVER been able to do. I was so impressed. At the end of our session I scheduled a consultation to come back and learn more about the program.
What I learned was CHPT is a body transformation studio helping women (sorry guys, ladies only) get maximum results through personal training, nutrition coaching, motivation and accountability. This was exactly what I needed! Without hesitation I joined the 12 week program. Yes, it was an investment, but I am very self-aware and know what will work for me and what won't. I've joined gyms in the past and NEVER end up going. I basically would stand there overwhelmed by all of the equipment, not having a clue what to do, how to use it and completely intimidated by all of the people who seemed to know what they were doing. I know gym's offer personal trainers, but that didn't seem like the right fit for me either. Oh and I despise aerobics classes or anything that involves coordination and long periods of non-stop movement! It's hard to exercise when you truly hate what you are doing.
I am so happy with CHPT!! I look forward to class. I'm upset if I have to miss a class. I've been learning about clean eating and finding that it is not as difficult as I thought. I love that classes are smaller and feel so much support from everyone! If you have been thinking about a program like this I highly recommend Clover Hill Personal Training!! If you're not quite ready to commit to a program you can join their FREE fitness and Nutrition advice group on Facebook (click here to join)
I've set a very small goal for myself and that is to be able to do 1 real push up by the end of the 12 weeks. I'm talking knees up and chest to the ground kind of push up. Yes, I'm serious. I've never been able to do a push up.
This is only the beginning! I'll be back in 7 more weeks to do a "real" push up. Now if you'll excuse me I have some goals to crush!
The Trailside Treehouse was by far one of the best experiences my family has encountered. I heard about the Treehouse a couple of years ago and new this was a place we had to stay. This spring I started looking at dates and it just so happened they had an opening (one of the few openings still available) on my son’s 11th birthday, so I booked it. When we arrived we were greeted by Carrie (the host) her children and Huck (their chocolate Lab). You may feel a little weird at first because the treehouse is in their backyard and you pull into their driveway, but the minute you meet Carrie she puts you right at ease!