Live Your Best Life Now with Michelle Rogers

Hi, I’m Michelle Rogers. I’m a certified personal trainer, group fitness instructor, and senior fitness specialist. I’m also a healthy lifestyle blogger.

But being a fitness professional is a more recent development in my life. I’m actually a weight loss success story. I’d struggled most of my life with yo-yo dieting, and had trouble sticking with exercise at all. I finally found success in my early 40s, after decades of trying and failing.

Over the years, my weight had fluctuated by almost 100 pounds, and was always up and down, mostly up. I was classified as obese for my height. But the main problem was I just wasn’t feeling well, I was stiff and sore a lot, and had no energy.

But this time, I went on to successfully stick with exercising and improving my eating. I lost the weight, and for the first time kept it off, almost ten years now. And I did this while working full-time at a sedentary job and raising my family.

It all changed because one day I’d had enough. I was truly sick and tired of feeling sick and tired! I felt old before my time. I wondered, if I feel like this now, what’s it going to be like for me in 10 or 20 years?  Feeling defeated with weight loss, I decided I was done with strict dieting, done with losing only to gain it all back. But I figured that if nothing else, I needed to get my body moving to try to alleviate the stiffness and tiredness.

This time around, I decided to start small with exercise. I bought a used treadmill and started walking on it for 15 minutes at a scheduled time every day. (Why 15 minutes? Because I knew I could do that). The next week I did 16 minutes a day. Each week I added another daily minute or two. Gradually, I increased speed as well as time.

By adding a few minutes a week, I eventually worked up to an hour of exercise a day. But this was radically different than in the past. Back then, I thought exercising meant you had to do an entire hour-long workout video. The problem was, I wasn’t yet conditioned for that, so it felt overwhelmingly hard. No wonder I gave up all those years. I didn’t realize that it’s okay to start small and to work your way up to more. 

My initial efforts were small and doable this time, but –and this is critically important –I was committed and faithful in doing it every day.

The turning point

I wasn’t losing weight the first few months, but I didn’t give up like I had every other time in the past. Why? Because I realized I’d started feeling better. My legs were getting stronger. I didn’t feel stiff and sore when I got up from my desk like I used to. I had more energy, was even more cheerful. I was truly getting better, physically and emotionally. So I said, well, if I don’t lose weight then so be it…but I’m not giving up. I didn’t want to go back to feeling sick and tired all the time.

That was the turning point.

It was when I made exercise about my health and quality of life, instead of just the scale, that everything finally clicked for me. And ironically, that is also when I finally started losing weight!

All the effort I’d been putting into exercise made me want to start eating better, too, and I began focusing on healthier foods. I started with small changes there, too.

Exercise and good nutrition not only corrected my metabolism that had been wrecked from decades of yo-yo dieting, I became energetic instead of lethargic, happier instead of stressed, stronger instead of sore. Not overnight, but it happened.

A life changed

The bottom line is, when you are healthy and feeling good, it literally benefits every area of your life. You can have the full, active life you want, and to be there for your family and friends. When you feel great, when you have your health, you can do anything.

My life was completely changed for the better, and I was so grateful for this I felt a calling to help others. It gave me a new purpose and a new career. Now it’s my mission to help you live your best life, too.

As a fitness professional, I witness amazing success stories every day. Real people, real lives, changed dramatically because of exercise and a healthy lifestyle. And I’m here to tell you, it can happen for you, too. It’s not too late to turn over a new leaf. You’re never too old to become your best you and live your best life now.

And to help you do just that, in the coming months I’m going to be giving you real-life strategies and practical tips, right here on the Point of Blue Blog.

I’m so excited to be partnering with Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina on this. So be sure to subscribe to the Point of Blue blog, and let’s make this your healthiest, happiest year yet!

The post Live Your Best Life Now with Michelle Rogers appeared first on Point of Blue.

from Point of Blue https://ift.tt/2G9qIV1