This has been in draft form waiting to be
refined, I have decided to publish it as is with grammar, spelling and the time
periods jumping back and forth.
Why should anyone care about health and fitness? Well we live
longer than any other time period in history. But I should back up and explain
where my love of health and fitness comes from. It might be said I have had a
love affair with health and fitness since I was young.
I
was born in Virginia and soon after when I was very young my family moved back
to the family homestead in Upper Michigan where my dad was born. I spent my
days running through the woods and playing with my cousins. I learned to shoot
a bb gun then. I still love to shoot, just bigger ones now. I was fortunate to be able to have that
freedom to be as active as I wanted. I just could not seem to sit still unless
I was being read to. I think that is when my mother decided she did not
have as much time as I would have liked to read to me (all day). At age four
she taught me to read and write. In fact, I got a spanking from my kindergarten
teacher because I was reading the blackboard out loud to the other kids. It was
rather frustrating because I loved words and learning. I loved a good
storyline, though I did not know what that meant until later in life. We were
without a tv for few years while in school, our entertainment was reading and
playing games. During the summer we would check out 40 plus books a week and
take them back to the library the next week. Later in life I would to check out
books from the library on health and learn about different things (Novels,
crafts, history, and cultures). I would read about indians* and how they
lived on the plains in grade school. In Virginia, while in middle school we
studied indians in history and the about daily life. We learned how the early
settlers interacted with the early Indians; in some things it was sad and then
happy. I was fascinated by how they built their homes from nothing more than
dirt, sticks and mud or the fact they used sticks and animal hides. I kept
studying this way and learning pioneer skills. I have many books today and do
like to practice some of those pioneer skills now more out of necessity now
than for fun.
When I entered high school I really
wanted to run cross country track. I ran and had a stellar performance puking
my guts out after reaching mile 2. Needless to say I did not run cross country,
because my physical stamina was not great and there was not really a safe place
to run where I lived. I was drawn to books that explained how the body works. I
loved biology, granted my grades did not show it. My junior year I had the
opportunity to be a manager with the Varsity Football Team. This started an
interest in Athletic training, which I would later go to college for in a
related field.
I
met my husband while at BYU, My initial degree program was Mechanical
Engineering, but Calculus and I were not getting along during the Summer term.
That class was my best sleep period. Honestly I did my best to stay awake for
it. When the Fall term rolled around I looked into the Athletic Training
Program. I switched to the program and started the perquisites classes.
Beginning the Winter Semester I enlisted in the Utah National Guard and I said “Yes”
to my husband for the third time. Keeping in mind I was engaged during my whole
freshman year. My Winter Semester grades that were less than desirable. I had
taken anatomy, physiology, nutrition science, and exercise science classes
during my initial year in college. We married in April, I continued read
everything I could get my hands on about health and fitness, as time allowed until
August when I entered Basic Training and during training that followed. Being
healthy and fit is something that is expected in the military.  |
| October 23, 2002 Home schooling and Nursing John- ~140# ??% Body fat |
 |
| January 1, 2005-Final Prep for April BB competition ~100# ~13% body fat |
I will fast forward to the period after
my active duty tour, I came back to the Utah National Guard (1997). I entered
Salt Community College to earn my Associate of Science (1998). I then went to
the University of Utah to earn my Bachelor of Science in Exercise and Sport
Science (2000). I took many classes in how the human body works. The major push
for this program of study was to prepare students to take certification tests
to become personal trainers or prepare for Medical School. The time between December
2000 and March 2004. I had our last little boy and some interior redecoration,
this for me was sad. I would have readily had more children, but I know there
are other ways to help raise children -Grandchildren. We look forward to this. I
started to go to the gym and begin to shape my body. I decided to become a National
Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer (NASM-CPT) in February
2004. I quickly decided to pick up the Performance Enhancement Specialist (NASM-PES)
Certification in March. I found NASM had partnered with California University
of Pennsylvania (California, PA) to offer a Masters’ Program that integrated
the PES Certification. I called and I interviewed with the program head-Barry.
At the end of our interview, he told me when I was ready- call him because I
was in. I discussed this with my husband and we felt it was a good path to take.
I entered their second cohort in July 2004. I worked and studied –usually 9 pm
to 1 or 2 am, because I was still home schooling our children. It was a great
period of growth and learning. That inspired me to keep learning from as many
sources as possible. It taught me about how we evaluate information on a
scientific basis. Honestly sometimes that is really snobbish. I have found many
valid studies from Europe and abroad. Considering some of the treatments have
been around for centuries and only replaced by modern medicine recently. I digress-
during this time period (July 2004-August 2005-CoHort Classes) my husband
returned from a deployment, I trained throughout for a body building
competition, we moved, my father became seriously ill, and my husband deployed again;
all while working to sell the house we had lived in. In December 2005, I went
to PA to be robed and meet many of my classmates. I had never set foot on
campus until this time. This degree program was completely online and a huge
blessing in my life.
Since that time, I have learned more
through experience. I understand those that deal with chronic fatigue,
digestive issues and so much more. I have been blessed with children who for a
time took care of me. They fed me, took care of the house, and so much more. I
apologize for judging those who suffered with those and other ailments. We
moved to small piece of property to learn about homesteading. I have learned
why I really need to be physically fit. I need to be able to do simple tasks of
taking care of farm animals and produce items of various kinds.
I do not take any medicine at this
point, because of allergies to fillers. I use supplements, herbs, essential
oils, and energy work. The process of correcting issues within my body has been
interesting. I learn new things every
day about essential oils, herbs and energy work. I have been blessed to have a
great mentor who inspired me to dig deeper-Oliver DeMille. I will really have to
dig deeper into this in another post. But it is related to recent changes in my
actions and thoughts. Oliver co-authored a book with Orrin Woodward-Leadershift.
Leadershift addresses the issues we are facing today with our
overbearing government. Because of this book and Thomas Jefferson Education, my
husband decided he needed a mentor. Through Rachel and Oliver, we received the
name of an excellent mentor Ian. My husband started mentoring and within a
month I saw great changes within my husband. He read more and was thinking more
critically. Ian introduced us to LIFE Leadership. That has been one of the best
things that has entered our life literally. For me personally, of the 8F’s
Fitness of great interest, recently in February they came out with a Health and
Fitness pack. My husband noticed I had bought this and made the comment-You
bought that to pick it apart. Yes, somewhat I do that-but not like I used to. I
like to see scientific backing for information that is given. I keep in mind
that most studies are generalized and then by professionals applied to
everyone. I have read books by Doctors and other famous fitness professionals,
where they present ideas that they do not cite the original source. Because interpretation
can be different from person to person and how the protocol may affect them can
be different from person to person. I love books I can take the bibliography
and read those baseline studies and see what my understanding is. This gives me
a good base to discuss with other from. I enjoyed thoroughly talking to George and
Jill Guzzardo when they spoke in Salt Lake City. I had listened to his CD
several times and watched his video on the Library in our LIFE Leadership page
several times. It felt so good to see this information from a viewpoint I could
get. There are so many factors that influence how exercise and food process
with in our body.
My husband and I have come to the
conclusion:
-eat more minimally processed food-Fresh
from the garden or frozen, home canned vs. commercial canning. I must actually
cook more.
-raise our own food so we know the
inputs-Raise our own animals to know what they are fed and treated –minimize antibiotic
use and allow nature to take its course
-we must minimize our spending and start
investing in our minds vs. things
-removing those activities in our that
no longer serve us in living our mission in life
-remove things that are blocking new
adventures from coming into our life
-we must build relationships to help
serve others not what they can do for us
Major focus-Service to others not money.
When we are in the service of our
fellowman we are but in the service of our God.
I am literal daughter of God, who has a
mission and purpose in this life.
I am a wife who is married to man who
loves his God and country. He serves both.
I am mother. I do my best to raise
children who will preserve freedom and give proper gratitude to God for those
freedoms.
I am friend. I get to know other people
because of their goodness and grace.
Everything else I am falls below these
three roles-
entrepreneur, home educator, veteran, volunteer,
church member, community member, farmer, etc and so much more.
I shall leave off here…
* Please understand this wording (using indians versus native
Americans) is from my childhood and for this story it is within context for the
time period. I respect and love all Native cultures of the Americas, because
they have many rich traditions and a beautiful culture over all.
