Who better than you?

There are so many people out in the world and so many influences on who you are but wouldn't you much rather just be you? One of my favorite quotes comes from Dr. Seuss:

Yes, Blake Lively is gorgeous and has the seemingly perfect life, but why focus on why you aren't her and focus on who you are and how you can be the best you. 

When I was obtaining my undergraduate degree I interned with Distinguished Young Women. They are an organization that is a scholarship competition for high school senior girls. Working there I learned so much about how important it is to appreciate who you are and one of their philosophies they focused on was 'being your best self.' 

It took me another two years to really understand the potential I had in changing my life to become someone who I could love for being me. I used to be over 300 pounds and I loathed myself from the outside in. It was a very toxic relationship with myself where I would find comfort in food. When something upset me instead of trying to figure out where the source was coming from and trying to fix the problem I would make myself feel better by eating an entire package of double stuffed Oreos. Trust me when I say that is NOT the way to make yourself happy. I would feel better for a little bit but would then go into more self loathing for just eating an entire package of Oreos! Not good. 

This is what I looked like before I began my journey

So, how do you stop getting in your way? People ask me all of the time what made me take the jump and honestly I got tired of watching others around me enjoy their lives while I was sitting in the background embarrassed by the way I looked and I wanted to be the person at the center of the stage of my own life. There is no amount of others telling you to do it or encouraging you that can make you will yourself to begin changing until you are ready. I had hit that point very clearly and was determined. 

Now, I had very MANY people who in the beginning thought it was nice that I was trying to get healthy but really didn't think I would be able to make it past a week (maybe less). This, honestly, pushed me even harder (being the competitive person that I am) to prove them and myself wrong. Of course I had many doubts about if I could do it and if my will power would win out over the craving for ice cream. 

Unlike some, I was not the person who could just ease into a healthy lifestyle slowly, it was go hard or go home. I knew myself too well. I knew that if I gave myself 'cheat days' or only cut out certain things it would do nothing but make me want to quit. So I went cold turkey and decided to begin clean eating. If you are unfamiliar with this it is really simple. Cut out the crap. No gluten, no dairy, no processed food. Just whole, natural ingredients with no additives. You may not believe me but honestly it was not as difficult as I first though it might be. My determination outweighed my want to have junk. The first week I lost 7 pounds and by the fourth month I had lost 35 pounds without having to workout once. Now I have lost a total of 90 pounds.

These were taken Sunday (Jan 25, 2015)

I never believed people who told me that being healthy is 80% what you eat and 20% exercising but it honestly is the truth. After I began losing more and more weight I thought "hey I need to tone all of this loose fat" so my best friend Amber suggested I start going to Pure Barre. Well, if you have seen my previous post about all the things I LOVE about Pure Barre, it really was history after that! (here is the link to that post) http://jessicalauren90.blogspot.com/2014/11/these-are-few-of-my-favorite-things.html 

I have slacked a little over the last few months but I am determined as ever to break to 100 pounds lost mark and to get to a place where I am fully happy with the way I look. I am happy now with the progress I have made and trust me that was a big struggle emotionally for me (which I am sure will come up again in another post). 

I have lost 90 pounds and my whole perspective on life has changed. I don't wish I were someone else anymore, I don't wish I were a better version of me. I stopped wishing and started to make it happen. After all, who else is going to put in the hard work to get you where you are other than yourself?

Have you done something that has made you find yourself and realize how much potential you have? I would love to hear your personal stories of self discovery! Leave a comment below!

xoxo Jess

These are a few of my favorite things... about Pure Barre

If you don't know Pure Barre is one of the best things you can do for yourself! So what exactly is Pure Barre? Well their website says "We’re thrilled that you’ve decided to try out a class. You won’t regret it! We believe that everyone is capable of rocking our classes- no dance experience required. As long as you can hold a ballet barre, you can do Pure Barre. That’s not to say that it’s easy, your first class will likely feel challenging at times, but we encourage you to stick with it. Try your hardest and let loose and feel free to ask your instructor plenty of questions after class if you weren't clear on any of the moves. At Pure Barre, we believe that exercise should be fun!"

They pretty much sum it up well but what exactly does that mean? It means you can go into a class and experience a workout like you never have before and you can definitely expect to be hooked!

I started at my local Pure Barre studio in December of 2013 and I have been in love ever since. I want to tell you about my five favorite things about Pure Barre!

First, the people. 

I know this may sound cliche but it really is a family at Pure Barre. Not only the teachers and owners but also the other clients. When I started Pure Barre I had turned a new leaf and it was a few months after I had decided to get healthy and this was something my best friend Amber had been begging for me to come try.

When I went, the instructor made sure to come up to me and introduce herself and make sure I felt comfortable. She went over some of the basic techniques and told me that she would make sure to come around during class and fix my form when I wasn't hitting it quite right (Which will happen a LOT your first class so don't freak!).

After my first class I was hooked and signed up for my first month. Every class I attended other instructors would make sure to greet me and get to know me and other clients would do the same. Everyone was so friendly and it made me feel very at ease since I was very inexperienced when it came to fitness and Pure Barre.

Second, the encouragement.

The encouragement and helpfulness you get from everyone at Pure Barre is my second favorite thing. When you are hitting your 90 second plank in warm up or you are on your last change in seat work and feel like you can't possibly hold it anymore without collapsing on the floor you can bet you will hear some wonderful words of encouragement. "You can do anything for 30 seconds" "Best 10, Final 10" " Great form Jessica" "You can do it, mind over matter." These are just a few of the many encouraging phrases that are said by the instructors during a typical Pure Barre class.

The encouragement alone has helped me not only complete a rep but also push through and give it my all when I have felt I couldn't give anymore. It makes you want to go back and go to more and more classes because you know they will push you to push harder, sink deeper, or lift higher.

Third, embracing the change.

It is possibly the scariest and yet most energizing feeling you will ever experience. What I am referring to is being able to physically feel your muscles changing and strengthening during each section of class. In the beginning I could barely do a sit up and could barely balance on the balls of my feet for thigh work let alone lift my leg high enough off the floor. The more you go the more flexible you become and the more you understand your body and you establish your mind body connection. When you are in class and you are in a thigh position and are holding a hard set up and you feel your muscles screaming and you want to stop that is where you have to focus and tell yourself that you are close to the shaking point. When your muscles shake you are making them stronger. There is a saying at Pure Barre and it is "shaking legs are changing legs" and I can tell you from experience that is very true.

Pure Barre slenderizes your muscles while burning away fat and when you can reach that shaking point even after going for weeks, months, and years, that is when you know this is something that will always work. It does not matter how long I have been attending classes at Pure Barre there is always a way to tweak a move and take it to the next level by either digging deeper and sinking lower or flexing harder. You will never become stagnant in a Pure Barre workout.

Fourth, the afterglow.

That is the only way I can think of to describe how you will feel after you have attended a Pure Barre class. You have such a sense of relaxation and satisfaction by spending 55 minutes to focus on you and bettering your body. In between each different section of class there is a stretch sequence to help either stretch out the muscles you have just worked or to warm up the muscles you are about to work. To me, this helps to achieve this euphoric feeling that I can only describe as afterglow after a Pure Barre class.

At the end of the class you also get a chance to slow everything down and stretch while listening to calming music while the instructor is encouraging you to thank your body for the work it has put in and to just have a general appreciation for your body and muscles. The promotion of self love is huge at Pure Barre and when you leave you feel proud of what you accomplished and you feel 10 feet tall because you just kicked major butt in a really tough and rewarding workout.

Fifth, No experience required.

The last point I want to touch on is the fact that you can walk in to any Pure Barre studio with no workout experience, no dance experience, no fitness experience and go right in to a class with people who have been going for years and not only learn from their experience at Pure Barre but not be intimidated because there is no prep necessary to jump into a class and be able to do it all. Each instructor flawlessly guides you through the entire 55 minutes demonstrating each move and setting you up for each section while also walking the room the entire time to ensure that everyone is doing the work safely and in good form without risk of injury.

In all of my experience and time spent at Pure Barre I know that even if I go to a class and there is a new move or new instructor I don't have to worry because they will set everything up for me and I don't have to worry about keeping up with how many reps I have done or how much longer I have. I can lose myself in the workout and focus my entire attention on connecting to my body and listening to it to push myself to the next level.

Pure Barre has nothing but positive benefits and I have not stopped raving about it since day one. I fully believe that anyone who tries Pure Barre will fall in love with all of the things I have mentioned above and also countless other benefits that you get from such an amazing environment.

So what are you waiting for? Go find the closest Pure Barre studio and go try it for yourself!

xoxo Jess

Let me introduce myself

Hey there!

My name is Jessica and I have been toying with the idea of starting a blog for the longest time and I am finally jumping off the cliff and diving in! 

I want to begin by telling you all a little bit about myself!


I am currently working on my masters degree in communication. Spring boarding from this the one thing to know is that I love to talk. I have loved to talk since I came out of the womb. I love to talk about any and everything and I love to listen to what others have to say. 

I am an only child and so I believe that friends are like family. I love my family dearly and enjoy spending time with them when I have free time.

I love to perform and sing. Along with talking I also came out of the womb singing. I have been singing since I can remember and when I was obtaining my bachelors degree I also minored in music to help fine tune my gift. I love being on a stage and performing and I hope to be able to do that for the rest of my life because not only does it bring me joy but it also touches the lives of others.

I am a health nut. About a year ago I changed my life around and wanted more than just being unhappy and overweight. Since then I have dropped 70 pounds and continue to work towards my goal weight. I do this through clean eating and exercise (especially Pure Barre).

I love the holidays and fall/winter is my favorite time of year. I love the vibrant colors and cozy weather. I also love fashion and beauty. I have a very casual and laid back style but I also love to get dressed up and go to nice events.


So what can you expect to see on my blog?
-Posts about my family and friends and activities I am dabbling in
-Health related posts regarding food/recipes and also about Pure Barre
-Beauty and fashion trends that I am loving or product reviews 
-Life advice or rambling about graduate school and how to overcome stress

I hope that you enjoy my blog and reading about my life!

xoxo Jess