Meet Classy Fit Gal - Candice Nicole

SW: 246 | CW: 194 | GW: 160s or 170s (Depending upon how I feel)

For the entire year of 2011 I knew I wanted to lose weight but I kept letting my schedule get in the way. You know the saying "You make time for what is important?" Well, I was not practicing that and I should have because this was my health at stake! I am an Entertainment & Lifestyle Publicist and my schedule is very grueling -  always on for my clients.

For 2011, we spent Thanksgiving in Charlotte. A month before November, my aunt sent out an email about a "Turkey Trot" that was happening Thanksgiving morning (a 5K). At first read I said "She is crazy! No one has time for that!" I just wanted to sleep in to be honest with you but said "Well, it should be fun!".

So, Thanksgiving Day 2011 we had a blast doing that Turkey Trot and the fact that I completed that 5K and had not worked out in forever said a lot! I was proud of myself and FELT GOOD!!

Once I got back to MD, I decided to sign up for Fab Body Factory!

I started my journey Dec 2011 and my life is wonderful! When you feel good, you do good. I also feel like I am making better decisions as well.

Small Changes, Great Impact

One of the first things I realized was being able to wrap a towel around my ENTIRE body and especially those hotel towels - they always seem to give you small ones.

Another change was being able to cross my legs without having to "assist" my leg and having room in the chair on the plane, not having my thighs rub on the arms.

The energy definitely shows, as I am pretty much a "gym rat" and always looking to do 5K's and find new workouts to incorporate into my fitness regimen. In addition, I am finding myself.

My advice to you...

To the women who want to start their journey, it has to come from YOU, from within, YOU have to want to do this.

It doesn't matter if your doctor is telling you to shed 10-20 lbs, if you're not ready to do it for YOURSELF it will not work.

"The worst thing anyone can do is to lose weight for someone else."

You have to say to yourself...

"Okay [insert your name here], I am doing this for ME! I am determined to take my life back"

Your life will be changed and you will see the difference in your decision. Sometimes it's something you do and don't even really share with folks until you get your groove or maybe they will notice your changes.

Know that you will be met with "Well you look fine to me", "Please don't lose too much, you want to keep the curves". What do you say to that? You say, "ARE YOU CARRYING THIS WEIGHT AROUND?" I guarantee they will stop :) Don't let anyone judge you for the decision you made to take back YOURSELF!

To women who are currently on the journey...

Allow your self to motivate you to keep pushing through the struggles because there will be many. I deal with them everyday but I know living my life the way I do now, I am more happy, it's easier to shop, I have more energy and I just want more for myself in general. Also, let your journey be someones inspiration. Allow yourself to motivate someone else as well and ALWAYS remember how far you have come! Why would you turn back now? There is greatness around the corner!

What keeps my motivated is knowing how this will benefit me in the long run and also knowing how much I inspire others. That in itself is motivating because I know everyday I tweet/IG a comment or statement about fitness or share pics from my workouts, it is touching someone. When I receive tweets/emails from women and also men stating I motivate them when they feel like not working out? That makes my day! Another motivation is my family because I know they are proud of me. Whenever you see someone on their journey of weight loss please know that is a person of their WORD! May have taken them some time to get to that moment but once they are there, they are not giving up! That shows how dedicated someone is and I want my cousins to be proud of their older cousin. I decided to take my life back!

My biggest sacrifice in order to see results is Definitely turning down events and events where I know I would being seeing some key folks. I had to tell myself "Candice, if it's meant to me, you will see them again".

Also, my sleep. I started to get up much earlier to workout in the morning. To some folks that is not an issue but I LOVE to get my sleep but now I am used to getting up early and LIKE to "Rise And Sweat" to get the blood flowing, lungs filled with fresh air! As far as foods, I will never deprive myself because that will cause the binge eating and I don't want ANY parts of that in my life! With that being said, I know what 3 slices of pizza or 3 cupcakes will do to me if I eat them all at once. Portion control will always work for you, there is no going around that but I also found that I ENJOY eating healthy! Those foods aren't as bad as what you may think they are.

Connect with me:
Blogs:
Candice Nicole Public Relations
Twitter & Instagram (Personal): @CandiceNicolePR
Fitness handle is @RiseAndSweat for Twitter and Instagram