“Eight years ago, I became the coordinator of the Trinity Food Pantry. Four years later, I came to Feed My People Food Bank. Until that time, I didn’t understand what hunger meant. It’s not the kind of hunger that happens after a long day without a break. I’m talking about children who rely on the […]

“In October of 2014, my best friend got really into fitness and talked me into going with her. Prior to that, I hated myself. I hated the way I looked. I was overweight and very self conscious. Also, as a young kid I knew I was different from everybody else, but I couldn’t figure out […]

“In July of 2009, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Prior to that, I had a lot of things that happened in my life. I’m a recovering alcoholic. I had an eating disorder. You name it, I had it. So when they told me I had breast cancer, that was the last thing I thought […]

“I’m a Master Fitness Trainer for the 32nd Army battalion for the state of Wisconsin. I’m a personal trainer for the Army. I take individuals who haven’t met the Army fitness standards and help them get there. My twin brother had joined our senior year of high school. He originally did it because our grandfather […]

“When I was working out at the YMCA for a short period of time, I was power lifting. That went really well until I reached my limit. I wound up with a bilateral inguinal hernia. I herniated both sides laterally, which wound up being a 5 inch incision on each side. Had the surgery. The […]

“I’ve had many challenges and struggles in my life, but I think it’s made me stronger. I went through a lot when I was younger. I was sexually abused. I was bullied. There’s been a lot of things that have happened to me that have been mentally traumatic. But a lot of people face bullying […]

“My freshman year of college I played basketball at Vanderbilt. I started out the year trying to get playing time. I eventually began starting and was very fortunate. I made the SEC All-Freshman team. Freshman year was amazing. The Fall semester of my sophomore year, I took a Religion of China course and I was […]

“Five years ago, I weighed 30 pounds less than I do now. I wasn’t healthy. I was always so stressed out. I didn’t really talk to my friends. I didn’t want them to really know me because then they would’ve known how broken I was. I don’t know that I was really ready to fix […]

“I have sleep apnea and acid reflux problems. As much as I love eating, I just don’t eat that much because it keeps me from sleeping. If I overeat, that means I’ll be up all night coughing or puking. I try to limit it to 2 meals a day. Going to bed hungry is a […]

“It was the Spring of 2013 when I was first diagnosed. I was in my body weight range, I walked everyday, I ate healthy and I’m a registered nurse. I kept going to the doctor because I was always getting so tired. I was having a lot of lower back and hip pain. They said […]