I have met a lot of people on this journey of mine, and realized most of my fitness friends were animal lovers, and several also followed a similar healthy lifestyle as myself….so that, in a nutshell, is how this little blog came about.  I want to bring together these three awesome aspects of my life and share with ya'll any fun, educational or new nuggets of information each can bring!  PPP will also work to support local and growing businesses related to animals, nutrition/health, and fitness, since it's super important to me to contribute to growing businesses that I truly believe in.  Hope everyone enjoys!

"Pets"

To say i love animals is an understatement...I am really that girl that will stop to help a squirrel cross the road. I rescued my first dog Sadie in college; she was in a kill shelter and was going to be euthanized the next day (so no brainer).  My cat, Loki, came into the picture about a year later - as you will see him many times throughout this blog, he's the biggest ham.  On top of that, after many years of riding I bought my first horse Beau after college - an off the racetrack rescue. Unfortunately, time has passed and my first dog and first horse are no longer with us :( I rescued my current dog (Koda, who will also make several appearances) in March 2017, and have been with my new horse Morel now since 2013.  They are my little family <3

In this "Pets" portion, i want to talk about several things. I first and foremost want to support and promote ways to help animals in need - whether it's thru a rescue close to my heart, a benefit, or a local program, I want to get the word out to help!  Having adopted a bunch, I also want to make sure everyone is aware of some awesome animals out there in the world right now waiting for YOU to come get them.  There will also be some information regarding healthy tips for your pets, some fun videos, guest posts, and a pet product/service for the month - called the Monthly P.U.P - brought to you by my personal favorite dog, Koda (which take place in Koda’s Korner).  Here is where the pet lovers can come to learn, love, and give back to the animals out there.

"Pans"

It is safe to save I haven't always been the "healthiest" eater growing up. It wasn't until Freshman year of college that I took a look at myself - both inside and out - and just thought "yea...this doesn't feel great." I was overweight, and overall unhealthy.  It wasn't crazy, but I knew I wasn't where I should be.  So thus my dieting began...it was pretty "typical" during college; salads, no drinking, lots of chicken. But it worked, I got down to a healthy weight for my age and height.  However, the dieting alone wasn't enough...

As I mentioned, I got sick a lot growing up. We didn't understand why, we just thought I was a sick kid (kids get germs right?).  Things got worse at the end of college and after though.  I was getting really badly sick - mono a lot, strep throat, pneumonia.  On top of all that, my joints would swell up, I was getting blood tests showing I had extremely low white and red blood cell counts, signs of anemia, low blood pressure, and fatigued to the point I couldn't get out of bed even if I tried.  Right after college is when I really started looking into this: "why the hell is all this happening to me?!"  In the simplest answer: I have an autoimmune disease.  In the non-simple answer: we can't pinpoint which one exactly.  There are more than 100 AI diseases, and no good test to find out which one you have.  I have had multiple surgeries, biopsies, and tests to help. My doctor at one point said it really sounds like a "lupus" type AI disease.  At this point, I was so sick of tests,  I decided to take her advice and change my lifestyle habits to treat it based on this.  That's when my real health and wellness journey began....I started watching what I eat, where I eat, how to cook, when to sleep, and how to maintain a healthier lifestyle (while still enjoying food).  

Additional health items that will be featured in “Pans”

So where is this whole story going? It's the foundation of why I want to talk about "Pans" related pieces.  I want to share some recipes I have made, as well as others, that support a healthy lifestyle.  Let's talk about things to help those with AI diseases, or other diseases where special attention is needed in your diet.  There will be videos, guest posts, and links to where you can get some of the healthy items that are discussed.  Lastly, I'll be providing a "Health POM: product of the month" to promote local/small businesses that offer some sweet food products, services or other health and wellness items.

"Push-Ups"

My love for exercising and fitness kind of grew the same way as my health journey. I always played sports growing up.  I started riding horse when i was about 12. But it wasn't until college that I really got into fitness.  Since I was on my new "lose weight" fix, it meant working out a lot. Again - very typical workouts. A lot of cardio activities, and I still continued to ride on my college equestrian team.  After college is when I really turned it up a notch; I started exploring different workouts and exercises.  Yoga I loved, lifting weights more, and I even started running a lot -- that was a hard one to get into.  Not only did I start seeing the physical changes from all of this, but I started feeling the internal changes.  I was sleeping better, meeting new people, smiling more...I was happier.  

Sometime in 2018 I got started with on-line health and fitness coaching. I wanted to take all this new knowledge I was gaining and help others (and continue to learn myself).  It has truly been a blast getting to work with so many people on whatever they need - whether it's a quick workout tip to help with abs, a full-blown health and fitness program laid out, or just someone to talk to about goals....it's really the best feeling.  In the final P section, "Push-Ups," I want to not only provide health/fitness coaching services, but I also want to grow my team! Anybody interested in joining the health and fitness coaching world can start here; we'll have tutorials, plans, and the chance for you to grow your own business.  I'll have access to my workout videos I create, as well as additional fitness tips and tricks from either myself or fellow workout lovers.  You'll see success stories and a look at the Monthly W.O.P, which is a highlighted workout product you can find more information on and where to get it.  This portion mayyyyy be my favorite (it's a tough call, but all this working out gets the endorphins flowing and the happiness just comes out)!