My Health and Fitness Journey

First let me introduce myself! My name is Katie Shuster and I am a 29 year old mom to my son, Matthew, and married to the love of my life, Adam. By day I am a full-time fifth grade language arts and social studies teacher; by night I am a mom and Beachbody Coach. I love spending time playing with my son outside in the backyard or on the playground, reading a variety of different genres, catching up with friends at coffee shops, traveling, and most importantly spending time with my family who are spread all over the eastern United States.

I have always enjoyed being active. In elementary, middle, and high school I was involved in competitive dance, cheerleading, and track and field. In college, I was much less active and started to add unhealthy habits in to my life. By the time I graduated, I had gained twenty pounds and felt sluggish and my self confidence was at an all time low. I dieted and joined gyms, but never went. Exercise and eating healthy was just something I never could maintain. Within the two years after graduating from college I got married. I wish I could say that I was in the best shape of my life and was proud of how I looked on my wedding day, but it was the complete opposite. My diet months before the wedding was atrocious, and exercise! Sheesh that word didn't exist. Looking back at my wedding pictures, I see a person who just wasn't happy in her skin.

Then came planning for babies, or so I thought. I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Sydrome when I was 17, and prayed that it didn't have too much of an affect on my having children. After two years of struggling with infertility issues, we finally conceived our son, Matthew. This was a blessing because doctors had told us that there was no way we would get pregnant without IVF. I had an uncomplicated pregnancy, although I am sure I had undiagnosed gestational diabetes. Earning the name "cookie monster" from my husband surely meant that too much sugar was going into my system and not enough whole foods.

Eighteen months after having Matthew, I still hadn't lost the baby weight. I was in what I call the "mom-funk" and my self-confidence and happiness was pretty much non-existent. My fitness journey with Beachbody began with the 21 Day Fix and my whole life changed for better. Happiness, joy, and energy flooded back in to my life and I lost 10 pounds and 14 inches. I continued to use 21 Day Fix for five months and maintained my weight loss. I have also completed Piyo and enjoyed the different pace of exercise it provided. I felt my muscles lengthen and saw more toning in my body. I attribute a lot of my success to being in a challenge group that my Beachbody Coach was running. The accountability and inspiration was just what I needed to keep me going on this journey - especially when the goings got tough!

Losing weight this time around was different because of not having to worry about going to the gym or the commute to the gym. I love going to fitness classes, but there were no times for the classes that I loved that fit in to my schedule as a full-time working mom. Home-workouts were the solution to my scheduling nightmare.

As of October 2014 I have done multiple rounds of The 21 Day Fix and Piyo and will be starting Focus T25 on November 3rd.