Let's get social!

Quick Stats

Answers to questions I am commonly asked.
  • Korean, Irish and Russian
  • 10/25
  • 5'4 
  • 124-128 lb. In season
  • 140 to 145 lb. Off season
  • Brown hair
  • Brown eyes
  • Freckles, not dirt

Favorite off-season Food

  • Maltesers
  • Kimbap
  • Bulgogi
  • Pizza
  • Nutella 
  • Red Meat

Favorite in-season Food

  • Red meat
  • Not one other food, but I get it done.

Introduction to Exercise

Regular midnight rendezvous with Papa John's Pizza caught up with me in my 20's. Tired of being tired, I signed up for a two year gym membership at Cosmo's Fitness. This was it for me. I could see the light, and a smaller pant size in the future. 
More importantly, I saw something, or woman rather,  in the gym that motivated me.  I asked her for bodybuilding tips and this woman answered my newby questions. She also explained that she was a  female bodybuilder, and the mother of three children! 

She motivated me even more. I began weight training four days a week. I pushed heavy weights and made a significant change in my body, image, but gained five pounds. How was that possible?   
My weight went from 135 lb. to 140 lb., but my pant size went from a 10 to a four or six. The changes were completely due to my new body composition.   

Healthy Lifestyle change

Years later, I became a mom. I weight trained as much as possible during my first pregnancy, and added cardiovascular training to my schedule a couple of times a week. Because of my workout program I left the hospital weighing one pound under my pre-pregnancy weight. I was 139 lb. 

It was different for my second pregnancy, though.

Each pregnancy caused hernias so my weight training was minimized during my second pregnancy. Although I did not work out as much as in the past, I was just 10 lb. more than my pre-pregnancy weight after the birth of my son.

Getting Back on Track

Picture
My loves.
Much as I love being with the kids I wanted to work out and get back in shape, but realized child rearing, running a business and exercising didn't  mix. I could do two out of three, and exercising was not one of them. 

Then, the economy plummeted and so did the gym. In 2008, we closed the business and moved to Chicago for a job opportunity for my husband at XSport Fitness. This gave me the option to work from home as a freelance writer.

The flexible hours were perfect for my family, but I'm a desk jockey. I stayed up late at night drinking coffee and eating donuts, while writing health & wellness and fitness articles. I wrote about weight loss while my own weight gain was swift. 

Picking up where I left off years before I went back to weight training. The gym offered a child play area and I took full advantage of it. My kids could socialize, and I could lose weight and rebuild my body. 

It was a win-win situation.