About

I'm only going to indulge you in a quick introduction, because what I really want to get across is the purpose of this blog. My name is Jessica Mather, better known simply as Jess. After insanely deciding that I needed to "diet" in my early teens, as many young girls conclude at some point in their adolescence, I was inevitably led down a confusing and never-ending road to "health" (what is that, anyway?) What began as a seemingly innocent journey to improve my body composition, confidence, and fitness abilities transcended into an accidental restrictive mindset and a diligent, daily exercise routine (specifically cardio in nature.) Information on health, fitness and nutrition was constantly contradictive, but the most consistent advice I cherry-picked was eat less, move more, don't eat too much fat, vegetarian is the best way to go, and do a lot of cardio. Honestly, I thought I was doing everything right. I didn't do cardio to "punish myself" and I didn't eat bird food because I thought I was fat. I did it because I trusted these professionals and I thought this was what healthy people did. I didn't listen to my internal cues that something was not right after years of this lifestyle. My hair was falling out (I reasoned I brushed too hard,) my nails were brittle and constantly breaking off at the ends (I told myself I just washed dishes too often in hot water,) my bowel movements were horrible (it became so regular that I just accepted it as normal,) and I was an unhealthy weight (about 105 pounds, with little muscle mass.)

Unfortunately, a LOT of people go down this road. They eliminate this, restrict that, exercise more, more, more, yet are so insecure about their health endeavors (because something deep inside them might tell them that this all doesn't feel right,) that they are quick to jump on any new crazy diet or exercise fad. And what's worse is that they bank their worth on the success of these health endeavors. Social media, advertisers, and most of these diet and health "gurus" infiltering the web are VERY aware of this. They feed on these insecurities to entice you to buy fat loss pills, juice cleanses, expensive supplements, and other crap. The fitness industry (and more specifically the fat loss industry,) is an insanely successful business because you are so emotionally-invested into them (due to insecurity, doubt, lack of self-worth, etc) that you'd do anything to feel better about yourself. The world is getting widly competitive, so competitive that even writing this blog has been extremely daunting. "He's done it, she's done it, why am I any better? What do I have to say that hasn't been said before?" Almost nothing is "new" anymore, but sometimes we don't need "new". Sometimes we just need to be reminded of what we already know, the things that we forget in all the noise. The noise to tell us we need to be this, we need to eat that, we need to stop doing this, whatever. Regardless of whether ten thousand other people are saying the same damn thing, the more voices that are spreading positive words, the more progress and change we can elicit.

This is a "health" blog, but not in the conventional sense, nor the rigid sense. I want this blog to help you discover what is the best option for you, specifically. Again, most people latch on to these gurus because they are so insecure that they need somebody they feel they can "trust". It's fine to trust your preferred fitness professional, but the person you should always trust more is yourself. There is no universal "perfect health diet" or "perfect exercise program" that's going to work for everybody. The one thing that will always succeed is trusting YOU and empowering yourself to make changes based on your specific needs. Feedback is the greatest tool we have, above everything us, in our journey to health and wellness. With that said, when you read my blog posts, remember that these are all just suggestions and ideas. Studies are not gold; they all have flaws. One of the aspects I love about working in the health and fitness profession is that every individual is like a puzzle. It's an exciting challenge to put the pieces together and see what fits.

I am currently living in Aurora, Colorado with my lovely boyfriend, Mark. I work as a Physical Therapist Assistant in Denver, a professional dog walker, and a free-lance ACE Personal Trainer. I aspire to gain additional credentials in nutrition, continue my education as a trainer and therapist, and successfully help people reach their full wellness potential. To good health, :-)

Because sometimes you just gotta say screw it and have a dacquiri.