Jessica Bowser Nelson Fitness

We live in a society where so many people are battling with overcoming anxiety and depression! Find out how Emerald Coach Roxanne Reyes went against doctor’s orders and came out on top! She now shines brightly, inspires and helps others that suffer as she once did!

“Wow, where to begin and what to say…I suppose I will start with the fact that although I have never been what most consider “fat” but rather I was always labeled as “skinny.” I still had unwanted fat on me in places that, to me, were less than attractive.  Over the years I have played around with working out and eating healthy but have never stuck with it, although working out has helped me through some really tough times in my life.  (Insert flash back sound effects from Wayne’s World.)

It’s 1988 and I’m in my sophomore year in high school.  My father had just passed away from heart disease at age 43.  Overweight and obesity run in my father’s side of the family and I take after my mother’s side, but that doesn’t excuse or make me any less aware that I need to take care of myself.  The death of my father was very hard on me and so I occupied my time to keep my mind off of it by going early and staying late to my cheerleading practices and games.  I was, of course, experiencing anxiety symptoms and this was the only thing that took my mind off of my father’s passing.

Flash forward to 1993. I’m getting married to an amazing man who loves me more than anything and to top it off, he is into working out. He teaches me a lot but it just never stuck and so I stopped.  Over the next 12 years, I toyed with exercise. I would join a gym with a friend and the minute she didn’t go, well neither did I. I would workout here and there with my husband in our garage but, uggh yuck, it’s too hot and sweaty, this isn’t for me.  During that time frame I also had 2 children. I put on a few extra pounds as most women do after having children. My unwanted “fat” was getting worse and I was doing nothing about it. Now comes really rough time #2.

It’s 2005 and I just had my son. I had a gut feeling that, what I thought was the perfect marriage, was now falling apart and I could do nothing about it. About a year later it did fall apart. My stress levels were out the roof. I was depressed and had severe anxiety attacks. Overcoming anxiety was my primary goal, so I went to the doctor and, of course, he put me on anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medication. I desperately did not want to be on medication so I started doing my own research on overcoming anxiety, stress and depression. What I found was that proper eating and exercise can drastically reduce all of these symptoms. I thought to myself, why on earth would a doctor, who is suppose to be looking out for my health, not tell me this information? Why would he just resort to prescription medication which really only masks the problem, not solve it? So, instead of taking the prescription he gave me, I joined a gym, started reading all the health magazines and books I could, taught myself proper eating habits and worked out feverishly 5 days a week. Overcoming anxiety was my mission and all of those things did help, especially during the hour I was in the gym because it completely took my mind off of all that was going on in my life.  I felt good, I was looking better and my anxiety and depression were no more.  I still had stress but nothing like I was dealing with before and now I could handle it.  I was finally taking control of my life. Then of course life took control of me.

I got comfortable. I reached my goal. I felt better, so I stopped doing all of it.  After a few years of being inactive and doing nothing but pushing the gas peddle on my car and lifting the Chick-fil-a combo meals to my mouth, I undid all that I had accomplished and then some.  I put on 40 lbs. Reunited with my husband and working through the issues, I had become complacent.  I was feeling fat and was unhappy and ashamed of my body.  I took control again.  I knew what to do and how to do it, but a gym was not for me, not this time. Watching TV one morning while the rest of the house was still asleep, I saw an Insanity infomercial.  That was it! That’s what I was going to do! So right then and there I pulled out my card, made the call and placed my order! 60 days later, I was 40 lbs lighter and loving every aspect of it. During my Insanity challenge, I met my now coach, Jessica Nelson. She was amazing. She was so upbeat, so personal, so inspiring..her energy and confidence just oozed through the computer screen. I also had some of my friends and family tell me that I was inspiring THEM to start working out! In comes the coaching opportunity. I started in January 2012 and just like Insanity, I took it and ran with it. I knew it was something I wanted to do because it just seemed right. I was not much of a risk taker but this was a risk I had to take! I wanted to learn everything and do the best I possibly could.  It has made such a positive impact on my life physically, emotionally, and financially.  It keeps me accountable to my own fitness journey because I know now that I have others looking to me to be the example.  I have broken out of my own shy shell and am now helping others, who like me were unhappy with themselves.  It’s an amazing feeling personally helping others. One day, one person at a time. Goals are being set, reached and created a new. The smile on the faces when people take their after photos is all worth it to me because that smile shines from deep within them.”

To connect with Coach Roxanne on Facebook, click here!

P.S. Want more suggestions on overcoming anxiety, click here.