JESSIE’S GIRLS AM-BADASS-ADOR

ALYSSA ESTILL

I am currently in graduate school working on obtaining a doctorate in nurse anesthesia. But nursing is my second degree and my second chance. I always wanted to be in the medical field, but I was young and undisciplined and ruined my chances at medical school early on. I switched majors and ended up graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology. I worked as a personal trainer for a few years while deciding my next career move when one of my clients convinced me to try nursing. I set my sights on nurse anesthesia and never looked back. I worked in the surgical ICU for 3 years before being accepted into graduate school. It is by far the hardest and most stressful thing I have ever done, but it will be so worth it! Like so many other women, I have also struggled on my fitness journey. The stress of work and school and my hectic schedule has not been kind to my waistline. Jessie provided me with my second chance to be happy with who I am. I was always athletic as a child; I was a competitive gymnast and played soccer in high school and for a select team. However, my years in college were filled with partying and unhealthy choices. I discovered a love for lifting while working as a personal trainer but always struggled with nutrition. When I was a personal trainer, the fitness community was convinced “clean eating” was the only way to get results. This inevitably led to binging because I was restricting the types of foods I could eat. I can’t even count the number of times I failed at the nutrition aspect. Enter Jessie Hilgenberg. These programs and this group have given me the tools to succeed where I had previously failed. The nutritional approach is life-changing because it allows me to enjoy and participate in life without creating undue stress. I can enjoy a girl’s night out and a glass of wine without feeling guilty. Life is stressful enough, your “diet” shouldn’t be.