JESSIE’S GIRLS AM-BADASS-ADOR
COURTNEY DYKES
I began my fitness journey 7 years ago and it’s been quite the trip! I started out as a 25-year-old overweight girl who could do some damage on all-you-can-eat buffets, lamenting the fact that none of my clothes fit and hiding my pain and depression with food and lots of it. I fell into a vicious cycle and after receiving a scary report from my doctor, I had finally had enough. I made a pact to myself to get into the gym, lose the weight, and run my first 5K race by the time a year passed. In a year’s time, I had succeeded at the goals I had set and then got hooked on running which helped to drop a lot of weight. I then found the weight section at the gym and started hitting those and fell in love. I began to see just what exactly my body was capable of and how amazing it felt. It also helped to naturally combat my depression and I stopped turning to food so much. During those times, I didn’t really have a mentor or anyone to ask advice of so I began researching and pouring over fitness magazines, making my own workout splits and meal plans. I totally fell in love with the whole process and was excited to walk into the gym every day that I could.
- REGISTERED CARDIAC CATH LAB TECH
- JESSIE’S GIRL!
“Life is tough my darling, but so are you.” – Stephanie Bennett-Henry
I still have all of those notebooks filled with my homemade workouts and enjoy looking back at how it all started! This whole journey has been filled with stops, starts, and stumbles but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I’ve enjoyed every single moment of the peaks and valleys and learned so much. I see how I’ve turned into a strong, capable, confident person, especially since I began following Jessie and her Jessie’s Girls programs. I’ve always loved people but never loved myself and even that has changed now! I see how I also need to love and respect myself as I would others and giving myself grace when I fall. Being a Jessie’s Girl has brought out the absolute best in me and my life. Lessons like that, you can’t put a price on. Learning to love and trust the process has been trying at times, but totally worth it. I feel like I can conquer just about anything now!