Category: Fitness

Fitness wasn’t always my favorite thing but being active was. Oh wait… does being a mommy to babies count as active? Is it like working-the-heart-to-make-it-healthy kind of active? Probably not… more like a momma-is-super-busy kind of active but not a running kind of active.

I’m going to tell you how that all turned around, how I became active, worked with Jessie Hilgenberg and took the “Active Lifestyle” head on, and the super cute clothes and how they came with it all. 

STORY TIME

Leading an active lifestyle was not on my list of priorities for a long time, but the minute I implemented it into my life as well as my family’s, my life was forever changed and because of it, life is a lot more fun now. At the age of 55 my mom had a heart attack, and it slowly dawned on me what my own health could possibly look like in the future.

This was 2009, I was pregnant at the time and experiencing a high-risk pregnancy with my third child, so there was no way that being active was an option. My posture had developed poorly over time from always being stuck in bed with my pregnancies and never working to regain good posture or strength in between each child. It wasn’t until six months after I had given birth to my fourth child that I finally looked in the mirror and asked myself, “GIRL! What are you doing??”

AN “ACTIVE LIFESTYLE” WASN’T THE “THING” IN MY LIFE

I was nowhere near focused on being active but it was definitely what I needed. My own health consisted of hormone issues, and I dealt with stomach issues that had already left me fighting my own battle; I knew though that if I didn’t start steering myself in the right direction, who knew what would come next. Was I scared? Darn right – I started worrying. My mom had her heart attack and, not long after, broke her foot just by taking a few steps while walking because of Osteoporosis. Genetics weren’t doing her any favors, and it showed time and time again in her family (like her mom, aunts, and so on). Our bodies are a lot alike, so I knew that I needed to start taking better care of me!

SO WHAT DID I DO ABOUT IT?

In 2013, when my last baby was six months old, I knew that I was going to have to hire someone to help me at least three days a week in making sure that I was doing my part at consistently getting a workout in as I had a tiny family to look after and was homeschooling my kids – I am very good at taking care of everyone around me and not myself. The trainer thing was successful; I had an awesome trainer in New Braunfels, TX that did a great job at keeping me and my workouts in check. I had started my workouts only being able to lift 2lb weights but it increased to more. I built up a habit of putting myself first and getting in those workouts over the years. It wasn’t easy and at times I definitely missed my goals, but it was something that I knew I needed.

THIS IS WHERE JESSIE HILGENBERG CAME IN…

during 2015 and that woman inspired me to no end! Holy cow did she ever inspire me – her approach to taking care of ourselves for forever instead of just fad diets was so important to me. Her own father had died from sudden heart issues and that woman somehow knew exactly what I needed. Jessie taught me so dang much, more than I feel any other trainer has. 

She understood diet with my body and what it needed, she understood how to put form first for all the exercises, she made sense, she was humble, her laugh was contagious, she was always smiling and she didn’t want people doing any fad diets – she wanted to fix their metabolism and take care of them forever. I LOVED this woman and her **programs then and I love her now, so much that I haven’t even used another program since!

It’s crazy what happens when we put goals to something or when we put our hearts into something – I even developed my first instagram page (including taking my first ever selfie haha). I had friends that wanted me to help them keep themselves accountable and I was doing my best to make sure that everyone was getting in their workouts as well. The page turned into what it did and we have grown since then. I didn’t go into all of this looking at it like I was going to change everything about me; instead I went into it knowing I needed to work out. I never thought it would become a lifestyle that I would want to live. I also didn’t think that my self-worth or my spiritual well-being would change, let alone my mental health – but everything changed. I didn’t even think, “heck ya Joce, soon you’ll be wearing workout clothes everyday,” haha but… I did.

WHAT’S THAT GOT TO DO WITH ACTIVEWEAR?

I know you’re reading this and thinking “Joce, still… this isn’t about active wear” and… you’re right, none of it was. But what it is about is a girl that changed and the changing created more change. And do you know what was one of the changes I never mentioned throughout this blog? One of my motivators was a new activewear outfit when I hit a goal. When I went into my fitness journey, I bought new workout clothes so I’d get excited to have something to put on all the time. I rewarded myself for reaching my goals with more activewear and, years later, it’s still something I look forward to when I’ve hit a goal. This year though, this year was… Joce, it’s time to buy new fitness clothes because it’s time to really hit those fitness goals again. I had to fight even more to get my gym time in this past bit, but it’s been worth the fight and I’m back baby, and now I’m sharing some of my favorite pieces of activewear that were part of my fitness journey (some I already had, and some are new).

I’ll link my favorite places I get my activewear for you right here. Some companies I work with and some I don’t, but man it would sure be fun to work with them all one day! ? I hope that from this blog post you will see the importance that I felt in fitting the fitness lifestyle into my life and maybe it can be something that inspires you.

God Bless!

xoxo, Joce

**In case you’re wanting more information regarding Jessie Hilgenberg’s Fitness Plans – https://www.jessiefitness.com/ Discount code: JOCE10 any plan you wish.

My favorites are Home Edition, Muscle Building one and JG40** 

Links to My Activewear Favorites

Calia by Carrie Underwood – https://www.caliastudio.com/

Zyia – https://www.myzyia.com/dianaskinner/

Lole – https://www.lolelife.com/

Acta Wear – https://acta.grsm.io/jocelynmcclellan4466 Discount code: JOCELYN15

LuluLemon – https://shop.lululemon.com/

Nike – https://www.nike.com/

Adidas – https://www.adidas.com/us

Victoria’s Secret Sweaters – https://www.victoriassecret.com/vs/sport/shop-all?scroll=true

***You must also know that since the time that I made the choice to put my body first and started caring for my body, my mother suffered another potentially fatal heart attack that was even worse. She also went through another huge ordeal that, just by falling, she broke her femur and that just about killed her as well. It was a huge mess all due to her Osteoporosis and I’ve had to learn to fight the excuse of being “too busy” to put myself first because the “busy” can wait, but me not taking care of my health…that may go at any moment.

This active lifestyle…I did it for them!