Are You In Need of Some Monday Motivation?

Need some motivation on this dreary Monday in January? How about Megan in her SBMJ look from this past weekend? This blonde bombshell was #StyledbyMJonesy for the Chris Young concert in Chicago. I pulled a handful of looks but ended up going with the very first one that we tried on. I’ve been dying to get her in camo for a while now, and as expected, she rocked it. She typically goes to these concerts in her standard uniform consisting of a flannel button down and denim, so I really wanted to change things up for this concert. The jacket is from Akira Chicago, who has lots of camo options right now.

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I met Megan 4 years and approximately 50 lbs (😱😱😱😱😱) ago. Her story is one for the books, living a life that included unhealthy food habits and very little exercise. One day, she woke up and realized she needed to change her lifestyle or would be on a short path to endless health problems. She’s now 135 lbs down, an ACE-certified trainer, a weight management specialist, a track coach at York high school, and working towards a doctorate degree in Physical Therapy.

When I met Megan, I was at the start of a very long, difficult journey of health and fitness. I had finally joined a gym that was more than $10 a month and I had my BFF Sandals as my workout buddy. Most of all I was just SICK. AND. TIRED. of living inside a body that I was absolutely disgusted with. I always felt like my inside didn’t match my outside. I had literally lived so long being sedentary on my couch, going out partying and drinking in excess every weekend, and eating fried food and carbs.

The gym that Sandals and I joined was an all women’s gym which was a huge contributing factor to us going and feeling comfortable. A month into our workouts, bored on treadmills, and that familiar feeling of wanting to give up creeping up on us, San and I were lurking around one of the workout rooms watching about 30 women dancing around and a young, sassy gal running the class. We decided that our next workout we’d try it together. Of course, the next day we were lurking again and about to chicken out when this bubbly young blonde came out, snatched us by our ponytails and told us “Stop creeping out here and come and join my class.” And that was the day we met Megan and for the next year or so of our journey, we would spend every Monday and Wednesday with her from 430-630 doing Zumba and Cardio Sculpt classes. We learned about her weight loss journey and it inspired us. She taught us different exercises and kept us motivated to keep moving along in our journey.

Fast forward a few years and we now find ourselves at different gyms but I still spend almost every Saturday morning and some weekday evenings with Megan. She’s taught me about lifting heavy and macros, and just trying to live a healthy, balanced lifestyle. Working with Megan, she tells me the different things about her journey and her body that have been challenging. It keeps me grounded knowing that we all have our own journeys and need to just be the best version of ourselves. She’s not here to tell me to be a certain weight or a certain size. She’s here to listen to my concerns and goals and then help me achieve them.

The handful of times that I’ve styled Megan, I really enjoyed myself because it was nice to hear someone talk about themselves in a positive manner. We are so quick to list all the things we “hate” about our bodies or think that “skinny” is what we need to achieve. For someone like Megan who has come such a long way, it’s so refreshing to hear her be equally proud of a teeny tiny waist as she is of her strong muscular legs. So inspiring.

The same with Styled by, I want to inspire others to show their authentic selves through their style, express what they want to express to the world, LOVE who they are putting out there, and then work together to achieve those goals.

After I gained control of my life, I was able to figure out other things that I loved that I may have put aside. I found internal things that I had thrown by the wayside bc I was not so thrilled with my external self. All these realizations lead me to SBMJ.

It all goes hand in hand, mind, body, soul. And when you can find a balance of all 3, you can walk into the world, confident and authentically.

And on that note….here’s a peak of what a Sandilands workout consists of. If you’re serious about getting healthy and fit, go see Megan at FIIT RX in Elmhurst and follow her on Instagram at @SandilandsFitness!

Stay Styled,
Michelle