From Body Loathing to Self-Loving. An inspiring story.

Photo Credit Mark Kuroda

Photo Credit Mark Kuroda

“Hi Caroline,

My name is Megan, I am 19 years old and I am writing to you to say thank you. I have struggled with body image and exercise my entire life, when I was 12 years old I was extremely over weight, and by the time I was 14 I was in the beginning stages of anorexia. I went from being a kid who hated sports and loved junk food to a teenage girl that would go days without eating and exercising constantly. As I got a little older I realized neither scenario was healthy. I cared only about my exterior and not about my health. As I started to eat again, I gained weight, which was good but I wasn’t happy with how I looked.
By 16 I knew how to eat healthy and loved the way good, nutritious food made me feel, but HATED exercising because I associated it with the struggles I had with my eating disorder. Again, I still hated the way I looked.

About 2 years ago is when I found your YouTube channel. I was looking for workouts to make me skinny and busting my butt and hating exercise. Your channel was different, your exercises eased me into a healthy fitness regime and your positivity, energy and kindness made me realize that a healthy lifestyle is achievable by forgetting the exterior and most importantly having a positive outlook on yourself, others and on life.

Now, I am the happiest I have ever been, I feel amazing, move every day, and eat healthy food for energy to keep me going. I would like to say you were a huge part of how i feel today. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

In health AND happiness

Megan”

“Megan,

I can’t even begin to tell you how incredibly touched and inspired I was by your story. THANK YOU for taking the time to write and to share your journey so openly with me. I am extremely grateful youtube brought us together and allowed us to share time online being healthy, happy, and positive. Your story is exactly why I do the work I do, to inspire a healthy relationship to self and to empower others to live a life that FEELS good and is full of happiness. I hope we continue to share this life journey together and I hope to see you on towards dreaming big, being brave, accomplishing goals, loving life, and loving yourself. Your note today touched my heart in such a powerful way. You have truly inspired me and I am honored to have been a part of your journey.

I can’t wait to film more videos to share with you through youtube! If you ever have any requests for videos please let me know – I am so happy I get to support you through the channel. And in the event you ever want to share your story below anonymously as a testimonial on my “Caroline Jordan Fitness” social media I would be honored. I know your story would  inspire others to adopt a healthy and happy relationship to exercise! WE are the change in the world! WE can help others live a life that FEELS good and is positive simply by doing it ourselves. THANK YOU for being the change and helping create a healthier, more positive, more self-loving world. I hope you know how beautiful you are inside and out. And I hope you know how your life is positively impacting the health and happiness of the planet.

Till next time – keep inspiring and keep shining. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for this beautiful note 🙂

Caroline”

“Caroline,

Wow! I did not even expect a response. I can truly tell you care about what you do and it makes a huge difference in the lives of others. I just thought I should say thank you, because you definitely were a part of the push I needed to get me where I am today.

I think that a healthy body image and acceptance of self is so important in creating a happier life. I would love to help you improve the happiness and health of others by sharing my story anonymously. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, and I hope to inspire others the way you do.

Also, your channel and weekly newsletters have inspired someone all the way in Canada! Good for you 🙂

Megan”

*** Reader’s name has been changed to respect her privacy ***

Megan’s transformation story touched me deeply and re-affirmed my work in the world. People ask me all the time: Caroline, what exactly do you do? And I don’t have a one word answer. Im a little bit of everything. A little bit teacher. A little bit coach. A little bit writer. A little bit model. A little bit speaker. All of these little bits mix into the big piece of Caroline Jordan Fitness. I am not a one word answer. I am a unique blend of positivity, purpose, heart, and character. I want to make the world a better place through my work. I want to inspire and enable people to love themselves, take care of themselves, and live a life that feels good inside and out. Megan’s story reminded me of WHY I do what I do. I wanted to share it in this space as I thought it might inspire you on your healthy journey too. 

I was raised in movement. Dance and fitness are part of my DNA makeup. It is in my blood, it is something I love, and it is what I live. My first big career dream when I was growing up was to be a “successful fitness instructor” teaching world wide and helping others find the joy in movement. I have journals from high school where I described in detail my visions of success in spandex. Teaching group fitness through high school nurtured my passion and I continued on to pursue Dance and fitness in college which affirmed my mission: I was put on this planet to inspire movement and loving life through health.

After graduation I hustled in San Francisco to work in fitness full time. It was a successful career, yet burnt me out. I became disillusioned. While there is a lot of good in the fitness world, there is also a lot of negative. The extreme, image obsessed, “push yourself till you puke”, and “work yourself to exhaustion” messages are very strong and celebrated. They reinforce a negative relationship to exercise, body, and self. This superficial side of the industry and “six pack abs” songs of glory turned me off. I believe that looking good on the outside is not the path to happiness, but instead believe that feeling good on the inside is the path to happiness. Exercise and movement IS a gateway to fulfill your highest potential, but too often this message gets lost in the “harder better faster stronger” and “look sexy or you aren’t successful” messaging thats out there. I didn’t want a part of it, I wanted a way out. So I signed up to earn my Health and Wellness Coach cert and I started to change career paths.

Studying positive psychology and wellness coaching lit a fire in me. I discovered strengths and skills I didn’t know I had. My career blossomed and branched out as a result. Through coaching my brand began to morph from one of just “fitness professional” to “other”. I still held a space in fitness, yet was pursuing all these opportunities under the vast umbrella of wellness. Through the years I morphed into what I am now – this unique combination of a little bit of everything with one mission: inspire positive thoughts to enable positive actions that create positive outcomes in the world.

For so long I wanted “out” of the fitness industry because I was tired of fighting it’s dark superficial side. Yet over the past few years and through email reminders like Megan’s, I have come to a realization. Fitness is something I love and something I strongly believe in. My work in fitness has been a powerful pathway to get my message out into the world. I now understand that by embracing my fitness roots I can take my Caroline Jordan Fitness mission to new heights. I have been called not to leave the fitness industry, but to LEAD the change within the fitness industry. Will you join me?

I know that the work that I am doing IS serving a purpose. My brand works to shift perspectives and allows others to adopt a healthier life not because it makes them “look good” or fit into a cultural mold, but instead to live their best lives and fulfill their greatest potential. It’s stories like Megan’s that keep my fire burning that remind me to keep going.

Let me ask you: Where are you on your healthy life journey? How can I help you along the way? Tell me how I can be of service in the comments below, it brings me great joy to see you thrive.

I believe in you and believe you have the power to choose to love yourself and love your life. And if ever you forget your own greatness, I want to be the voice thats there to remind you of your strength. Stay committed, positive, present, and persistent. You deserve to feel good and to live a life you love.

Keep going, keep growing,

Caroline

If you liked this post, please SUBSCRIBE to my YouTube channel and SHARE it with your friends on Facebooktwitter, or email. Lets support eachother in living a healthy, happy life. 

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