Not to long ago I received an e-mail that completely fired me up…in an AMAZING way. The second I got done reading this e-mail from a woman named Ashley, I instantly replied with “CAN I PLEASE SHARE THIS ON MY BLOG!? YOU WILL INSPIRE SO MANY!”

Thankfully, she agreed to let me share her story so today I introduce you to my girl, Ashley!

“Kasey,

I stumbled upon your health blog and I am so glad I did!  I literally teared up when I saw the pictures of you and your fiancé working out together in the gym.  A little background about me…

I’ve been with my boyfriend for five years now.  I’ve never been active, and never cared about what I ate.  So as you can imagine, I’ve always been overweight.  He’s always been really thin, but its never been an issue, we love each other the way we are.

He decided he wanted to be a marine, so he started going to the gym to buff up.  I was all supportive, but no way was he going to get me in that gym.  Working out was hard!  Why would I do it if I already had a couch and Netflix to greet me when I came home from work?!?

So, when he left for basic training…I was looking for something to distract me, a new hobby to keep me busy.

Would you believe that I decided on roller derby?!?

[Ashley Before & Current]

Of all things for me to pick, I fell in love with roller derby.  But, as you can imagine, my body was NOT ready to excel at a sport.  I was not cross training, and I was not eating right.  And I was at 235 pounds.

So, without telling Jared (my boyfriend) I started cooking for myself, adding veggies to every meal, and running/weight lifting.  When he came home on leave about 6 months later, my weight was 185.  That’s 50 lbs!!  I will never forget the look on his face when he first saw me then.  He was so proud of me!  Needless to say, my roller derby game was improved immensely as well.

Now, my boyfriend has four more years in the service.  I love him like crazy but this long distance relationship thing is not easy.  Every time I fly out to see him on base and every time he comes home for leave, we go to the gym together.

It’s now one of our favorite pastimes; talking about our new lifting routine, our new PR’s, ect.  I love going to the gym with my marine, and seeing other fitness couples together brings back happy memories with my marine.

I got sucked into your blog, and I’m so glad I did, because I have been trying to find healthy, delicious recipes to really fuel my workouts.

Gone are the days that I could only eat 1,200 calories and perform well.  Now I’m lifting heavy and playing roller derby four times a week (I made the A team last month, YAY!).

My next goal was to be able to do a pull up, but unfortunately I broke my finger playing derby and my doctor told me to wait awhile to try them again.  I still deadlift with straps, and I’m now up to 210 lbs!

Just wanted to let you know how much of an inspiration you are, and that you have another fan following your blog online.  Keep on rockin girl.  And I’ll keep doing the same.”

If this doesn’t inspire you – I don’t know what will! YOU GO ASHLEY! I am so happy you stumbled across ol’ powercakes & we could connect.

You lead the example of being true to yourself and what True To You Fitness is ALL ABOUT!

xo,

Kasey