Juniper Boggs
Hi! I help plus size people discover the joy and benefits of exercise outside of its role in weight loss.
I have struggled with my weight the majority of my life; I’ve tried the restrictive fad diets and the “6 weeks to perfect abs” at home work out videos. Each attempt to lose weight and get fit ended in frustration and failure. While others seemed to gain energy from new diets, I could barely function. I dreaded going to the gym, because the environment always felt unwelcoming to someone of my size. Additionally I often didn’t have the energy to get through a single work out, and would crash immediately after. In always chasing the perfect body… whatever that is… my feelings toward diet and exercise became more and more hostile.
Everything changed when a friend encouraged me to join a HIIT class. This class was fun, energetic, and inviting. It showed me that movement can be a lot of fun, and in the proper setting, motivating and up lifting. Still there was a piece that was missing, and after every class I took, I’d crash and feel lousy for the next couple of days. Why was this? I realized that in my efforts to lose weight, I was overly restricting my calories. I wasn’t fueling my body enough to recover from the intensity of the work outs I was coming to enjoy. So I had to think about what it was I wanted… Did I want to be miserable tracking every little thing I ate in an effort to be thin? Or did I want to gain strength to be able to do all the things that make me happy like singing, dancing, acting, engaging with friends and family, and yes even exercising.
Once I started focussing on building strength and not losing weight, my life truly changed for the better. I had energy in abundance, motivation to work out, the mental and emotional space to be present with my friends and family, and am now able to do physical activities I never dreamed I’d be able to. I discovered that when I changed my focus from losing weight to gaining strength the whole world opened up to me. Now I’m on a mission to help folks discover for themselves the joy and benefits of exercise when it isn’t attached to the emotionally and physically taxing efforts of restrictive dieting. I want to show folks that when you change your focus from weight loss to gaining strength your health and fitness goals become easier and more enjoyable to attain. Come join me for Movement Munchies where I’ll teach you the basics of gaining strength, and help you gain the foundational knowledge to be active for many years to come.