Member Spotlight: Angela Lappin
Our member spotlight for this month is Angela Lappin. We are very excited to share Angela’s inspiring story with you. As a busy mom of three boys, she still makes health and fitness a priority not only for herself but for her whole family. We know you will enjoy getting to know a little more about Angela.
We started out asking Angela just to share about her life before we got to know her at Forward Fitness. This is what Angela shared with us: “I grew up in a small rural town in Arkansas. My family was incredibly poor, and we lived in a food desert, so I rarely ate fruits and vegetables. Poverty and survival can drive creativity for some and that was what happened for me. My parents and I built our own cabin and that instilled in me the confidence to build or fix almost anything in a home. In our free time we took advantage of free activities that were in abundance around us – hiking, camping, canoeing – and I continue to have a deep love of nature today.
I was the first person in my family to graduate high school and to go to college. At seventeen I found myself moving into a dorm room and a whole new world for which I was not well prepared. I was not sure how to function with that much freedom and struggled through the first two years. At nineteen I became pregnant with my first son and dropped out of school for six months to stay home with him. During my pregnancy I began studying the importance of nutrition and started changing my diet from hamburger helper, bologna sandwiches and Doritos to cooking meals with a variety of protein and vegetables. Those learnings have always stayed with me and, trying to overcome the nutrition deficit of my youth, I have not eaten processed foods in 18 years.
Six months after my first son was born, I went back to school and decided to pursue a nursing degree so that I could provide for my family. A couple of years later I welcomed a second son, which forced me to go on bed rest and miss yet another year of school. In 2008, at age 25 and with enough years invested to have a master’s degree, I finally graduated with two associate degrees in nursing and creative arts.
Over the next 10 years I worked full time, my third son was born, and I slowly finished a bachelor’s degree and then a master’s degree. Today I continue working in healthcare but transitioned from bed side nursing to focusing on the health of populations and the pillars that drive health outcomes – stress reduction, sleep, nutrition, community/connection, and exercise.
Today my children are self-sufficient, I am no longer in survival mode, and I have the privilege of financial stability and leisure time for the first time in my life. I am spending my days listening to live music, hiking, reading for pleasure, painting, gardening, and exercising and for that I am incredibly appreciative.”
Angela had this to say when asked why health and fitness is important to her and how she has made it a priority over the years. “Health and fitness are foundational for my well-being. I spent many years never feeling well because of nutritional deficits and lack of movement. As I have worked to optimize my health, I wake up every day full of energy and gratitude. I love that feeling and want to continue nurturing it. The key driver for me is how it makes me feel both mentally and physical. I live my fullest most beautiful life when I am physically fit.”
We always like to learn how our members found us and this is how Angela came to be a member at Forward Fitness, ” I originally joined Forward Fitness in 2018 after discovering I was 35lbs overweight due to stress and a sedentary lifestyle during the three years it took to complete my master’s degree. I loved the atmosphere and looked forward to every workout. Six months into my first year I became extremely ill and began rapidly losing weight. After numerous tests I was eventually diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis. It took a while to figure out the right combination of medications and lifestyle changes to achieve good control and during that time I kept losing weight. Once I hit 25lbs under a health body weight my doctor told me I needed to stop all exercise other than yoga and walking until I stabilized. I had to leave Forward Fitness but knew I would eventually be back.
I eventually stabilized and slowly regained my health by focusing on walking and nutrition. I was able to rejoin Forward Fitness July 2022 with a completely different goal – to build lost muscle and reach a healthy weight. I am incredibly grateful that I have been consistently working out since rejoining. I went from struggling to lift 5 lbs to now one arm pressing 20lbs!”
Angela shared this when asked about challenges that she has had to overcome, “My biggest challenge was achieving control of UC but over the past two years I also fractured my foot and elbow. After missing so much time during my break from Forward Fitness, I was determined to keep showing up and stay consistent. Mike and Suzanne graciously modified every workout for me while I was in a boot and then a sling. Even when I could only give 35%, I never stopped showing up, and today I am almost back to pre-fracture performance.”
Besides overcoming challenges, Angela also has a lot of accomplishments to be proud of. “In life, I am immensely proud of my three children, marriage, career, grit, and determination. I have worked extremely hard to rise above difficult circumstances and managed to provide a stable loving environment for myself and my children. This does not happen for everyone, or even most, who face socioeconomic instability and I am incredibly grateful for the life I live today and the public assistance and other support that helped me get here.
At the gym, I am proud of the muscle mass I have built. I am no longer underweight and feel strong and capable. No more asking my husband and sons to lift or carry things, because I do that for myself!”
Angela had some great fun facts to share with us. “Over the past three years I have converted my typical urban grass yard into a sustainable landscape. I have over one hundred distinct species of native, medicinal, and edible plants. My yard is now a wildlife habitat and provides our family with food, herbs, and medicine. My hope is I give back to the earth more than I take during my lifetime.
My favorite place to vacation is Costa Rica. The Pura Vida lifestyle is my jam. The country has an incredibly diverse ecosystem and offers everything for an active vacationer – good healthy food, mountains, ocean, and rainforest.
I am an avid reader and enjoy three to four books every month. So far, I’ve read over 2,000 books in my lifetime.”And finally Angela would give this advice to someone thinking about adding a fitness routine to their lives, “Just start and keep going. It does not have to be perfect. There are days you will give 5% and days you will give 100%. The only thing that matters is that you keep showing up and stay consistent.”