The Life's Learning Centre Blog

The DreamBody fitness programs have helped so many people of all shapes, sizes, ages and genders. I am extremely proud of one particular client who has recently achieved their goal in a very big way. Miryah Jade is the most recent winner of WBFF and wanted to share her story to help inspire others to follow their dreams and KNOW that they can do everything they out their mind too!

“I want to take a moment to show my appreciation and gratitude for those that have helped me on my Journey to become the woman I am today. No one achieves anything alone. Everything we are today is a result of our experiences and the people we meet on this journey we call life. Everything I have become is all thanks to those that touch my life and I would like to take a moment to recognize you all and let you know what you mean to me….and say ‘Thank you’. There are so many, I barely know where to begin, and surely won’t know where to end, so forgive me in advance.

This has been a long hard journey of self-discovery. I grew up a tomboy and have always had a passion for fitness, however, having two left feet and coordination that does not allow for me to throw a ball or dribble a basketball without making a complete fool out of myself I turned to the gym and weight training in high school. It became a way of life and I was in and out of the gym for years. Thanks to sources such as Oxygen, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and bodybuilding.com, I managed to learn the ins and outs of exercise and proper nutrition.

However, a couple years ago I went through a difficult time and the trials of life caused me to fall away from my health. I found it easier to mask all of life’s problems with short-term satisfactions. This behavior caught up with me, and one day I looked in the mirror and didn’t recognize the image looking back at me. I had gained almost 30 pounds reaching an all time high of 164 pounds, but more importantly….I was Not happy. I knew this was not me, and I knew something had to change. It is at this point that I hired a personal trainer and that is when Paul Anthony came into my life. Now, please understand, at this point, I knew how to workout, and I knew what proper nutrition was….but what I needed was someone to keep me accountable. Paul was that and so much more. I still refer to him as my ‘Magic Man” LOL!!! He has been a motivator and a spiritual guider, directing me to various teachings that have changed my life and helped me uncover the woman that was buried inside. Thank you Paul. I strongly believe that in order to change and strengthen your body, you first need to strengthen your mind. It was then that the transformation began.

Over the next year, despite knee surgery, I managed to muscle my way down to 145 pounds. That’s almost 20 pounds!! I felt amazing!! With a newfound confidence and a rekindled passion for fitness and life I decided to enter my first competition choosing the WBFF, and little did I know that this would be one of the BEST decisions of my life. It had always been a dream of mine to compete but my mindset was never ready….Now I was!!! And this is the part of the story where most of you are more familiar….

I want to note here that this journey was never about winning my first show…It was all about achieving my personal best. It was something I had never done before, an avenue that allowed me to channel my energy and see what I was really made of. I stayed focused on what I could do, what I could control, and it was never about anything else but discovering how far I could push myself and what I could accomplish if I put everything into something.

My eternal gratitude goes to the following:

*Friends, Family & Loved Ones*

My longtime friends that understood and never tempted me to cheat because they knew I was pursing something so important. Specifically…Holly…Oh Holly….I am thankful everyday to have such an amazing best friend. You are a genuine, inspiring woman that I am grateful to have in my life and privileged to call my best friend but we both know you are more than that, you are family. I am utterly grateful for your unwavering support, faith, and assistance especially on show day. You picked me up, and helped give me strength. Love you Lady. And Jen, I am so grateful for your continued support and belief in what I stand for. Our meeting was not a coincidence and you have aided and inspired me on this journey beyond words.

My boyfriend, Christopher…Thank you for your patience, your understanding, your ability to help me see the things I do not, and helping me understand why I would embark on a journey of this nature, making me aware of my inner purpose, and for loving every step of the way. You make me better. You will never know how much you inspired me on the morning of show day. I love you and am so glad we endured and shared such an important time.

My family, for your support and understanding. You always accommodated my needs at family dinners, helped me clean my house (LOL thanks Mom), you respected what I was doing, you encouraged me to follow my passions, and you supported me on show day. What’s also amazing is that you see the fire and passion in me now and you continue to support me in so many ways. I love you all!!!

*New friends, supporters and those met along the way*

To all the people at World Health Club for your encouragement in my transformation. To Maci, and Tanya for helping me prepare for the competition, lending me everything from shoes, to suits to advice. To Mandy for helping me with posing, walking, and the ins and outs on stage presence. And to Shannon…. I am blessed to have found such a wonderful friend during this time. I couldn’t have done any of this without you. You were my workout buddy, my posing partner, my advisor, my mentor, my pro-tan partner (LOL) and so much more. Thank you.

To the 2009 WBFF Alberta event promoters. Thank you David Ford for allowing me the privilege of shooting with you and fulfilling a dream I’ve had since meeting you at Jen Hendershot’s PHAT Camp years ago. You are a pleasure to work with and have done an amazing job with our photos. A true master in your art, and an amazing person at heart. Thank you for believing in me and making me a part of your new FitArt Collection. Thank you Annette for organizing such a successful event and being an inspiration to me and so many others. You are what a True fitness model embodies and I look up to you in so many ways.

To the WBFF team for creating an amazing federation that has such outstanding respect for its athletes and fans!!! You go the extra mile to make sure that it is an experience for all!!! From the endorsements, to the prizes, to the media coverage, to the exposure, to the actual show, you put the WBFF in a class of its own. The opportunities and the exposure that you give your athletes are unbelievable and unmatched!! I love what you stand for and I’m proud to have my Pro Card with your federation!! I couldn’t be more pleased with my first competition experience and it is all thanks to your team. It was a pleasure to meet you all. Thank you for making a dream come true, and memories to last a lifetime.

To the fellow Athletes, you all are so amazing, and every one of you is so inspiring to me. I am honored to have shared the stage with every one of you! I would like to especially extend my gratitude to all the women backstage for being so kind, collaborative and genuine. I have made many new friends and even connected with old ones. You all made the day so delightful!

To my sponsors: Radiance Suntan Studio and Ariadne Hair and Esthetics for all your support. Thanks to my win at the 2009 WBFF Alberta Championships, I am now proudly sponsored by industry leading supplement company EAS! I am looking forward to working with EAS and representing them because I believe they are an outstanding company that supplies tested athletes with quality products. Thank you!

And finally, to all the supporters that have taken the time to message me with such positive feedback. I am overwhelmed and utterly grateful that you have taken the time to extend your support my way. You inspire me to keep pushing and have made all the hard work worth it…1000 times over!!! I keep going for you, and only hope that I can inspire you a fraction of the way you have inspired me.

In summary, I am a real woman, with real challenges just like anyone else. When I lost the weight, I found myself!!! I embarked on a journey and set out to achieve my personal best and couldn’t have done it without all of you!!! Make your dreams about you, keep the experience positive and stay grounded. This has been an amazing journey of self discovery and growth….and hopefully it’s just getting started!!!

See you at the 2009 WBFF World Championships! Go WBFF!!!

Thank you,

Miryah Jade”