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Hey, y'all!

You may or may not know me as a fitness buff (ish), but from this point forward, I am making it a larger part of my life! I’ve come to realize that I am only something to anybody if I am healthy & happy and that starts with my own habits in fitness. I’ll be turning to social media as my source of accountability … and if I can inspire/help others along the way, AWESOME! I know what it’s like to be unhappy with my body, my mindset and energy levels …. I also know what it’s like to be proud of who I am and happy ….and I much prefer the latter. So, if I can guide others while holding myself accountable through a community of supportive people, then I’m all in :)

Those of you that know me understand my love & passion for fitness. I’ve been looking for ways to make it a bigger part of my life and I’m SUPER excited to let everybody know that I’ve found it! I’ve joined a community of online health & fitness coaches and plan to document my journey and sharing REAL value through my social media!
My hope is that some of you will think of me if you have health & fitness goals and maybe I can even inspire others through my day to day posts!

I'll try to post on here. If not, I'll be posting on my business Facebook, Iris Kotico. So, if you're interested in following that then go give my page a follow! :) I’m SUPER excited & thank you in advanced for your support 😘

This transformation is a year apart. Trust your process! Do not give up on yourself, you deserve that much! :)

page, 

I'VE BEEN MIA;

Wow, it's been.... what? A year?

I'm a terrible person. Anyhow, so life happened. Obviously. I just want you all to know that I will be back on my shit & blogging as much as I can.

I can't wait. I hope you all are having a great 2018 so far. Mine has been a fucking shit show, but that's a rant for another blog post ;)

Go kick some ass! Love ya,

- Iris Kotico

Deep breaths;

Good evening, guys. :)

I just want to say that I'm about to finish that Netflix series called "13 Reasons Why" - man... I don't think I have ever could relate to any other show more than I do this one. Granted, I have never experienced one of my friends committing suicide, but I do know what it feels like to feel empty. That was me a lot of the time in high school anyway. I remember at one point, I couldn't even go to sleep without the help of pills that eventually my parents had to hide the medicine from me. I don't think that I ever was mistreated in high school, I guess I just felt like I didn't have a reason to be there every day. The one person that I truly cared about, walked on my heart every year those 4 years - finally senior year was the close of that because I cut him out entirely. My best friend at the time? I had “bullied” (so she states) her in middle school before I realized that she was probably the best thing that had happened to me... Where is she now? That's a virtuous question; the most miserable part about that? She lives only a street away from my house. We also go to the same community college. HAHA, but that's life, right? Anyhow, every time that I personally thought about killing myself - it hurt. It truly did, and the part that hurt the most was that I was so worried that people wouldn't even notice if I was gone.

3 years after graduation, I have come to this realization just a couple days ago... Life goes on, no matter if you're having a good or a difficult day. Regardless of what kind of day it is, time literally still moves. Life doesn't pause for you if you feel bad for yourself. You must keep going. It's random, but I got an Apple watch for Christmas and there's this app on it called "Breathe" and basically what it does is - measures your heart rate through these deep breaths that you take. You can set up your watch to remind you to do it every so often or you can just start it up manually. When I first saw, this I thought "Yeah, Apple watch, cool. You're going to remind me to breath even though I literally do that impetuously." Though, nowadays; I'm getting closer to the end of my semester and work is finally slowing down and getting to the gym is a little easier, I finally have some time to breathe. I have a good routine going on right now and I am just floating on by. What I've also observed is that whenever I catch myself feeling a little troubled, what I will do is tell myself something encouraging. I've never been the one to pause and think about what I will say, but honestly lately I've been really patient these past couple of weeks. It could honestly be a number of reasons as to why I've been feeling a little calmer but whatever it could be, I'm definitely liking it. 

So, remember - if you're feeling a little uneasy, pause and take 1 minute to take some deep breaths and to tell yourself that you're going to be okay and that you're taking it day by day. It will get easier and it will make your life just a tad healthier. It's almost like I've been floating on a boat since I haven't been feeling any stress lately.

You're beautiful so go kick some ass today.

- Iris Kotico :)

Procrastinating;

I'm supposed to be writing a research rough draft paper, but my mind is all over the place right now. So instead, I'm going to just catch you guys up on a couple things. :) I have been looking for some workout leggings for you guys and I have come across a couple companies.

GymShark Fit Leggings

So far, I've only invested into one brand which is actually - GYMSHARK - you guys probably have heard all the hype from this company already. I've been seriously obsessed since I first heard about them. They have amazing people working behind the scenes and I'm so happy to finally support them. They're practically the fastest growing company in the UK right now, as far as I know. Well, I finally decided to indulge in a pair of the leggings. One pair being the popular "Fit Leggings". GURL, let me tell you - I AM A LEGGINGS KIND OF GIRL. These leggings are a GAME. CHANGER. They're so soft, so stretchy, so comfy - that's the most important part to me. Also, the waist band on them are freaking amazing. I'm not so little in the middle, myself but I think the band holds my tummy well. Form fitting type of fit, but the way they hug your legs is the craziest part. I don't really think anyone would look bad in these leggings. Something about them makes you seem like you have a booty; even if you don't.

As of right now, I have no complaints for these pants. I do know that they recently released another pair of bottoms and they're called "Jersey Legging". Now - these? I am dying to try out. They're supposed to be a cross between joggers and a pair of leggings. That is a dream come through. I cannot wait until I get my hands on some of these. The one thing that I didn't like was the shipping process, which I expected considering that I did order internationally. Though, it did come quickly, took about a week and a half - at the most.

Also, another company that I'm dying to try is created by a Youtuber that I follow. Her name is Sami Bossert. She is such an inspiration, apart from doing Youtube and her clothing line that she recently launched, she's actually a full-time nurse along with on the side personal trainer jobs. I cannot believe how busy she is. Anywho, her clothing line is called "P'luta", from the looks of it the clothing looks like it's high end. What I really love about the company is that she names the items after clients that have impacted her significantly.

Both price ranges for these companies are standard. Pretty much in the middle, not too pricey but worth investing in. I do want to try out Lulumelon, but they are like way out of price range for me. I would love to own a pair of Nike leggings, but I found out that I'm way too short for them so there's that.

Well, I do hope that you guys consider these companies and love them as much as I do. I am still on the lookout for more clothing - so don't worry.

Remember - you're a badass and you can kick ass :)

Gymshark Fit Leggings

- Iris Kotico

Dysfunctional Families;

Coming from a family that's been dysfunctional since the very beginning - you as a person become 1 of 2 human beings. 1). You push through the struggle and feel that you have to do much better than how you were - meaning that you never forget where you came from nor do you ever want to feel that way again. Or 2). You get so low with yourself, mentally that you feel like nothing is worth living and you become the worst of the worst. Everyone has that one person in the immediate family that's the screw up, but then there's always that one specific family in the extended family, that's just completely fucked up. (excuse my french) Though, I do feel like my family is the fuck up.

In my opinion, (this is also probably from personal experience) I've struggled before, in my younger years and I'm not sure if you can really call it having "anxiety" then only because I was a very hormonal teenager. Not to mention that at that same time, my mother was in the middle of falling in love with such a great man that I was feeling somewhat rejected. Needless to say, the first years of the marriage were a little hard. Having my biological father passing away at a very young age and not having a father figure does put a toll on a girl growing up. She doesn't get any guidance as to who she shouldn't date because no one is there to help her weed out the jerks, nor is there anyone to kill any spiders or roaches that are in the bathroom while she's taking a poop, but the worst one? That no one is there to put her pick up the pieces when someone breaks her heart, regardless as to if it's losing a best-friend or a boyfriend. So at the end of the day, I had to grow some balls and become my own hero. I never wanted to feel so low again in my life and thus far, I feel like I've been doing such a great job. People always tell me that I work too much or that I'm such a busy body that I need to take time to "smell the roses" - but why? I'm a go-getter. That's how I make myself happy. I'm all about making money so that I can spend my money on things that make me even more happy. People say that I go to the gym too much, but why? I find the gym to be a very therapeutic place. It's a place where I can lose and gain at the very same time. Being with myself makes me happy and I'm completely okay with being on my own. I've practically lived all my 21 years by myself, literally other than my mother & little brother. To me, it's so easy to watch people walk away, I've experienced that almost my whole life so it's never anything new for me. Again, every person is different and no one will ever walk the same path of life as you, but I think life is all about your attitude. The way you look at life is exactly what life will give you. I'm not sure about you, but I think life is a little easier while smiling.

Sometimes it's easier to go through life being busy because then you don't have time to think about the shitty things that are happening around you. (this is also a personal opinion)

Also, never judge anyone because you really don't know what they're going through or have been gone through. I believe that you're strong enough to live this life. Remember - God throws the most difficult fights to his strongest soldiers. So you will prevail - life gets better. There always has to be a storm before a rainbow. 

You're beautiful & you're a badass. Go kick life in the ass. I believe that you can get through whatever it is that you're going through right now.

- Iris :)

Hunting down;

Hey guys, so with this new year just one month in, I know you guys are all about these New Years Resolutions. I am actually in the process of looking for affordable active wear for you guys. I've been seeing companies like Gym Shark, Altheleta, etc. but they're SO expensive. It's crazy.


But I will definitely let you guys know. I am looking for other companies besides my usual Victoria Secret's. LOL

I love you guys!

- Iris Kotico

HAPPY NEW YEAR;

Hey guys, I know it's already day 4/365 but I suck at posting. LOL :)

Anyhow, I just want to say that 2016 was probably the best year I've had since graduation year, which was 2013. If you know me at all, you would know that I was in a horrible relationship throughout the end of 2013 - the beginning of 2016. I'm not going to say that I regret it just because, I loved the guy & we had a really good thing going on while being together. Also, it was definitely a learning experience for me. During 2016, I definitely rediscovered myself & decided to take a lot of time for just me. I needed to get back to where I was when I knew I was truly happy.

What made me happy was always -

• Family
• Friends
• Good food/drinks
• Working out

So, I knew I had to get back to those things as soon as possible.

When we first broke it off, I made the decision to have 2 jobs, which probably wasn't the healthiest or smartest choice, but hey. Ya live & ya learn, right? So after about 6 months of doing that, I felt overworked so I left my serving job. But, in that time frame I really did figure out how happy I was without being with my ex. I really learned how to be alone & to be okay with being alone. (I also figured out how much alcohol I could drink before I was throwing my guts up ;D). LOL, also I did get closer to the girls at my primary job, which is good. They've definitely helped me through a lot & they've been very big impacts in my life - I don't think they realize that though. They've also been very big constants, which is really what I needed. I don't think I could have handled anymore change than I already was going through. 2016 brought me closer to the girls from middle school that I hadn't talked to in years because of this ex - I was finally able to have those "girls nights" dinners or go out celebrate someone's birthday. I also turned 21 so I can finally legally drink, so that helped a lot. Boys this year? Well, obviously they haven't turned out so good, but I was seeing people, some were a success, it just didn't work out or those guys were a mess therefore it didn't work out. Tinder nor OKCupid aren't very wise choices for me, I just have them because..... idk, why not?

Needless to say, 2016 was a year filled with laughter, my girls, drinks, travelling & so many different experiences. I can't wait to see what 2017 holds for me. I wish you all the best, I hope this year is even better for all of us. PRAYERS FOR OUR GPAs BECAUSE LAST SEMESTER CAUGHT US SLIPPIN. I know, because I was slippin real hard. LOL



But, no really. Prayers & love to all of you. Let's kick 2017 in the ass.

NOW GO OUT THERE YOU BEAUTIFUL BADASS & KICK SOME ASS TODAY & EVERY OTHER DAY :)

- Iris Kotico