3 Year Blogiversary Celebration + 5 Things I Learned from Blogging

Deep Fried Fit celebrated 3 years with an epic football and donuts event at D1 Dallas. It was the perfect excuse for this Dallas blogger to combine my love for sports and food. It’s surreal to think I’ve been blogging this long. What an incredible journey and I’ve met so many great people. As a thank you for all the support and blog love, I invited friends  (old and new) to celebrate with me the way I know best: food and fitness.

I grew up playing sports and it was how I stayed active before fitness became a trendy thing. It never felt like working out because it combined movement with competition, teamwork, and personal growth. Bringing a new way for people to sweat through a football skills training workout followed by football shaped donuts and Raising Canes was my kind of event. Special shoutout to budding photographer Demarcus Mitchell of The Breeze Life for catching these moments for me.

D1’s Coach Cade lead us through a dynamic warm up, a series of football drills, and oversaw a short scrimmage. We had enough people for 4 teams. He is an amazing coach and so fun to work with. And he was hilarious.

And I never thought I’d ever host such a family friendly event. A couple of youngsters signed up and stole the show. Talk about an unlimited energy source. I was tired just watching them bounce off the walls.

I was pleased to see so many people show up to try something new. There was so much energy and it was incredibly fun. Compete Every Day brought out their amazing gear and I shopped their super cute sub brand Donut Judge Me. Give me all the donut shirts!!!! They also sponsored the cutest donuts I’ve ever seen.

Saturday morning would have been rough without some much needed coffee from High Brew Coffee. I hear they’re coming out with a coffee and protein product next year. I can’t wait!!! Right now I’m obsessed with the Mexican Sugar coffee. So good.

And a lovely surprise from the D1 folks, they asked Kize Bars to make an appearance and everyone sampled their amazing bars. They are gluten free, NON-GMO, and sugar free and come in so many delicious flavors. Apparently they were a hit for the kiddos.

And of course, I had to come through with some chicken tenders from Raising Canes. There literally wasn’t a bite left. 

Spa Kneads offered express massages for anyone that needed it. Daychell runs a mobile massage company and I love that she was able to bring all her gear and set up for the event.

Lastly, it wouldn’t be an event without prizes from Takeya and Sweat Cosmetics.

Couldn’t have asked for a more perfect way to spend my Saturday. Aside from all the fun and games, I also want to share 5 things I learned during this journey.

Do what you love. It’ll take you to amazing places.

I believe pursing happiness will always take you down the right path. Deep Fried Fit started as a passion project, then turned into a small side hustle and eventually led me to quit my corporate job and start my business Dallas Fitness Ambassadors. Through my blog, I love sharing my experiences with food, fitness, travel and all things Dallas on the blog. My only hope is for anyone following along to be inspired to try something new because of something I shared.

Make friends and build a community that supports you

Inserting one of my favorite cheesy quotes here, “When you’re being kind to someone else, you’re also being kind to yourself.” I’m a huge believer in supporting other people and I’ve made some amazing friendships and connections along the way. It’s fun to be surrounded by badasses making a difference in the community. It only fuels my fire and inspires me to push myself harder. I was once By opening myself up and being vulnerable to new partnerships and relationships, has only made me stronger.

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There’s power in the word NO.

I have a bad habit of taking on too much because I get so excited and I would LOVE to do it all. I want to say yes to everything, but that leads to burn out and it takes my limited energy and time away from things that matter the most. A quote I think explains my decision making so well, “If it’s not a “hell yes!”, it’s a ‘no'”. I’ve said no to opportunities that paid well, but didn’t fit me. I’ve said no to companies that have nothing to do with fitness or food. Repeatedly. And I’ve said no to people who are only a time suck. The only things that make it into my calendar are people and opportunities that excite me.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

I love being a student. When it comes to learning, I actually crave constructive feedback and love asking for input because  that means I can be better next time. When things get crazy or stressful, I constantly amaze at the circle of friends I have that are willing to help and see me succeed. I can’t do it by myself and I’m definitely not alone.

Whether you want to start a blog or business one day, I hope these nuggets are helpful. With 2017 around the corner, let me know how I can do better. What types of blogs or events are you dying to see? Leave me a comment!

All photos courtesy of the The Breeze Life.