Don't Cut Out the Things You Love

You are a sum of all your choices.

That’s really what healthy living boils down to, a series of choices. It’s those incremental choices that will eventually lead you to the healthy lifestyle you’re seeking.

This doesn’t mean you have to be perfect all the time. That’s not realistic. Neither is healthy living that requires you to cut out all the things you love. Healthy living needs to incorporate the things that you know if you gave them up, you would binge tf outta them once you had the chance to have them again.

Like wine. Or chocolate.

That’s why getting healthy, working out regularly, and eating well consistently is hard. Because it’s about balance just as much as it’s about learning why you’re making the decisions you’re making in regards to healthy choices. Then understanding how to have those things you love with moderation.

But how do you get healthy and not give up the things you love? Like pizza?

I encourage my clients to have what they want, I don’t adhere to cutting out every single treat you love or working out to the point where you feel like you’re going to break. Those paths, as my time training people has taught me, are not sustainable. 80% of the time, you need to be making the healthy choices even if that’s not the choice you want to make. It’s showing up for the workout when you would rather be doing anything else, and eating well when you would rather have take out. 

Then it’s you allowing yourself those treats in moderation. Over time, you’ll learn that you don’t actually need the WHOLE bag of chips, but just a bowl. 

So have your chocolate. Drink your wine boo and be ok with it because you know that you’re doing it in moderation. You give yourself those allowances so you don’t go overboard like a college kid at her first frat party. 

And know that with each one of those choices you’re creating balance and a strong foundation for a happy and healthy life. Also know that with every single choice, making those choices will become easier and more routine.

My Supermodel Days Are Over

I’ll never look like that.

That ☝️ thought ever cross your mind? It sure has crossed mine. More times than I would care to admit. Welcome to the age of social media right? Where every mom that pops into your search feed looks perfect, put together, and like she’s never stressed. Ever. 

Like OMG how does she have 6 kids under the age of 10, 6 pack abs, AND she cooks every single freaking meal from scratch??

Ok so how do I look like that AND actually sleep through the night? Or is that just a total unicorn?

It’s not fun. Especially after you’ve had a baby, and now you’re working while trying to juggle this whole parenting thing AND have balance in your own life. Good luck. I guess those flat abs were a thing of the past?

You can go deep down a rabbit hole of despair when these thoughts begin to invade your mind. In like the worst way possible because the next thing you know, you’re depressed AF and you’re giving up on every single goal you’ve set for yourself. Because why try when you’re never going to actually get to your goal?

Don’t get me wrong, there’s so much power in embracing your own strength and beauty, but it takes a hot second. Arguably the hardest aspect of this journey is in embracing that your journey is yours alone and you can’t compare what you’re doing to what someone else is doing. I remind myself of this ALL THE TIME. I also remind myself that life presented on social media is often not a realistic reflection of what is happening in that person’s real life.

Here’s my Pro Tip when that negativity starts creeping in:

• Sit your ass down and write down 10 amazing things you’ve accomplished. It’s just 10 friend, and it’s not as hard as you think. If you want the help, if you’re that hung up, I’ll help you. Because I see you and I see your resiliency, your strength, and every single thing you’ve accomplished.

When you find yourself letting that negativity creep in again, because it will, remind yourself of at least one of those things. Then put your phone down and get back to work.

Create Your Foundation

The strength you find today creates your foundation for tomorrow. 

We get into this horrible and self sabotaging place of comparing when we start our fitness journey. Because our fitness journey starts well before we put on the spandex and pick up a weight. Our fitness journey starts with us looking at the people around us, be it on social media or in person, and comparing how we look to how THEY look. You know who I’m talking about…it’s the woman who’s on kid #4, but kid #4 is only a month old and she already has a 6 pack. Mind you, you’re only on kid #1 and all you see when you look in the mirror is…fluff…

Whether or not we realize it, we take that negative energy into our workouts and it sabotages the hell out of our progress. What we want is the instantaneous result, the immediate feeling of being happy in the clothes we wear and being able to finally rid ourselves of the obligatory “mom” sweater. We’ve sat in this uncomfortable skin for far too long so by the time we’re doing something to get it gone, we want it gone NOW. Or yesterday. Whichever.

But that discounts the foundation that you’re building. That negative mindset is so much more likely to impede your progress because you’re always going to feel like it’s not enough. It’s not enough resistance, it’s not a high enough speed on the treadmill, it’s not enough weight on the bar…it’s not a fast enough result.

Keep something in mind for me when you find yourself in this place of frustration that really stems from guilt that things have gotten this far and that you feel this miserable: you didn’t get to the place where you felt like change was a necessary component of life overnight, and transformation that is done in a healthy and sustainable way, also doesn’t happen overnight.

Every single day in your journey towards your health and fitness goals is a building block from where you were yesterday. Enjoy the journey. Even if it’s not evident to you, single day you’re getting stronger, and more importantly, you’re putting a foundation in place of habits that will sustain your health and your strength while facilitating the transformation you’re seeking.

The process of change, albeit annoying AF and rip your hair out frustrating at times, is also beautiful. What an amazing thing to demonstrate to yourself daily that you are deserving of those goals and that you’re willing to do what it takes to reach those goals. Maybe you’re not there yet, maybe it’s your first day or you haven’t even started, but I KNOW you’ll get those goals and I’ll be cheering you along the whole way.