Do you, boo
When you’re constantly around certain energy, that can become your MO.
Happy environment = happy person. Negative environment = negative person.
The more I let go of things and people and responsibilities that gave me so much god damn anguish, the less clouded I felt.
When I enter new environments, I’m more conscious of the energy there.
Focus on your growth. Focus on how you want to feel and cut loose anything that makes you feel otherwise.
The scale is bullshit
What to focus on instead of the number on the scale:
1. 🥕 Focus on healthful food instead.
Work with a professional if you’re unsure. I try to stick with real foods as in, it either doesn’t have ingredients listed because it’s the only one (veggies and fruit, for example) or there are minimal ingredients listed and I recognize them all. I’m not perfect and don’t always stick to this but 80% of the time, this is what I do.
2. 🤸🏽♀️ Focus on what your body CAN do.
We forget how amazing human bodies are. I don’t have to remind myself to breathe and make my heart pump. My body just does it. It’s fantastic.
3. 🧠 Focus on your mental health.
Taking time throughout the day to check in on yourself is a great way to see what’s bugging you and gives you a minute to relax. We’re all so busy going going going that we forget to tune into ourselves.
4. 🚴🏼♀️ Focus on your movement.
Moving your body does wonders. It helps with seriously everything: your mind, your body, and your overall health. It doesn’t have to be something you hate doing. Don’t “should” yourself into running on the treadmill if you hate it. Do activities you enjoy. Walk, hike, swim, bike, box, lift weights. The options are limitless.
5. 😴 Focus on your sleep.
How much sleep do you get a night? Being tired can lead to eating more throughout the day, feeling crummy, and skipping workouts. I’m guilty of cutting my sleep and I can feel it the next day in my workouts and sitting at my desk, about to nod off.
You’re enough
I struggle with self-worth. A lot. Sometimes, I consider myself the penny on the ground. You know, it’s the one you see heads up, ol’ Abe lookin’ up at you, but you walk around it, because bending over to pick up a penny just doesn’t seem worth it. People actually throw away pennies these days because of their perceived value. We all, and I think women especially, question our worth to ourselves, and especially to others.
My problem is that while I have shitty self-esteem, I still make goals; I still work hard to achieve goals; I still think there’s a chance to get what I want. Meanwhile, I’m over here like, “Well, I’m not fast enough, but let’s look at races I have a chance at….” I may never feel like I’m enough. This could be something that’s part of me. Who knows? But there are things I can do to silence my perfectionism. If you’re right there with me, reading this like, “That’s me. I feel you,” then hopefully, one of these things will help.
1. I try to practice gratitude.
2. I make a list of accomplishments.
3. When I don’t have confidence, I have courage.
4. Try to like yourself if you can’t love yourself yet.
Perspective is everything
When we’re in the thick of it, our perspective is drastically different. It’s hard, if not damn near impossible, to see the growth we’re experiencing as it’s happening.
Just like we didn’t really notice ourselves getting taller, buying bigger shoes – just one day, we were a big kid. Then we were an adult.
How did I grow from a three-year-old to who I am right now?
You don’t have to earn your food
The other night I felt like I had to earn my food.
My legs were sore and my knees were bothering me. I didn’t want to do leg day, even if it was just bodyweight.
But I had an overwhelming feeling of guilt that if I didn’t do it, I couldn’t eat dinner that night.
I went back and forth the whole drive home whether or not to workout. When I realized it was because I had this fucked up mentality that in order to eat I had to burn calories first, I decided I was eating dinner and giving my legs a break instead.
I’ve been working on my diet insofar as finding foods that make me feel good and that give me energy instead of considering them “good” or “bad.” Because really, society has come up with “good” and “bad” labels when food doesn’t really have a moral compass.
We need food to sustain our lives. There are choices that support our health and there are some that don’t. But nowhere is there a law that says, “In order to eat, you must force yourself through a workout.” We train in order to get stronger, not so we can munch on a donut without feeling “guilty.” We eat foods that make us feel good and energized and strong, not the opposite.
Diet culture is bullshit on bullshit. Diets, as advertised, don’t work for most of us. It’s built on the idea of lack. Diets are stressful and lead to binging anyway. We need to ditch the mentality of “earning food” because that too, is bullshit.
You don’t have to do anything
As someone who is constantly working to better myself, physically and mentally, I read a ton of different opinions on how best to do that.
And it gets exhausting.
You get to a point where you don’t know what’s best for YOU.
Self-care doesn’t have to look like any one thing. It can be:
👩🏼💻 Watching Netflix and coloring or reading a book.
🚴🏼♀️ Going on really long bike rides or hikes or runs or not moving at all.
💧 Sitting in the bath until the water is cold and your body looks like a raisin or taking a fast, freezing shower.
👥 Meeting up with a friend and venting until you run out of breath or surrounding yourself in silence.
Don’t should yourself into self-care. When you need a break or downtime, take it. You don’t have to do anything you read from the thousands of online gurus.
Hell, you don’t even have to take this advice. You know yourself better than anyone and deep down you know what’s best for you in the long run.
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