Hello lovely friends!!

Today I am going to share my fitness journey with you. I honestly don’t know anyone that doesn’t have even the slightest desire to improve their overall wellness. Two obvious areas that we are going to dive into today are, yes, our diet and exercise routine. No, I am not suggesting we all go on diets or train for a triathlon. Rather, I want us to talk about what foods we are fueling our bodies with and our fitness routine. Allow me to share my journey in these two areas. 

I felt led to share this picture of me during my freshman year of high school to just give you a reference of what I used to look like before my fitness journey. Yes, I recognize that I was not extremely overweight and I had some baby fat to shed. It makes me giggle, knowing my sister thought this was a great picture of me. After seeing this picture of myself, I didn’t focus on my weight but rather committed to getting fit. 

My first order of business was to look at my diet. When I refer to ‘diet’, I know the first thing you think of is crazy strict or the latest fad diet being shared in the media. No, whether you realize it or not, we are all on a diet every day. Your diet is what you are filling your body with or more importantly, fueling your body with. No joke, my sister and I still talk about how every day when we would come home from school we would down some hotdogs and ramen. I would pop a hot dog in the microwave every day. I’m sure my dad was just happy that we were supporting the pork industry. So, when you think of how you are fueling your body, does that make some of you cringe? This conversation isn’t to make you feel guilty but rather just be more aware and intentional of what you are eating. What would happen if you started asking yourself, ‘what am I going to ‘fuel’ my body with today?’ Rather than, ‘what am I going to ‘fill’ my body with?’ This would be huge! It was for me at least. I shared earlier that I have stomach and digestive issues. I was tired of feeling miserable and came to the realization that most of my issues stemmed from what I was filling my body with. Something had to change! I want to share a couple of things I started doing that made the biggest impact on my overall nutrition. I started listening to my body. I realized when I would eat fast food I would have to run to the bathroom about a million times a day. I knew I had to cut way down on my fast food consumption and gluten. 

As I have shared my love for cooking, this meant I had to consider all the things I was personally cooking and baking for myself. I started making small changes and incorporated healthier options. It’s all about baby steps. For example, I stopped using butter in most recipes and instead used olive oil. I substituted leaner proteins in place of fattier meats. I tried to cut down an enormous amount of carbs. Boy, oh boy, do I love me some carbs. Many dietitians have mentioned, “it’s 80% diet and 20% exercise.”

So, friends, I want to encourage you to make a shortlist or even choose only one healthy thing you will add to your diet or an unhealthy thing you will eliminate from your diet for one whole week. For me, I have an insane sweet tooth. I am going to try and limit my sugar intake!

Moving along to working out…something that I have realized many people struggle with is knowing what to do when they are at the gym. I used to prance around the gym accomplishing very little because I didn’t know where to start. I felt intimidated and didn’t have enough sense to ask for help. Can any of you relate? This is just silly! I want to encourage you to start researching and reaching out to the gym staff that is available to you. If you don’t feel comfortable asking, then start watching YouTube videos and educate yourself.

It wasn’t until my freshman year in college that I made working out a priority in my life. I started seeing a drastic change in my body when I would keep my heart rate at a certain level for a certain amount of time. My goal for every workout was to push myself so hard I felt drops of sweat running down my face. I know this might seem silly, but I am serious. I also think that sweating is so healthy for your body. Sweating is a detox for your body, and it also releases bad toxins. It’s time to start sweating, my friends. 

One of the biggest struggles I have felt along my fitness journey is not seeing changes. I know many of you can relate. Friends, we aren’t going to get abs overnight. Gosh, I wish. It all boils down to being patient with yourself but also being consistent in your workout routines. During the pandemic, as you all know, all the gyms were temporarily closed. At first, this derailed my workout routine. Obviously, no one knew how long this would last, so I was determined to do some physical activity even through the pandemic. I would grab my yoga mat, and google “10-minute HITT workout” or “5-minute ab workout.” Anything to move my body. Maybe this is where some of you can begin. Start small. Grab your yoga mat or a blanket and move your body. Or better yet, make a walking date with a friend. Put that date on your calendar each week.

It’s time to start making a difference in your lifestyle. Challenge yourself to take one food item out of your diet. Challenge yourself to do 50 squats a day. For the next two weeks leading up to spring break, this is exactly what I am going to do. 50 squats a day, and taking one item out of my diet. Let’s do it friends, who is with me?

Please share below if you are taking on this challenge with me!