Hello friends!!

Happy summer. I have been going back and forth on whether I should write a blog about this for about 3 months now, but I saw a friend recently who was talking to me about this… and I took that as a sign. Maybe many people must feel this way. 

First of all, how amazing are the human bodies? Pretty freaking incredible. But something that is not talked about enough is the concept of morning skinny. Now if you don’t know what that is. According to Google, morning skinny is “when someone looks or feels slimmer first thing in the morning, before they’ve had anything to eat and, often, after going to the bathroom.” Wonderful right? I think we may have all felt this way at some point in our life. Your girl has IBS and a serious bloating issue, so I look very different in the morning than I do at night. Which this can be very frustrating as I am trying to take care of my body and lift more. But we have to understand that MILLIONS of little microscopic tasks are happening within our bodies every minute, so it’s hardly fair to expect your body to always look the same.

And let me reassure you everyone has felt this way. Lighter when you wake up, and heavier when you go to bed. This is normal. I think this is when self-love comes in. It’s so important to remember that every body is different. God hand created our bodies to look exactly how they look today. We all have different genetics! I have to continuously remind myself it’s okay that I have stretch marks all over my body, God made those. Especially, women, we can have a whole child in us? That just blows my mind. Our bodies can do some incredible things. Next time you start having negative thoughts about your body. “Oh my legs look big. I have stretch marks. I am so fat. I am too thin. I looked better 3 years ago. I wish I had curves.” Or whatever lie your brain is telling you. Remember that the fact that you have a body that can move and dance is a blessing. Stop being so hard on yourself. Start loving your body. I realized I am always thinking oh I will love my body when this is gone. Oh I will love my body when my butt is bigger. Start loving your body now!

This past month I was at the lake with my family, and boy oh boy was there so much food. Jadon and I of course took advantage of the free food and just stuffed our faces 24/7. I am not going to lie, I was pretty down on myself after the trip. I just didn’t feel good about myself. I think a lot of us need to change the way we think about food and working out. Food fuels your body to work, exercise, meet with friends, to go out with friends! This is also something I need to work on, is not feeling bad if I eat a ton of food. I had a family member this past month say, “Dang you eat a lot… how are you so tiny?” I instantly started feeling very self-conscious and embarrassed. I was just thinking oh gosh, I DO EAT A LOT. But I had to remind myself that I should eat when I want to eat, and I should not feel bad about that. Food is fuel friends!!

Another topic I wanted to talk about is our “ideal” body weight. So many athletic trainers that I know are always saying they have more room to grow in their fitness journey. (which is true) But everyone is always wanting to change something about themselves, that is just human nature, my friends. But I think your “ideal” body weight is the weight that allows you to feel strong and energetic and lets you lead a healthy, normal life. Not what you see on Instagram or Tik Tok.

I once told my therapist I feel like I talk down to myself a lot. She told me to get a picture of myself when I was a little girl and put it on my mirror. So now, every time I want to say something bad about myself, I look at that picture and I would never want that little Justice to feel that way. I encourage you to do the same thing! 

I just hope this blog encourages you, that you are so beautiful. God hand-knitted you in your mother’s womb and thinks you are simply perfect. I also want to mention that we are on this journey together. I am not perfect, and I have my days of feeling bloated and bleh. But I am just here to normalize this. EAT THE DAMN COOKIE babe. Take care of yourself mentally and physically. Love you, guys 🙂