Hey Beautiful People!

Those of you who follow me over on my Instagram already know I've taken my fitness journey up a notch. I've started eating more plant based, tracking my food, and working out. Here are a few things I've learned thus far..

When I first purchased my training sessions I literally did not want to know the total... because, guilt. I finally did the math and realized it's the cost of the average work out class like Soul Cycle or Rumble. If it was dinner I wouldn't flinch at a $40 total for a meal so why was I so worked up over the price for fitness. Next up, was the work out clothes...I managed to find really good deals on my outfits but still felt bad about spending. I realized I was struggling with making an investment in my health. Folks will casually drop money on diet pills ( which I've done), prescriptions, medical bills, eating out, drinking and the like with no issue but tell someone your spending on some thing like PT sessions and you'll get all kind of comments like oh you must have money, or I could never spend on that. In reality you can. I'm not saying you have to go the route I choose but, there's planet fitness a darn good gym that can get the job done for only $10 a month. Ultimately, our body is our temple, it shows appreciation to the life giver to cherish and appreciate it, and it should be invested in...

I also realized that changing habits can impact your friends and family and any social circles your in. Fitness, weight loss, and all the stuff that comes with it really is a journey. It will create changes to more than just your body. What I'm learning is you don't want to force anyone to join you but you can absolutely encourage your friends and family to get healthy along with you. In the instance I get push back or find that someones not interest in getting healthy too I remember not to take it personally.

Last but not least this time around on my health/fitness journey I'm working to cultivate body kindness. That probably sounds really simple but I honestly wasn't aware of how unkind I was being to myself and how much society, social media, and our culture as a whole, especially the American culture reinforces those negative practices. Self deprecating comments are way to normalized among women, social media makes us feel our natural beauty and bodies aren't beautiful. Outdated BMI charts make us aim for extreme weight lows... and words like obese are associated with so much negativity. That's why I'm much more mindful of making sure my body has the needed nourishment for my fitness, and that I take a moment to love myself as is.

XXX,

Mary