Do You Start Over Every Spring?

How’s it feel to be starting your fitness journey again? Have you started again yet?

This is around the time when I’d restart my fitness journey after taking the winter off. 

It was easy to avoid workouts in the winter- it’s cold, dreary, classes are in full swing, and layers of clothing hide any gains (or lack thereof) from being seen.

I shouldn’t have been surprised I wasn’t reaching my goals, but that didn’t decrease the frustration I felt.

Nevertheless, every fall/winter would roll around and I’d lose everything I’d worked hard for the last 3-4 months. 

Spring would come and I’d start over, pushing myself to “get fit” in only a month or two. Anyone else?

It was an unrealistic goal and left me feeling discouraged I never reached my goal.

It’s crazy to think I’m starting this summer in (way) better shape than I’d be in by the END of this summer, had I not found this fitness community.

& I want the same for you. You don’t need to start over every spring. 

You deserve a community that’ll motivate and push you, and flexible fitness programs that fit into your busy life. (Oh, and they’re cheaper than a gym membership- seriously!)

Send me a message & we’ll discuss your personal fitness goals!

My Confession

“As a result of being a white person raised in this society, I have a racist world-view. I have deep racist biases, I have developed racist patterns, and I have investments in the system of racism because it’s served me really well. It’s helped me overcome the barriers that I do face. 

“I also have an investment in not seeing any of that for what it would suggest to me about my identity and what it would require of me. I didn’t choose any of that; I don’t feel guilty about it. It’s a result of being raised in this society in which racism is the bedrock.” – Robin DiAngelo

I’ve thought I don’t “act racist”, but I’ve failed to be an anti-racist voice, and was completely oblivious to the system that helped me while hurting others.

I need to do better. We need to do better.

Keep Going!

It’s easy to think you aren’t making progress because progress is so gradual.

You look at yourself everyday and can’t see the small, incremental changes that are building up to make the difference you’re working towards.

But it’s working, I promise it is. Every workout, every rep, is one step closer to your goal!

You just need to give it time; keep it up!

What’s one thing you did today to work towards your goal?

What I’m Doing to Make a Difference

Aside from educating myself (and hopefully some of you), I’ve felt relatively unable to make a difference in this fight, especially being in Greece.

That being said, I’m excited to announce something I can do this month to help:

We have 4 African American super trainers that are partnered with our company and paid per click when someone uses their program; to support them, I’ll be hosting a fitness accountability group where we follow their programs, and walk you through a 6-week hybrid calendar that incorporates all 4 of their programs. 

Additionally, for each sign up, I’ll donate $20 to an organization of your choice that supports the Black Lives Matter movement.

I realize this still isn’t huge, but it’s a start. 

Fitness has been a release for me, especially lately, keeping me sane during all the craziness going on, so I hope this is a nice way to support the African American community while also improving our mental and physical health.

If you’d like to donate, swipe to see some options; if you’d like to join while supporting a good cause, send me a message!

Educate Yourself

I’d been meaning to do more research on African American injustice in America, so one positive is that the last few days have given me the push to really make it a priority.

If you’d like to educate yourself too (please do!), here are some materials that have helped me:

The Case for Reparations, Ta-Nehisi Coates (This article’s long but one of the first pieces that really opened my eyes & made me passionate about this issue)

The Broken Policing System, Hasan Minhaj (Netflix- volume 4)

Lift Every Voice (article by Cheyenne King-Bails)

Entrepreneur Women Unified (Facebook group)

Here are two Netflix shows that I’m looking forward to watching soon:

13th (Netflix)

When They See Us (Netflix)

Love Your Body

Life’s better when you love your body. 

Even though you might not realize it, hating your body takes a toll on you. Think about all the energy and time you spend criticizing your body; now imagine putting that towards something else, like self-love time, pouring into other women or your children, or working towards a body you will love.

I realize it’s a journey and a process that takes time, but it’s well worth the journey!

Name one thing you’ll do today to improve your self-love!

Our Police Encounter

We were parked in a McDonald’s parking lot late one night (maybe midnight?). I can’t remember where we’d been, but in that moment we were just eating our McDonald’s, enjoying some in-person, one-on-one time that’s so rare in long distance relationships.

We were surprised when we saw a police pull into the parking lot with his lights on, get out of his car, and walk up to the driver’s side of our car, where my husband was sitting in the driver’s seat. 

When the police first walked up to the car, he couldn’t see me because he was standing and the roof of the car was in the way. He seemed tense and asked a lot of questions, but we noticed he immediately became more friendly and dismissed his concerns upon seeing me.

I like to think I can protect my African American husband, but I’m not there all the time, and for this reason I’ll always worry.

Note: I’m not anti-cop and I believe this man was doing his job keeping our town safe; I respect the police (and their families) for putting their lives at risk daily and serving our communities. As a law-abiding white female, I’ve only ever had positive experiences with the police. That being said, I think changes need to be made to the system. (Shoutout to @hasanminhaj’s Patriot Act episode titled, “The Broken Policing System” for shedding a light on this issue.)

Cucumber Dessert Salad

This looks gross but I promise it isn’t 😅 RECIPE BELOW 👇🏼

A nurse once told me to do whatever I need to do to eat more vegetables (since I dislike them and wasn’t eating enough of them at the time).

I wish I’d taken advantage of this refreshing dessert recipe (which originally calls for grapes instead of cucumber) back then!

Cucumber Dessert Salad

(This makes a large batch, so you might only want to make half a batch)

Combine: 

8 oz cream cheese

1 cup sour cream

1/3 cup sugar (or less, depending on your preference)

2 tsp vanilla

Add about 8 cups sliced and halved cucumber, or until desired proportion of sauce-to-cucumber.

Immediately before serving, sprinkle with:

3 tablespoons brown sugar (not pictured)

3 tablespoons chopped pecans (we didn’t have these on hand so I omitted them)

Tip: Best served soon after preparing, otherwise it becomes more watery (as pictured- normally the sauce is thicker).

#BlackoutTuesday

Want to participate?

1. Post a picture of a black square on your social media.
2. Silence your social media accounts for the day.
3. Use the time you’d otherwise spend on social media today to educate yourself on Black Lives Matter.

Note: If you share your own blackout post, don’t use the hashtag “Black Lives Matter”; these posts are drowning out important information under that hashtag.

Skinny vs. Healthy

Let’s stop assuming that someone’s healthy simply because they’re skinny. 

Instead, let’s consider the whole picture. Are they happy? Eating healthy foods? Working out? How’s their mental health?

Looks can be deceiving.

At my skinniest (110 pounds, 5’8”), I was the most unhealthy I’ve ever been. I was insecure, barely got out of bed, and was situationally-depressed.

Looking back, fitness was a huge lifeline for me. (A therapist helped too, but those visits were limited due to its price tag.) Fitness provided me an outlet, a way to improve my self-esteem, and allowed me to rebuild the muscle I’d lost. Fitness improves my mental health while naturally encouraging me to eat healthier.

Now, I’m strong, confident, eating well, and most of all- happy.

What’s a healthy life look like to you? Comment below!