Monthly Archives: July 2011

July 26, 2011 · 11:48 AM

It’s Amazing What A Week Can Do

Last week I spoke about trying to love and accept myself for who I am and how I look.

I made a promise to myself that I would not beat myself up for every little thing. I worked on this all week and I am happy to report a boost in my self-confidence.

Unfortunately, I struggled with my nutrition and workouts. They were not perfect, but you know what? That’s OK…cause neither am I, and it’s those flaws that make me the person I am today.

Perfect doesn’t exist, and the sooner we all come to terms with that, the happier we will all be.

PERFECT:

Having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be
Free from any flaw or defect in condition or quality; faultless
Precisely accurate; exact
Highly suitable for someone or something; exactly right

The above is this idea that so many of us strive for. We spend so much of our time and energy trying to achieve it that we miss the little things that make us who we truly are.

I know I have been guilty of this for a long time. There are so many things over this two-year journey I have achieved but glanced over because I was pushing for something that doesn’t exist. I was so hung up on the things I couldn’t do, that I showed no appreciation for the things I could and did do. (I lost over 100lbs and still stayed focused on what was wrong with my body….what is wrong with me?!)

Looking back on that now, I’d like to kick myself. What an idiot I was/am. My accomplishments were huge but never good enough in my eyes because I lacked respect and true non-judgemental love for myself. (How could I have ever expected other to give me praise and credit when I couldn’t give it to myself?)

It’s become obvious to me the final leg of this journey is purely mental. It’s all mind over matter and learning to respect, accept and love the person I am, where I have come from and where I am heading. All of these pieces need to fit together like a puzzle in order for me to truly accept myself.

In the long run, accepting and loving myself is all that truly matters, because if I don’t, I can’t expect anyone else to.

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I Will Learn To Love My Body

Lately I have been full of struggles. I struggle to finish a full workout program. I struggle to eat healthy. But most of all, I struggle to love and accept my new body.

If we let ourselves, its easy to believe that magazine cover girls (whose photos are air-brushed) are the norm and that the rest of us are somehow deeply flawed.

What we end up with is that nagging “I hate myself” or “I hate what I see in the mirror” song playing over and over again in our heads, fueling our painful frustration.

Getting caught up in not liking yourself because of your size, can quickly start whittling away at your motivation. It becomes that inner voice that makes you feel helpless and hopeless.

One of my new goals is to break this cycle. I need to start looking at myself as a whole and realize that I am intelligent, funny, unique, and yes, I am beautiful.

I need to stop being a perfectionist and embrace how far I have come. I need to stop comparing myself to others and realize that everyone is different. I need to learn to listen to others when they tell me how amazing I look and what an awesome person I am (I am truly no good with compliments – those of you who know me personally, know this well).

True beauty shouldn’t be about fitting into a cultural stereotype but a quality that shines from within. That doesn’t mean we should stop trying to improve ourselves, it just means that our time is better spent focusing on building a strong, healthy body and mind rather than trying to fit into a cookie-cutter mold.

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– If you struggle with accepting your new body or have over come this feeling, I’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment below or contact me directly. –

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Filed under Health & Fitness

Tagged as Health & Fitness, Personal Growth

July 5, 2011 · 10:29 PM

Which Way Is Which?

As I chug along on this road, to the town of awesomesauce, I occasionally question if what I am doing is right. Did I take the right path? Should I have gone right instead of left? Am I holding this map upside down, cause NOTHING IS MAKING SENSE?

It is at that point of yelling at myself and tears streaming that I stop, take a deep breathe and realize that this is all part of the journey. All of the the things I question are my lessons. They are the things that help me to improve who I am, to become stronger both mentally and physically. Without the questions there is no journey, and without the journey I can’t grow as a person.

With that, I will finish out some of my frustrations via Vlog….I’ve been a total slacker with them and posting lately so I figured I would try to make it up tonight.