Don’t be discouraged! Something I am working really hard on this past week 

If you have been following along or know me you know I love my morning workout and have been working extremely hard to get to where I am. Recently I have been side lined with vertigo and it has been hard to not be discouraged. 

I was making great progress with josh at the gym getting my hand to work and was in a really good routine. Unfortunately now I cannot workout unless I am supervised which has caused me to need to go see josh more but it is not the usual every morning like I have been used to. Rolling out of bed and working out in my living room. 

So you may be wondering how I keep from getting discouraged. Well I decided it was more important to work out so I found it in my schedule and plan for the month to get in an extra workout with josh. I found someone to take me for a walk. I meal prepped for the entire week so I knew my nutrition would stay on track while being unable to workout and I kept myself busy. 

Trying to stay busy and avoid thinking about all the what ifs really helps me not get discouraged. There was moments where I was thinking I was scared or frustrated but I have been constantly reminded that I am still progressing and this is just a small bump in the road. It’s not the end of the road. It’s just a small detour. I’ve had bigger detours in my past so there is no reason I cannot get through this. 

So if you are feeling discouraged stop and think this is just a small bump in the road not the end of the road and that you will succeed. Surround yourself with like minded people who will remind you of the same thing and help to cheer you on if you need it. 

Just don’t ever give up. Becuase if you stop now you will always wish you were where you were before you stopped. 

I shared this advice with a group of fantastic ladies before their graduation from bootcamp. But I thought I would share it here because I believe it is advice that can be used in all areas of life. 

You vs you. 

We live in a society that is constantly telling us what to wear, the latest fitness fad, how to eat, who to hang out with, when we should be married by, how we should have kids, go to school get a job and we are always competeting to meet these ridiculous expectations. 

In reality the only person you should be in competition with is the you you were yesterday. If we strived each day to be better than the person we were yesterday and not be caught up in what everyone else is doing we would become a better person. The stress of trying to meet societal norms would be gone and we would be able to focus on the person that really matters which is you. 

We always get told as a child that you are unique and nobody else is like you so why would you want to be in competition with someone else who may have different factors and things going on. 

We all have things going on. Sometimes those things are openly visible and sometimes things that people are dealing with are deep within them that people can’t see. So we can’t compete with people because we will never have all the same factors that they do. 

So it’s you vs you. You have to fight against the person you were yesterday. Fight to beat your last rep. Fight to be nicer. Fight to become better than you were yesterday. Nothing can stop you from beating you yesterday or the you from six weeks ago or the last six months. The first step is to start. Start today. Do something to improve yourself because there is no better day to start than today. 

So every February comes around and stores get puked on by Valentine’s Day cards and chocolates and everyone starts talking about what they want from their special someone and those of us singles are left waiting for the chocolate to go on sale on the 15th. This year I did something different. I bought myself a Valentine’s Day present. 

Why not love me! Through this journey I have been on I have found a love for myself I never thought I could. I have started to put myself first. I have started to give to me before others and I have tried to stand or sit in front of a mirror every day and not critic my body but find something I love about it. 

We can all sit there and say we want to lose weight here. We wish we didn’t have stretch marks there. We wish are arms were bigger or we were tanner or had less freckles or our hair was longer the list could go on and on and on. Why not say I love that my legs are looking better than ever before. I love my smile. I love that the scar on my leg reminds me I have come so far. Why not love yourself welll in my opinion it is mostly because society says we don’t fit into the tiny tiny box they want us females to fit it. Maybe you males feel the same way I am sure you do but I can only speak for females. Well I can only really speak for myself but I’ll give you a prime example. 

This weekend was super Bowl and Lady Gaga put on a wicked show. I was impressed with the music the theatrics the lights everything she really did it all! But what does the media do…instead of speaking of the performance they speak of her stomach and how it wasn’t perfectly flat and she had some flab. Who the f cares. I personally sat there and said I love how she is rocking that outfit without abs. She was confident and proud and put on an amazing show. Why isn’t that the headline. 

I saw someone mention today on Facebook how the fitness industry has really not helped the matter because they post pictures of stage ready or the perfect lighting. What we don’t see is the 100s of pictures that get deleted or in some people’s cases the picture before the edits. 

Whyyy? 

I ask myself this on a daily especially when I find my self taking pictures deleting them and taking them again or using the “pretty filter” on snap chat. Whyyyyyy? 

For all those of you or there thinking you aren’t pretty enough. Your thighs touch. You are to fat. Stop! You are a piece of work. We can’t all be perfect. As long as each day you are working to love yourself and be a better human being then that is all you can do. Nothing in life is easy. If it was we would all be perfect. But when you achieve something you worked sooo hard for I promise it will be the best moment of your life!!!! 

As I sit here and think about how crazy this past three weeks have been I really have not stopped running. I spent way to many hours in the rink. It’s been tough. 

This past week has been an emotional roller coaster because I have been sooooo tired but let me tell you something. Looking back on it there was some positive moments that have helped me be extremely happy and grateful today. Here they are. 

1) deleted the number of an individual who didn’t deserve my time anymore. I have come to terms that if someone isn’t willing to put the effort in why should I. 

2) I had a glass of wine (may have been a bottle the glasss was realllllly big) and I cried my heart out while watching a sappy chick flick while laying in my onesie. This was probably my best decision Saturday evening after a 12 hour day at the rink. I have trouble letting my emotions out. I let them build inside and I don’t let it out. I give and give to everyone but myself that Saturday night I just broke down. When my bestfriend said she’d come pick me up after sending a picture of mascara running down my face and a glass of one I said no I needed to do this. Truth be told I needed to be alone. I needed to let it all out. I needed to stop masking my feelings. I needed to just be. It really helped me as I woke up the next day feeling relaxed and ready to take on the day. 

3) I got my workouts in. I worked hard this week. I did them alone where the world goes away and all you have to focus on is your workout. Never miss a Monday or a Friday I say. I got a buddy workout in which included girl talk and a sauna which was extremely relaxing. And as always I got my training session in with josh and we worked some magic and I felt my hand again for another 26 hours! Crazy what exercise can do! 

4) I had pizza and wings with the girls! Although a short visit it always takes the stress of the day/week when you sit down for food with the ones who let you be you no judgement and just be! 

5) Finally I took small moments throughout the day to read. I’m still reading the desire map and it is amazing.

I hope you have a great Super Bowl weekend. Remember it is okay to be alone. You don’t need anyone! You are strong and independent and can take on the world. It is okay to cry and feel like you need someone to help you back up. But you got this. Nobody can live your life. Nobody fully understands what you go through day in day out. There will be those special people who are there every step of the way and those people are the real MVPs. They will be there when you show the door to those people who aren’t benefitting your life. It’s difficult to close doors but sometimes it’s the best and one day you’ll realize closing the door left room for something bigger and better. 

Happy flex Friday! Xox