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Have you ever wondered what it feels like to be 100% comfortable in your own skin? To love the skin you’re in, to be accepting of everything that makes you, you? From your hair all the way down to your tippy toes, can you honestly say that you love every single little aspect of what makes you uniquely you?
If yes, well then kudos to you! If no, you are not alone!
I’ve spent most of my life feeling this way and even as a grown ass adult there are still moments when I just don’t like what I see. It’s not necessarily an insecurity problem it’s more so of a self-care problem. Being insecure about who I am and what I look like is a thing of the past. Now a days, it’s all about what I’m doing to look and feel my best.
A lot of the insecurities that I find that I have with myself today are the result of just not taking care of myself. Whether that’s working out, eating better, meditating, doing skin care, or even maintaining a healthy social life, I truly do believe that when I get nitpicky about my image it’s because I’m not doing my best to take care of myself. Chances are this may be the case for you too.
One thing that I cannot stress enough is the importance of loving yourself from the inside out. I know in today’s world it’s so easy to get caught up in the idea that what you present on the outside is so much more important than what you have to offer on the inside. This is the result of social media and the unrealistic expectations that we encounter on a day to day basis. However, I’m here to tell you that what’s on the inside counts A LOT MORE than what’s on the outside.
When we feel our best, we will naturally look our best. And while being healthy and looking good isn’t about getting chiseled abs, big butts, perky breasts (even though this is often times what is promoted through social media), it is about loving yourself and living your life unapologetically.
I truly do believe that the best approach to reaching this point in your life is by committing to getting fit and living a healthier lifestyle. This isn’t a change that can and will happen overnight, it will take time, and you will have to commit, but it’s a change that’s worth making. The best part is that you can start making that change right now!
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Get Fit & Healthy with These Tips!
The tips…
Understand that fitness looks different for everyone.
Fitness…what the hell does it mean? While there are many different ways in which someone may define fitness, I think to put it simply it’s about being able to participate in the activities that you love to do. This includes being able to walk long distances, do cardio, attend a soul cycling class, ride your bike with your kids, walk your dog, and even having the energy to spend the day with some friends being social.
Fitness is not all about the physical. There’s a mental, emotional, and spiritual aspect to it as well. This is why fitness looks different for everyone.
A big part of any fitness journey is understanding what your fitness goals are and what being in the fittest shape of your life looks like to you. What I may consider my fittest self and realistic fitness goals for me may vary greatly from what you would consider your fittest self and realistic fitness goals. And guess what, that’s ok! In fact, it’s more than ok, it’s amazing that we are able to have those differences, be on different journeys and yet share that commitment to getting fit and healthy.
If there is anything that you take away from this blog post I hope it’s that being fit does not mean you have no body fat, that your body is hard as a rock, you are super muscular, and you have a super strict diet. But instead that being fit means you are properly caring for your body so that you are able to live your life fully by actively participating in the activities that you love.
Eat whatever you want!
Speaking of strict diets please, please, please by all the Gods of the heavens do not go on diets!
They do not work. Diets are designed to restrict your eating by telling you what you can and cannot (or rather should and should not) eat in order to lose weight, gain muscle, tone your body, and have more energy. While I will not deny that a big part of transforming into your fittest self and living a healthy life is impacted by what you do eat, I also want you to understand that it’s just part of it all.
The way I see it life is way too short to be trying to shock your body time and time again with some new diet as a result of trying to achieve all your fitness, health and wellness goals. Instead just eat whatever you want unapologetically and balance it all out with other wellness practices, like ensuring that you work out for the day, maybe doing some yoga, or maybe even just eating a healthier meal for dinner.
The number one resource I like to use to switch up my eating habits every now and then is the 28 Day Reset.
The 28 Day Reset was created in order to help you discover your food intolerances as well as have healthier options to eat throughout the day. From breakfast, to lunch, dinner, and even snacks as a picky eater I find this book to be very helpful for me once a month. I get to eat foods that I enjoy while not stressing about what some healthier options are for me, when I do want to cleaner and healthier.
Click the on the 28 Day Reset to learn more about this program, and possibly purchase a copy of your own to get instant access to all the goodness!
The key to eating whatever you want is to not punish yourself for eating whatever you want. Of course, this means don’t chow down on junk food all day and completely avoid your fruits and veggies. It just means don’t restrict yourself to certain foods that you absolutely have to eat in order to achieve your goals.
It’s not realistic in the sense that it won’t last long. Eventually you will become burnt out and tired of eating the same thing over and over again, especially if you don’t enjoy what you’re eating. So have a cheat meal or snack every now and then, go out to eat, and don’t be afraid to eat food from your favorite fast food restaurants. Just make sure it’s all in moderation and that you are keeping up with your wellness practices to balance everything out.
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Workout.
Simply put workout. I know there are a lot of people who don’t necessarily enjoy working out. This may be because it feels like a chore, because you don’t look the way that others look, or even because you’re not seeing fast enough results. The first thing you have to do is set all of these silly thoughts free.
You should want to work out because you want to take care of yourself, not because you want to achieve a specific body image. Working out should never be only about how you look, but more so about how you feel and who you want to be in your life.
Do you want to feel good and love yourself in spite of what others may think or say? Do you want to be able to run around with your kids in the park and not get tired quickly? If so then use those thoughts, those goals, those feelings as the reasons why you work out, not because of how you want to look.
There are a TON of different types of workouts that you can do. From Pilates, to traditional yoga, to weight lifting, cycling, running 4ks, and even walking a certain number of miles every day, there are no restrictions to what you can do for a good workout.
One of my favorite ways to workout is by doing a PIIT workout at least once a month. PIIT stands for Pilates Intense Interval Training. What I love most about this workout is that it’s an intense workout that will help you get to your fittest in literally just 28 minutes a day.
A bonus to the PIIT28 workout that I do once a month is that it’s not designed to transform the way you look. Instead it’s designed to help you become stronger from the inside out by challenging you to push past your limits, challenging you to use your body weight to help you get in a good workout, and it helps you build your confidence.
I only do it once a month because I work out every single day (for the most part anyways). Therefore, I’m constantly changing up the type of workouts that I do by focusing on building muscle and toning other areas of my body. Which I can achieve with the PIIT28 workout, but this program also helps you lose weight and I’m not looking to lose weight every single week.
PIIT28 is my go-to workout whenever I want to focus on building my stamina, or jump start losing a certain amount of weight for the month. I also do it whenever I want to look and feel my best before a big event in my life, like celebrating milestones.
While PIIT28 is not the only super effective workout out there, it is something that works for me and I find to be extremely effective whenever I participate in the program. If you’re interested in learning more about PIIT28 and possibly trying it out for yourself then head on over to pitt28.com.
Be patient with the journey that you are on.
I cannot stress enough the importance of not comparing yourself to others. I know it’s tempting and it gets hard at times but this is why it’s so important to work on building your confidence and having a clear understanding of what your fitness and wellness goals are.
The truth is that we are all on our own journey. We are going at different paces, we are seeing results at different rates, and there a number of reasons why this may be. For some it has a lot to do with scheduling and commitment level, for others is has something do with the way they are fueling their body, such as eating clean and/or whole, and drinking plenty of water.
Whatever the case, it’s important to understand that your journey is not going to look that same as someone else’s journey. You will encounter your own obstacles, you’ve set your own goals, and you’re doing the best that you can in every moment and that best may not look like someone else’s best. This means that no matter how hard you may try you will never be at the same place of your fitness journey as someone else, because your mind and body is responding differently to the journey than someone else may be.
And that is ok. If it was all the same it would be boring as hell. It’s the differences we encounter, the challenges that we face, and the limits we push past that make the journey so interesting. Don’t lose that in the mist of social media influences by constantly comparing yourself to others.
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Trust the process.
Just trust that you know what you are doing. Even if your body does not move the way that others do, you don’t feel the way others feel, you don’t see the same results, you don’t adopt the same wellness practices…just trust the journey you are on. You began the journey for a reason, don’t start second guessing yourself now!
Instead cast aside all those negative thoughts and feelings that may be stirring up about your ability to see something through in order to achieve something you want. You can and you will see your commitment to a healthier lifestyle through. All you have to do is trust the process and trust that you are doing what’s best for your health at this very moment.
Love yourself unconditionally.
I leave you with this.
Love yourself unconditionally.
It’s so easy to bring our flaws to the surface and beat others to the punch about our biggest insecurities. However, it’s also really pointless. No matter how much you don’t look like somebody else, how much more body fat your body may have, how much more “unfit” you may be compared to someone else, there is something about what makes you, you that is to be loved.
The way we are built is influenced by our genes, our eating habits, our culture, our wellness practices and routines, and the how often we engage in self-care. These all play a major factor into how we present ourselves to others physically. It is because of factors like these that we will never be able to achieve the “perfect body”.
It is also because of factors like these that we will never be able to look like others.
Therefore, you might as well just do the best that you can and while doing it choose to love yourself unconditionally. Not only will it make the journey that much more enjoyable, but you’ll also be more likely to see it through.
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-Xo
Kimora