That mindful life and how to find love for YOUR GORGEOUS BODY
Hello dear one!!
I hope you are all safe and healthy and taking good care of yourselves during this strange and uncertain time. Give yourself a little extra love, YOU DESERVE IT!
I am asked a plethora of body questions on the reg : How long and how many days should I workout? Should I do cardio or toning? What’s the answer to losing weight? What should I eat? What shouldn’t I eat? Can I lose weight just from my middle? What should I order off this menu? How do I get that body (insert photo of celebrity)?
Ahhh friend. I wish I had the magic recipe, but, alas, I don’t. Because… IT DOESN’T EXIST! What works for one person may not work for another and what worked for you in the past may not work anymore ( now that you are ahem over 30-ish? Postpartum? Quarantined? ) … Making a change all depends on your body type, your genes, your diet, your pleasure centers. Pleasure centers?! Yes, pleasure centers. This means what lights you up when you move. Like most things in life, if you LOVE what you're doing, it's gonna be effortless, even when it's challenging, and in your workout that means you'll move in a more effective, consistent way. We have discovered your level of mindfulness is as important as any other aspect. I kid you not, your mind is a key player in your workout! Take arm dancing for example ( ONE OF MY FAVORITE types of exercise! The video you get with this post has arm dancing so you can try for yourself if you haven’t yet!!). I am known for torturing my clients with this challenging equipment free set of move. What makes this exercise effective, is how mindfully you activate your arm muscles. They have to work to their maximum ability, and you don’t have a weight challenging you- you only have your brain and body- so you can’t phone it in. After a few months of arm dancing, MY ARMS CHANGED. Like changed in a way that I could have never imagined. I mean, I had been lifting weights and doing push ups for years, but never had I seen results like this! It was because I was hyper focused on my arm muscle when I was working it out. I was MINDFULLY exercising, and it was paying off.
I have lived many fitness lives. I was a dancer and soccer player as a teen yet even though I was very “fit,” I didn’t have a loving relationship with my body— specifically my thighs—no gap there! In my 20s, I became a gym rat and exercise class addict. After 40 plus minutes on an elliptical or machine of the like, I would take a workout class (everything from kickboxing to barre, to step aerobics, etc). I would do this 6 days a week and feel guilty if I didn’t. I lifted 5-8 pound weights and logged hour upon hour of mindless fast moving. I was vegetarian, then vegan, then a salad devotee ( still am, but it’s balanced with many other things). There were a lot of “No” foods, and alcohol was one big empty calorie to me. Let’s just say I was overdoing it with all the rules and was still unhappy with my body ( and apparently my life??? Yup, looking back that is a definite yes).
Then, praise be, I found yoga and pilates and my whole life and outlook on exercise changed. I went through a big breakup and shed some unwanted self judgement shit. I cried. Drank. Grew. And really worked on all that uncomfortable stuff ( this was my movie montage moment of hitting rock bottom and then picking my life back up and putting myself back together). Then I did the craziest thing of all: I decided to fall in love with myself and my body. I would look at myself in the mirror and say “YOU ARE WORTH IT AND GORGEOUS AND FUCKING INCREDIBLE. AND. I. LOVE. YOU.” I got obsessed with Kimberly Snyder’s book The Beauty Detox Solution and my relationship with food changed- I fell in love with food and how it made my body feel. I fell in love with cooking. I fell in love with exercise as a way to celebrate my body instead of punish it I discovered infrared sweating and the art of SELF CARE. Then, drum roll …. I met Jamie (my husband) and fell in crazy head over heels Romantic Comedy style in love (with yourself first, husband optional). My life and wellness game changed even more. I discovered balance. Guess what, you CAN have your cake and eat it too!!! I became my dream self with my dream body with my dream life. I was my healthiest me, filled with love, and a glass of wine to go with it. Here’s the thing; being “fit” and loving your body isn’t just the right balance of food exercise- It’s a whole trifecta of mind, body, soul, divine true head over heels love. It sounds so corny (and verbose), but dude this shift in mindset forever changed my life- and I can attest it works (at least it did for me).
Let’s get down to brass tacks (man, that phrase ages well)… If you want to lose weight, remember it technically comes down to math. You have to burn more than you take in. SO. Try and eat a normal amount of food (without obsessing over it) and move your hot bod like it’s 1999! Try to notice how you're talking to yourself when it comes to food and working out- and rewrite your story if you are hung up on certain behaviors that aren’t serving you ( I have a more in depth post about this coming). Treat food as you would want it to treat you; with love and kindness. It’s not going anywhere, you need it to live, it’s part of most events and daily activities and dude IT’S ONE OF THE GREATEST JOYS OF LIFE. Eat a colorful diet, and don't binge on sugar. Eat real food. Delicious food. Food that feels nourishing (and if you can swing it, food that is organic and sustainable, namaste). Then MOVE!! Find something that makes you BOOGIE HARD!! Is it walking as fast as you can while listening to an intense podcast ( your pace should be as if someone is chasing you- and use weights if you have!)? Is it dancing your tush off? Or HIIT workouts with pop music? Yoga? Pilates? Hiking? All of the above? Do it. Get that engine going on a regular basis- and not cause you have to. Do it cause it feels good and you WANT to. Maybe not at first, but eventually, I promise, you will WANT to do it. Mix it up. Try new things. JUST MOVE. If I hear pop music I am LIT UP - it just feels good cause I love the way the music makes me feel. Make sure you SWEAT regularly- it’s SUPER great for you. Sweat houses have been around for… centuries? There is a reason for that.
Don’t try to get to a certain weight or obsess over numbers. Cause guess what, that number on the scale is arbitrary. Like, what does it mean? Getting to your “goal weight” has always been a hot mess of a conundrum to me! How do you know what your goal weight is? Isn’t it just when you feel great in your body (and your jeans)? Well, here’s an idea: LOVE YOUR BODY. TAKE CARE OF IT. HAVE FUN WITH IT. And it just might give back to you what you give to it. And those jeans? They gonna feel LIT AF.
Sending you an extra dose of feel good energy this week. Take care of your body and your heart. And try and #beyourbestself
xxx,
Amy