Loving Yourself.

I love coffee. I also love sitting in coffee shops on days that are dreary and rainy, like today:-). I love the way I feel after an awesome work out and a great home cooked (and healthy) meal. I love the career I have chosen for myself. I love that I just upped and moved a couple years ago to Georgia with nothing but what would fit into my car. I love my husband and our crazy families! I love my hair, eyes, and feet. I love my butt. Yep…. I said it! I love Sci-Fi movies, books, and TV shows, and am not ashamed to admit it. I love being short. Although it sometimes makes reaching for equipment at the gym a challenge, at least it makes my clients laugh! I love the life God has given me and the paths he has lead me down, sometimes they were rocky, sometimes silky smooth!

Do you have a love list? If not, make one now! Even before you keep reading the rest of this blog. Make a love list of all the things you love about yourself and your life.

Life is always going to test you. Bring you down or try to make you feel like you should pretend to be someone you are not. Especially when it comes to the way we view our fitness levels, looks, and bodies.  All these skinny B****’s rubbing their fantastic bodies in our faces all day long. Look, I don’t know if anyone has told you this, but Hollywood is NOT REALISTIC! So why are we comparing ourselves to them??!! 

We all want to look amazing and feel good about ourselves. That is just a given. But one thing we are forgetting is to love who we are today, right now. No ifs ands or buts about it.

I see it with my clients all the time, they have spent such a long time putting themselves down they can’t even see when they make improvements. They get mad when they only lost 5 lbs. because it wasn’t 10!!! If you are one of these people, constantly downing yourself, it needs to stop. This may sound mean or unsympathetic, but I am telling you this to get you to live a happier life. A happy person reaches their goals much faster!!

You can never change the body God gave you. If you are tall, you will never be short. If you are pear shaped, you will never be a beanpole. So stop trying to be someone you are not. I also don’t like the word “Fat,” or when people call themselves fat. Listen, it is great that you want to change your lifestyle, lose weight, feel great, and look awesome! But you have to learn to love who you are now and embrace the journey of becoming a healthier you. Not loath who you are now and think I’ll be happier once I…. lose weight, get skinny, blah blah blah.

Let’s try this again. “I love who I am. I have great legs and can’t wait to see what they look like in three months of whooping my booty at the gym!” OR “I love what I look like in skinny jeans, I can’t wait to see what I look like in 2 months after I’ve learned to drop a squat like a pro!”

I like to play a game with my clients. Every time they say something negative about themselves I make them say three things they love about themselves. It may not always be something physical, but it’s a darn good start to loving yourself.

Remember, you cannot change who you are!! Trying to will make this journey a miserable one. It will take much longer and you will have many setbacks. If you LOVE yourself and strive to live a healthy life, all the other puzzle pieces will fall into place.

Make a love list. Stop being negative. Embrace who you are. Strive to life a fit, fabulous, and healthy life!

-SLR