A Peek Inside My Journey

Today I wanted to dive into a little bit of the background story to my journey.

Let’s get right into this because it might end up being a little bit of a longer one!

About 1 & 1/2/2 years ago when I decided that I wanted to start trying to eat healthier & workout more, I had made that decision mainly because I was really unhappy with myself. I looked at my body and felt discouraged, I would see girls on Instagram posting showing off their hard work, their toned stomachs, thin legs & big smiles.

Soon all I ever thought about was how I wanted to look like those girls. How I wanted to be seen like those girls. How I just wanted to BE those girls. But, I wasn’t toned, fit, or capable… at least that’s what kept ringing in my head over & over again. The whole reason I wanted to start this “healthier lifestyle” was to be better and to enjoy my life more. But I thought that by just changing the way I looked would help me reach that goal…

NEWS FLASH - IT DOESN'T WORK THAT WAY.

So after going on a diet that consisted of trying to not eat carbs and shoving as many fruits & veggies into my diet, all while doing the same 15-20 minute workout everyday.. I wasn’t seeing any results. SHOCKER. But I just took that as “I’m not cut out for this. I need to just give up.”. I felt like I could never stick to that routine and would eventually fall off & return to old habits. It just continued the spiral of feeling like I wasn't good enough...and that I would never be enough.

Here's the simplified story line:

• Start a change that I thought would fix it all

• Stick to that super unhealthy way of trying to make that change

• Do it for all the WRONG reasons which just lead to me “failing”

• Wind up stuck in the same exact place as I was before...

Does this sound familiar? I know your story line might not be exactly like mine, but I know you have a story too. I am sharing this because I want you to know that you are not alone, and never will be alone! You, me, Sam from next door or even Betty who on the outside might seem like the most confident person around.. all might have something in common & that might be that we are all stuck in this same cycle that you are constantly going through!

In my trial and errors of trying to become that girl I so desperately wanted to be like, I soon realized I was missing out...

I realized that exercising was supposed to ADD to my life not suck the life out of life. I realized that eating healthy was something I GET to do, not something I HAVE to do. Because when we think about it, exercise is something we GET to do. We are BLESSED to be able to do. Healthy nutrition is something that FUELS us, not something that is supposed to punish us.

I realized when I was chasing after this “dream body” I was missing out on something so much more important. Something I really can’t get back even if I tried... LIFE. I realized I was missing out on this life and that's when I let the truth change my mind and my actions and soon my life started changing right along with them.

I didn’t want that guilt surrounding what I wanted to eat. I didn’t want my workouts to be a burden anymore. So, I started doing more of the things I loved - like going to grab coffee and ordering what I actually wanted. I started treating myself with ice-cream when I felt needed, I started wearing those clothes that I LOVED but was too afraid to wear before. I started working on myself FOR MYSELF. And I haven’t looked back since.

When I started this journey back in April 2019, my life was ‘bad’. It was actually quite amazing. I had just gotten engaged to my best friend of 5 years, I had a steady job & I was super thankful to just be diving into things I loved doing like blogging. But I just knew that there was more out there for me. I stopped trying to perfect my life and I started to actually LIVE my life. I pushed aside that “need” for wanting to look a certain way, I wanted to FEEL like me again. I wanted to LIVE, because we really don’t have time to waste!

You can do this too, my friend. You really can! And it doesn’t matter what your life looks like… I’ve seen so many others say YES to this journey and I have seen it change all kinds of lives! So here's to you my friend, here's to your new beginning...

It’s simple, something you CAN do, and it’s worth putting in the work.

I’m not sure what you are going through in this season of life, but I do want to ask you some questions:

- WHY do you want to be healthy?

- Why are you interested in pursuing working out and eating well?

- WHY are you here & wanting to finally live that life you so badly desire & DESERVE?

Think about it for a second.

Most likely, there are real reasons, important reasons.

Write them down and let’s get to living.

XO,

Michelle Elizabeth 💛