The slow and steady way to live your best life

The slow and steady way to live your best life

Have you ever logged on to social media and immediately felt awful about yourself?  Have you ever scrolled through Instagram and thought, “I suck,” “I’m not doing enough” or “they are better than me.”

So you are not alone, cue people all over the world who have fallen prey to the highlight reel.

We have all been told its just that, a highlight reel, it’s not real life, no one is that perfect, but yet we still sit there and feel bad about ourselves and now it’s getting dangerous. There is an epidemic of people, especially women, who feel like they are failing at life based on what they see others doing or how they look. If you are one of them, let me tell you the only thing you are failing at right now is the comparison game. Stop it. Unfollow. Unfollow. Unfollow. Seriously, unfollow every single person that makes you feel bad. My instagram is packed with people who inspire me, lift me up and light me up (and my fam jam too of course).

As a certified personal trainer, a Stott certified Pilates instructor and group fitness instructor who has worked in the health and wellness industry as a coach and teacher for over 15 years, I take pride in that I have experience. No I don’t know everything and I will continue to educate myself for the rest of my career, but I do know this- the meaning of “what healthy is,” has got to change. To put it a little more bluntly- you cannot skip the line.

There is no quick fix to health. Literally none. It takes work. It takes moving your body when you just want to sit on the couch. It takes eating foods that give you energy. It takes drinking water. It takes getting enough sleep. It takes reducing stressors in your life.  It takes starting again when you have had a few bad days, or months, or years. It takes massive commitment. You can’t buy that in a program, you can’t get that in a pill, you can’t order in on amazon. You can get it my making a commitment to your health and staying consistent with it.  It’s hard work but it’s also that simple.

I get that it can be massively overwhelming and it’s really hard to know where to start.  I’ve been there myself. I tried lots of quick fixes over the years. I’ve jumped back into heavy exercise too early after having babies because I wanted “my body back” and I’ve been a slave to my scale. Then one day I learned all of this never being enough had too much of a hold on my life. So I decided it needed to change. I went from feeling not enough, to choosing one little thing I could alter. Then I built on that.  You can do the same. Pick one thing that you are going to change and introduce it into your life gradually.  Not exercising at all?  Start with 10 minutes a day, or 2 times a week. Not getting enough sleep? Go to bed 10 minutes earlier and leave your phone out of your bedroom. Don’t know how to eat healthy? Try adding fresh veggies to your diet every single day. Notice how you feel after eating something healthy and nutritious versus how you feel after eating something loaded with sugar. Still overwhelmed? Find someone who can help you but make sure this person is not trying to sell you on how you are going to look at the end. Make sure this person is going to help you feel the best you have ever felt in your life because they will give you the tools to make it stick.

It’s baby steps. It’s taking baby steps, one at a time and just not stopping. In the beginning you may get frustrated with progress. You may feel like you aren’t doing enough, but I promise you, if you stay consistent, all of these little changes are going to have massive impact on your health, your longevity and your quality of life.

Social media doesn’t teach us that health is about quality of life. It doesn’t teach us that skinny does not mean healthy. Do you know there are an incredibly high number of people that have posted before and after pictures who are essentially starving themselves? (You know the ones that make you feel like you aren’t doing enough?). It’s worth repeating. Skinny does not mean healthy.  Maintaining a healthy weight is very important for the health of your heart, lungs and your joints, absolutely but you can still achieve that without being a slave to numbers. I don’t know about you but feeling deprived and starving is not quality of life. Feeling energized, rested and strong so I can keep up with my kids is quality of life. Hell I need all the energy for that! Getting out of bed on my own when I’m in my 80’s, that’s health. Being able to go to my grand chilren’s graduation and floss when they come off the stage, that’s what I’m gunning for.

When you are preparing for the turn of a decade. Keep the old saying in mind “slow and steady wins the race.”  #youvegotthis

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