Cherishing and loving every single part of your body head to toe isn’t always the easiest thing to do. We all have flaws. But I truly feel that the flaws is what makes us so beautiful and special. And most importantly what makes you, YOU! And sometimes it takes a little more practice for some people than others, depending on what we’ve been through and what our very own unique personal journey has been in life. Practicing self love can be such a beautiful thing for your soul. If this is something you struggle with, you’re not alone! And there are so many ways to help increase your self confidence and learn to love every inch of yourself including accepting all your beautiful imperfect imperfections! Realizing that no one is perfect and sometimes perfection can be a little boring anyways is the first step. But keep reading! I’d love to share my personal story! First, check out these statistics below! And find out some of my favorite ways to gain some confidence during the summer months & all year long! 🙂
STATISTICS… YOU’RE NOT ALONE!!
Did you know 50% of women admit they do not feel confident about their body in a bathing suit!?! 76% stated they are way more critical of themselves than others!! 80% of women think others are judging the way they look in a bathing suit. That’s absolutely crazy! My point is if you feel even a little uncomfortable, not fully confident, or not perfect in a bathing suit, YOU’RE NOT ALONE!!! The truth is when it comes down to it though, everyone is so worried about how they look, they’re not paying much attention to you! But here are some ways to help you feel more confident in your own skin…
- Find a swimsuit that is flattering & compliments your specific body type. Followed by some cute cover-ups! If you’re looking for more coverage in general I love Calypsa – Shop the link HERE and use my code MicB20 to save $$! xo
- Exercise!! Exercise increases confidence!!
- Take special care of your skin! My latest favorite to help tighten skin is the bum bum body cream! My thighs have been loving that!! 🙌🏼 (Shop bum bum cream HERE!)
- Stay hydrated & drink lemon water! (Helps so much with cellulite and detoxing!)
- Work on starting to love your body! Accept that perfection doesn’t exist and accept your “flaws”
THE BATTLE, THE JOURNEY, & THE TRIUMPH
My journey with reaching my own personal goals has been quite the experience!
I went from overweight (210 lbs.) to skinny (125 lbs.) overtraining, over exercising, and under-eating, which led to a purge disorder of constant excessive exercise after eating. In time, after gaining lots of knowledge in college, with my major in exercise science & taking classes in health, wellness, and nutrition, I learned & realized the more reasonable and smarter way to reach my fitness goals in a healthy way (pushing my obsession to the side and realizing I was doing way more harm to myself than good). After training the right way from everything I learned, I was then in the best shape of my life weighing in at 145 lbs. I was a boxer, runner, weight lifter, worked out 6 days a week, sometimes twice a day, and ran half marathons & 5/15Ks for fun. Still obviously a little over-trained, though. On top of that, I was training numerous clients a week as a personal fitness trainer & taught several classes as a group exercise instructor. After learning more and more through all of the years working in the fitness industry, gaining more experience from work, schooling, seminars, classes, fitness expos and certifications, I kept getting better and better at what I did as a fitness professional. Helping others achieve their weight loss goals and making them the best versions of themselves imaginable was my dream, and I had succeeded tremendously! It’s been the most fulfilling job I could ever imagine! The truth is, I fell deeply in love with helping others the way I helped myself! I have been a weight loss specialist for 20 years now and I love changing the lives of others to help reach their personal fitness and weight loss goals! Nothing is more rewarding to me than seeing my clients so happy and confident in their own skin! And I’m so happy I still have the pleasure of training some of the most amazing people I’ve known for years!!
After many years of making the gym my entire life, I was forced to slow down after my diagnosis and struggles with Lyme disease. I then got certified in teaching yoga and have a strong passion for that as well. Years with Lyme led to inflammation and weight gain that was uncontrollable! (Basically I have been a hamster on a wheel putting all of my effort in and still finding it impossible to get to where I want & deserve to be due to gut issues like SIBO, leaky gut, & dysbiosis, hormonal imbalances, hypothyroidism, and a continued struggle with Lyme disease followed by CIRS – chronic inflammatory response syndrome (mold toxicity).
All of that, but I am finally healing!!! And I am doing my best!! And I know I will get back to where I need to be! I still love the gym, and working out will ALWAYS be a big part of my life! And I’m still trying my best to find the healthy balance of working out in moderation, honoring and accepting my health issues and reaching my goals all at the same time while treating everything!
WHAT MAKES YOU DIFFERENT MAKES YOU BEAUTIFUL
I am still working on accepting my new (Lyme) life and giving my body so much credit for everything it’s been through! Accepting that perfection doesn’t exist and that the flaws of a person are what makes us special and different then everyone else! And learning to love our flaws is one of the most amazing, most beautiful things we can do for ourselves! I’m working on my healing & getting back to where I was slowly but surely and reaching my fitness goals all at the same time! I can’t wait to keep building the best version of myself not just physically but growing spiritually and evolving more and more as an overall person!
My mind was recently triggered from a simple yet extremely powerful quote by Bruce Lee, “Don’t speak negatively about yourself even as a joke. Your body doesn’t know the difference. Words are energy and cast spells, that’s why it’s called spelling. Change the way you speak about yourself and you can change your life. What you’re not changing, you’re also choosing.” I mean wow! I can’t begin to tell you guys how hard I was on myself on a daily basis! Not realizing that my poor body that works so hard every single day to fight illness was listening to all this from my mind!! That was my *flip the switch* moment. And I read it over and over again. I knew I had to make a big change! So I did! I have been practicing self love ever since! Here’s 5 ways how!! …
- Speak nicer to yourself!!! And avoid ever speaking negatively about yourself! (Use daily affirmations- “I am beautiful!”)
- Journaling self gratitude & focusing on everything and everyone in your life you have to be grateful for! (When I think about it, there’s so much abundance!) Also journal all the amazing quality’s you love about yourself (physical & spiritual) There’s so much more amazingness to you when you stop & think about it! Inside & Out! My forever favorite journal is “the five minute journal” linked HERE.
- Doing things that make your soul happy with the people you love and surrounding yourself with humans that make you feel special.
- Meditation! 🙏🏼 Being grounded helps you think better and increases endorphins (amongst a million other benefits of course)!
- Self care!!! Whether it’s physical or beauty, make time for yourself!!! Getting workouts in, yoga, an outdoor bike ride or walk! (Nature is the best medicine!) A manicure, getting your brows done, a massage! You name it! Sky is the limit! Just make time for you!! Your mind, body, and soul will thank you later! 💖
STAYING POSITIVE!
On a positive note, I’m looking forward to healing more so I can get back to where I was with patience. In the meantime, I’m living my weight loss and fitness goals through all of my amazing clients that I still get to train every week & it’s extremely rewarding & fulfilling!! (I love you all and am so proud of how far you’ve come and great you look and feel!) 💖🙏🏼💪🏼 You inspire me every single day and don’t even know it!! Keep killing it! You’re all so amazing & it is my absolute pleasure to help you achieve all your fitness goals!
To all my beautiful people out in the word!! That’s everyone by the way!! Never give up on your goals and dreams in life! We will get there when we get there! And try your best to love your precious, beautiful body no matter how thin, thick, or chubby you are!! It’s the most amazing thing you’ll ever own. We are all imperfectly perfect! We have scars, cellulite, marks, bruises, dimples, you name it! But Cherish it all!!! Your physical body tells a special story of your life and who you are and what you’ve been through! So love every single ounce of it if you can! And if not, at least work on it!
“THE ONE WHO FALLS AND GETS UP IS MUCH STRONGER THAN THE ONE WHO NEVER FELL!”
And last, but definitely not least, health issues & or setbacks are NOT a weakness – they are a true strength and make you stronger than ever before!! Please know that – to all my people out there fighting something or who’ve had or are having a setback in life! Remember mindset is everything! Love you all and stay strong no matter what your fight is! And most importantly do your best to love every single part of yourself so you can teach others how you deserve to be loved, too! 🌈💖
My Life in the Lyme-light 