Good morning everyone! This is a bit of a wordy post without pictures, but I am feeling inspired, and I want to write it. So if you’re in the need for some encouragement on your healthy journey, and want to trust YOU again, keep reading. If not, a normal post will be back this evening 🙂

{also, please know that this is my own personal opinion, and I acknowledge that everyone is different, and that is wonderful}

Have a great day either way!

I was thinking about this yesterday as I was eating every few hours out of pure hunger: it is so important to listen to your body. I have spoken about this before, when I gave up dieting (again), and in My Story.

I feel like this is an area where a lot of us could use a reminder, or just simply some encouragement. I know how hard it is to trust yourself sometimes, but I also feel that this is the answer for so many of us. I know that when I first decided to throw out the dieting and listen to my body, I was amazed at the results, and I began to trust myself more in all areas of my life.

You see, I was scared to trust myself, because when I’d first lost weight, I did it all with a calorie counter. I didn’t feel it was “me” that lost the weight, I figured all the credit went to the calorie app. That being said, I felt like if I ever gave the app. up, I would be doomed! This is what lead me to an unhealthy relationship with food. I didn’t get out of this until (after many years) I decided being “skinny” just wasn’t that important to me. I wanted to be healthy, and I wanted to live a life full of memories. How could I have done that if all I did was worry about what I ate?

Yes, I have gone back and forth since then, I have re-introduced diets, and kicked them out again, but I am still learning. After 6 long years of counting calories, I wouldn’t expect myself to all of the sudden one day just be done. I am sure I am not the only one experiencing that. I am a woman, with hormones and emotions. Besides being a woman, I am human! Tell me one person who doesn’t change their mind from time to time. Right? Give yourselves a break! There is no where that says “You MUST be perfect.”

“There is no such thing as a perfect body, only a healthy one.”

So, what did “being healthy” mean to me? It meant:

-accepting myself RIGHT where I was, with the intention of letting my body weight whatever it needed to weigh
-it meant not pre-determining a weight loss goal in my head (how the heck do I know what I need to weigh?) – our weight is not determined by VOUGE, or any diet book out their
-it meant stopping when I was full, and saving the rest for the very next time I was hungry, IF I wanted the same thing
-eating when I was hungry, with no denying myself
-filling my time with things I loved
-exercising for fun, not for weight loss
-making small changed wherever I could (skipping the cheese, unless I was craving it… Having blended banana with ice, almond milk, flaxseed and nut butter instead of ice cream, unless I was actually craving the ice cream.)
-truly allowing myself treats when I was actually craving them
–never denying myself
-making a small portion, and promising myself I could have more of whatever I wanted of I still wanted it
-always talking BEAUTIFULLY to myself, and others. (If you are my friend, I will constantly tell you not to talk bad to yourself. It would be like having a negative friend around you all the time! Why NOT be positive to yourself? What’s it going to do? Make you feel better? Okay, then do it!)
-I always asked myself this question “is going back for more of that same food really going to satisfy me any more than I am already satisfied? Or am I going to feel the exact same as I do right now (wanting more just because it was good- save it for later and enjoy it again!) when I finish the second helping.” Almost always, I would agree with myself that if I’d already had “this much,” “that much more” wasn’t going to satisfy me right now. Plus, I knew I’d be hungry again in a few hours and could have something else with a different flavor, or the same thing. Leftovers always taste fabulous anyway!

I am someone who likes to eat. I like to eat more than three meals a day. I am also someone who likes to feel good in her jeans. I like wiggle room. I like to have my favorite treats, but I also like to feel in control. I like to appreciate myself, and I love to trust myself. I like to be ambitious, and I like to feel like the best ME that I can be.

This is why 2 years ago, I decided life wasn’t worth letting food control me. That is why I write this blog- to show you all that you really can be healthy without diets and labeling yourself. A couple more things that really helped me:

-never saying “I’m going on a diet,” or “I want to just lose a few lbs and then I’ll be happy.”

No you won’t. Your happiness is not determined by a few pounds. Your happiness is determined by how much love you give yourself. How much you appreciate yourself.

You know what’s relieving about this? When you’re done reading this post, you don’t have to go get out your scale, you don’t have to upload your calorie app. You don’t have to go look up “workouts for a flat belly,” or “how can I REALLY lose weight.”

All you are in charge of today, is walking over to the mirror, looking at yourself straight in the eyes, and saying “look at yourself, you are like no one else. You are beautiful beyond measure. Your body is capable of doing more things than anything else in the world. You have an amazing brain, that is allowing you to say these things right now. Your body is so smart, and it’s going to help you get well and love yourself. I am so happy to be accepting myself right now, and I will continue to accept me for me, over and over. I am unlike any other, so there is nothing I can compare myself to. I am beautiful, because I am ME.”

This is not a joke either. You really ARE beautiful. There is truly no definition of just one beautiful person. Think about it, that is all made up! Start believing in yourself.

If you have any questions, please ask in the comments below. I will be more than happy to answer, and I am sure if you are wondering something, someone else is wondering the same thing (just like they taught us in Elementary School).

Sending you all so much love, and so many hugs on this day..

{Never forget 9/11/01. I was in my 5th grade classroom when this happened, completely in shock. Amazing how fast time goes by. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone on this day.}