What A Difference A Mindset Makes

This is me, a little over a year ago and 10 days postpartum. I had recently given birth to my son, Jackson, and during a moment of craziness, snapped this picture:

Being an athlete my entire life (I cheered in high school and through college), I’ve always been body-conscience. You may look at this picture and think I look perfectly normal, and today, I agree with you. I love this body of mine. I love that it gave me two beautiful babies. I love that allows me to chase after them and roll with them on the floor. I love that I get to snuggle them and my husband, and shower all three of them with kisses. I LOVE this body!

But that’s a new thing. A bright, shiny, new belief that I repeat to myself EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

So what changed?

• Yes, I went to the gym.
• Yes, I ate a little better.
• Yes, I took better care of me.

Here's me just over a month ago after a year of putting in that hard work (I weigh more in this picture than I did postpartum!!)

But what isn't shown, is my mindset. It's what I focused on internally that led to the biggest change externally.

If you turn on a television, get on social media, speak with friends or family, there’s a pretty good chance that you are being overrun with messages of how to diet, lose weight or change your body, which often leads to a belief that “something’s wrong with me!” And that’s exactly where I was!

I had no idea how to get out of my funk because how do you love something you’ve been taught to judge your entire life?

I just had to faith it until I made it. And that’s my first piece of advice to you:

Take it on faith if you have to, but you can love yourself into a fitter body or a smaller number on the scale. You can love yourself into feeling good in your skin. Or you can love yourself just as you are and through that love realize that nothing really has to change. 

So here are my 5 things will help you on your journey to loving YOU!

1. STOP COMPARING - Comparison is the thief of joy – no truer words have ever been spoken! I made a decision to stop comparing myself to other women. That’s not easy coming from a girl who spent a good chunk of her formative years doing something that requires that she focus on her body 24/7. Don’t get into the comparison game and don’t let someone else determine how you should look, how much you should weigh, and NEVER let social media make you feel bad about who you are!

2. TREAT YOURSELF TO QUALITY, NOT QUANTITY – Don’t restrict yourself to 500 calories to lose weight, simply choose healthier foods. Don’t spend a million hours in the gym – treat your body to things in moderation. Think of the things that your body NEEDS instead of the things you think you SHOULD be doing.

3. DON’T LOOK FOR YOUR SELF-WORTH IN A NUMBER - I weighed 121.5 a year ago and now I’m 128. I look better, feel better, and I know that my body is getting stronger every day so I can do more for myself AND my family!

4. SURROUND YOURSELF WITH PEOPLE WHO SUPPORT YOU – One of the biggest factors in my journey this year is the incredibly diverse support system and friendships I’ve built through Senegence. It's rare, in a group of women to see so much diversity and acceptance all in the same place. I have never in my life felt so included, so supported, and had such positive conversation and growth. These women have loved me, supported me, guided, taught, and been incredible examples to me. Not just of self-love but how to help others get to that level.

5. FIND YOUR PASSION AND FOCUS ON YOUR WHY - This is it - the biggest thing I changed. I thought about more than myself. I thought about giving instead of taking. I focused on lifting other women up. I worked hard on giving time, love, and support to my family. AND I found a business that supported all of my new goals! I get paid to play with makeup! How insane is that? Never in a million years would I have imagined that this could be my life! So find your passion and know WHY you pursue it. For me, it's clearly my family that is my focus. I absolutely love makeup and the fact that it provides for me and my family in more ways than one is an absolute testament to having you passion pay off!

This year was tough but it was so worth it. Not just for the changes I saw in my body, but for the new way I think about myself.

I recently recommitted to working on my fitness goals with my new-found mindset and I can tell you more than ever that it's not about how many weights you lift, or how many miles you run - it's about BALANCE. So I invited my friend, Liz, to come on here and share with you how a little thing like balance can help get your body right!

Liz says:

Finding the proper balance is so key in being able to find your own happiness . There are so many diets and fitness trends out there that it is hard to know what to follow and do that will help you look and feel your best. I have been in the fitness industry for over 13 years and I have tried and researched several different diets. After I had my twins three years ago, I started tracking macros and I can honestly say that macros has been the best way for me to reach my goals and find a nutritional balance. The beauty of macros is you are not eliminating any foods and is not a diet - it is more of a lifestyle change with the way you eat food. Instead of cutting out foods, you are practicing portion control and eating the proper macronutrients and calories based on your personal stats and activity level. (Which is so nice to have custom numbers for just you!!, right?!) I don’t believe in cutting any foods out completely. Instead I rather eat things in moderation. Why is this? The reason is this is not sustainable. You can not survive for the rest of your life on eating zero carbs or a super high fat diet or be happy with eating zero sugar. I mean we need to be able to be happy and enjoy the celebrations in moderation , be able to eat something you absolutely love every once in a while to stay sane! Our bodies need all 3 macronutrients to fuel the body most efficiently and effectively. In a nutshell, we need protein to build muscle, good carbs for energy, and fats to keep out hormone levels balanced . My best advice to my clients is to eat clean , real foods 80% of the time and leave 20% for your treat or foods that just help you survive mom life or the hectic stressful day! Eating a balanced diet , getting in daily exercise, drinking plenty of water and sleeping at least 6 hours a night are good things we need to do for our body to help our bodies perform properly and for our minds to feel balanced. Find your balance - don’t restrict something you love to eat or love to do because you have read that is not good for you. Just practice moderation.. even cupcakes are good in moderation IF you have eaten your lean protein , lots of vegetables and real foods. Remember, the key to finding your balance is practicing moderation in all things (especially food!), feeling confident in yourself and allowing yourself to live a little!! Now let’s make 2018 the year of finding your balance , personal happiness and crushing every goal you have dreamed of achieving! Believe in yourself and the rest is history!

I've been doing Liz's program for the past month and I wanted to share with you my most recent body and mind progress - between these two pictures there is only a 3 lb difference but I followed Liz's advice and my body totally responded to the balanced approach!

So if you are at the beginning or middle of your journey (hopefully never the end) I want to tell you that you are worth it. You are beautiful. You are powerful. And you can do anything if you put your mind to it!

XOXO KATIE

For more information about what Liz does, you can find her at Pojo Fitness!