So, I like my body. Liking my body has been a not-so-good thing for me recently because since I like how it is I’ve been just like, “eh, I don’t need to workout today…”, which, hey, is totally fine on some days. I’m a firm believer in don’t overexercise. But my diet has not been matching my exercise either. The last week I’ve been at parties, staying the night at my friends house eating junk, staying up late, eating too much at night, and fourth of a july was a special occasion but oh my god I don’t even want to think about it. The last week I’ve done one hour of yoga, and two 20 min sessions on the elliptical.

Uh, LAME.

I’ll be more gentle on myself though and admit I don’t sleep which has been a huge factor. I won’t fall asleep until 2:30-4am, which makes me sleep in late and either not workout or not have time to workout, and by the time it’s nighttime I’m falling asleep on the couch at 7. So my energy levels have been a huge problem too.

But last night I knocked out at around 12:30 thanks to a sleeping pill and I feel a little more rested today. I’m going to just do a round of yoga since it’s been a while and hopefully this week I can muster up the motivation and energy to start really working out again.

I hope you all are doing better than I am!

Some of the most thrown around phrases in the weight loss community are “love yourself” or “I just want to love myself.” Some people think that “loving themselves” means accepting themselves as they are and being okay with their weight and appearance.

That, to me, is wrong thinking. Accepting yourself is more along the lines of wanting to just be okay with how you look and your lifestyle as it is. It’s being okay with your curves, rolls, bones, whatever it may be. So many people use the argument of wanting to love themselves how they are just so they don’t have to put in the work it takes to change and be healthy. One individual in particular I know is overweight, and when she decides to make a batch of cookies or something along those lines, she refers to it as being okay with herself and accepting it, and cheers herself on for it, which really saddens me because she almost never stops talking about wanting to lose weight. Why cheer yourself on for making sugary treats then? Why not make an awesome chicken and quinoa dinner and cheer yourself on for taking care of the only body you’ve got?

To me, loving yourself means being healthy and happy. Another person who’s blog actually sparked this whole post wrote something about her internal debate with “wanting to be thin, but wanting to love” herself, in the context of accepting her body as it is. Wanting to lose weight doesn’t mean you don’t love yourself. If anything, it’s 100% you loving yourself! Putting in the hard work and effort to be healthy and keep your body in tip top shape is love! Giving up on the idea of weight loss by labeling it as “loving yourself” and having a poor diet and not exercising isn’t love. There is no shame in wanting to lose weight and change yourself! People aren’t going to assume you hate your body and yourself just because you want to lose weight! It’s being healthy! If you have a nice, expensive car, you’re not going to let it get dirty and run poorly and call it “loving your car for how it is.” No way! You’re going to want to keep that car clean and in good repair so it can get you where you want to go!

 So basically, what I’m saying is, don’t think in black and white; you don’t need to stay unhealthy and call it loving yourself and you don’t need to lose weight and label it as hating yourself. If you have a healthy diet and stay active, your body will take care of itself and put it where it wants to be, whether it’s a little curvier or a little bonier. Being happy and healthy is what’s important. So eat good food, exercise a few times a week, play with your dog, go for a swim, kiss your boyfriend/girlfriend, and truly love yourself and your life. You’ve only got one!

The hardest part about living a healthy lifestyle for most people is the diet change. It’s so difficult transitioning from eating whatever you want to eating nutritious foods. At first it’s a struggle. Getting used to different vegetables, finding ways to make them taste better; saying no to yummy sweets and baked goods; checking labels and nutrition facts… It’s a challenge, especially in this day and age when fast food is everywhere and healthy food, well, isn’t.

But it gets easier. It really does. Have you ever known any clean eater who has ever said they hated it? Nope. After just a few weeks of clean eating, my outlook on my diet has completely changed.

I used to feel like I was missing out on good food. I was only eating a partially clean and healthy diet, so I still gave into foods I knew I shouldn’t eat, but did because they were good and convenient. I still ate bread several times a day, ate lots of sugar, and snacked on things like Cheez Its. But a few months ago I decided to eat as absolutely clean and possible, cut back on my grain intake, and I have stuck to it. My tastebuds have evolved.

I no longer crave sweets. I can’t remember the last time I craved a piece of candy. Now I find myself craving foods I used to hate: steamed carrots, peanut butter, almonds, and mango. I used to hate everything about peanut butter, but now it’s my treat to myself each day. I crave mango the way I used to crave candy. I go through at least one bag of baby carrots a week. I used to have to drench my salads in ranch in order to eat them, and now I eat them with a dash of olive oil and a drizzle of balsamic. Sometimes I don’t even use any dressing, I just use some avocado. Bread, which I used to eat several times a day, is now unappealing. Colorful plates of fruits and vegetables capture my attention so much more than the monochromatic plate of fried foods and breads. I now have to pee almost every 20 minutes because of how much water I guzzle down, and just the very thought of soda makes me ill. The times I’ve given into eating sweets on holidays or special occasions I’ve instantly regretted because I hate the way I feel after eating them.

And, not to mention, the results are fabulous. Since cutting back my bread/pasta intake and significantly increasing my protein intake, I’ve noticed big improvements with my stomach. I used to have a stomach swelling problem where after eating my stomach would puff up like a balloon. That problem is now gone. I wouldn’t go as far as to say I have a gluten intolerance because I still eat gluten, just much, much less of it. I’ve also became extremely aware of sugar in products. It used to be something I ignored on labels, but now it’s what I check before even calories. And since cutting back my sugar intake I have seen insane results with my workouts. For a while I had plateaued, and I was discouraged. But now I’ve noticed my abs starting to show, my hips and thighs getting tighter, and my arms to be more defined. It’s so wonderful to actually see all my hard work.

I promise, guys. It gets easier. You can do it, trust me.

Being healthy feels so much better than just being thin.