I want you to know you have options

My business is built on self love, being true to yourself and not being defined by your body. 

But that isn't always how I live my life. I have been going through so many emotions about my body recently and how I feel about it. I wanted to share some of my thoughts about this. 

I consider myself lucky that I have never really had any body issues or a poor relationship with food. I don't know if it is because when I was a teenager into my early 20s I had what the media portrayed as the perfect body so I saw myself being represented throughout media. I also never seemed to pick up any of my mums issues with her body. This was all through no trying of my own. I loved exercise and I always felt fit. Even when I started to put weight on and my body changed after pregnancy I didn't stress about as I knew it was just a period in my life. I don't fixate on my body shape much. 

I saw this yesterday and I didn't want to share it because I thought it would put people off me as a coach but this is me and I love me

However, what has happened recently is I have let society shame me into thinking I needed to justify my body to others. That I should be worried about what I tell people I eat. That people will not want me to train them because of my body. 

But I also worried about talking about wanting to change the size of my body because I believe in body positivity and not pushing the weight loss narrative and I worried that I was betraying this view.

This is a new feeling for me (not the caring what people think as that has been my weakness for a long time) but worrying about it when it comes to my body. 

Here is my truth about my life right now. 

On top of the my Diastasis Recti I am carrying extra weight because I don't exercise as much as I want to and I enjoy my food. 

I don't always manage to live by my own recommendations because sometimes I am just in survival mode and I just eat what is available or makes me happy and I move when I am able to. Many will think I am not setting a good example and how can I expect others to it if I won't?

But the thing is....

I don't expect you to do it. 

The reason I am in this job is to make sure you have all the information and the means to live your happiest, fullest life. That you go forward being able to make informed decisions about your own health and wellness because you are an adult and you can do whatever you want with your own body. So you can know how to protect yourself from injury and can be present fully in your life instead of living a life of regret and anger because you didn't know how you were hurting yourself. 

But if you decide to not go through rehab, or you just can't wait to jump straight into running, crossfit or hiit again that you do so with the knowledge you may injure yourself and that might change your life. That you have choices when it comes to how you move forward in your life. 

So no, my weight does not define the rest of my life. I have had a tough couple of years so I am taking my time, doing it my way and enjoying my life the best way I can. But I would be doing a disservice to myself if I am stopped myself from changing because it didn't fit with someone else's narrative. 

I am now coming out of the phase where I am ok not exercising as much. I want to do more and I want to change a few lifestyle habits that I have picked up the last 2 years. I hope I stay with this because I know it is when I feel at my best but I am have come to accept that life is a series of ebbs and flows so I may stop exercising as much again and I may start eating more again and that will be ok.

So wherever you are in your journey this isn't all there is. I don't want you to injure yourself, I would love for you to do your rehab, not be defined by your weight, eat healthy and see how good it is to move your body. I can provide you with the tools to succeed and guide you along the way in a non judgmental environment. 

But the most important thing for me as a coach is that you are able to make an informed choice.