Self Love

EMBRACE Your Fear & My First Podcast Interview with Zoe Kenealy of Ready to Launch

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Confession: I have a major fear of public speaking. In fact, I fear doing any type of video, lecture, podcast or anything where I’m being recorded. I’m much more comfortable writing — pen to paper or behind a computer screen.

Fun fact: I turned beet red and almost fainted during my Communication Studies class in college, and actually had to close my eyes for a moment to get centered so I could finish my presentation.

So when Northeastern college student Zoe Kenealy asked to interview me for her new podcast, Ready to Launch, my initial thought was hell no. I then realized that was my good ol’ pal fear talking, and I quickly emailed her back taking her up on the opportunity.

During the interview, we talked about how fear tends to hold us back from doing the things we want to do — whether that’s launching a new creative project or ditching the calorie counting (in fear that you’ll gain weight).

But did you ever stop to think what’s on the other side of that fear?

I decided to break through my fear and open up to Zoe on her podcast, which you can listen … Read More!

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3 Ways to Love Yourself More This Valentine’s Day

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With Valentine’s Day a week away, love is in the air. While it’s fine to spoil your kiddos with candied hearts or splurge on a fancy dinner out with your sweetie, what about the love you’re giving yourself? That’s right, self-love baby! Here are three simple ways you can love yourself more starting now:

1. Quit Your Diet

Toss the scale, stop counting calories and look inward. Ask yourself how you want to FEEL. Then rather than focusing on the foods you need to take out, focus on fueling your body. This method is called crowding out; by incorporating more of the nutrient-rich, feel-good stuff, we naturally wean off of the foods that leave us feeling depleted.

What foods energize you? Make you feel vibrant? Fill you up? Prioritize those, but know there’s always room for a slice of pizza, a donut or your fave latte too.

2. Create a Morning or Evening Ritual

How do you start or end your day? If it doesn’t feel good to you, change it up. Bring in feel-good routines like journaling, DIY facials, hot lemon water, affirmation card pulls, a cozy cup of tea, or a juicy book. Here’s an … Read More!

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It All Starts with Love (Not Weight Loss)

5 Comments / Health & Wellness, Lifestyle /

Alright, I’m about to get real REAL over here on the blog. While I absolutely love all my fellow fitness professionals, coaches, yogis, etc. out there, I think lately there’s been a bit of a mixup when it comes to the whole body love thing.

Here me out. I see a lot of this:

“I lost those stubborn 15 pounds, and was able to finally love my body!”

“Work with me so you can lose the weight and then feel proud of who you are when you look in the mirror!”

“Look at my body!!!”

I also see a sh*t-ton of “body selfies.” And girl, more power to you if you’re able to get that 6-pack or you love the way your arms look when you flex. But is that really what it’s all about?

Is this really depicting body love?

Personally, I think we’ve got it all backwards.

For me, I wasn’t able to lose the weight (let alone transform my skewed relationship with food) until I gained some self-respect. I could run for miles & miles, and nosh on kale all day, and still look in the mirror and think I was fat.

You see, it wasn’t until … Read More!

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Then & Now: My Personal Journey Toward Finally Discovering Peace in My Body

5 Comments / Health & Wellness /

The photo on the left is me right after graduating college. At the time, I weighed myself roughly 5 times a day, counted every calorie I put into my mouth, and ate mostly bland diet food.

I didn’t want to gain any more weight, and I constantly told myself I wasn’t good enough, pretty enough or skinny enough. (Note: this did nothing for my physical or mental health!)

I was self-conscious, afraid, living in fear.

Flash-forward 6 years, and I’m still the same girl but the only thing that’s shifted is my MINDSET. I don’t own a scale, and the last time I weighed myself was at the doctor’s office. The number meant nothing to me.

I don’t even care to look at the calories, as what I care most about is the ingredients and what it is that I’m putting into my body. I eat according to what my body wants & needs; some days this is kale salads, green smoothies and roasted veggies, and sometimes it’s a juicy cheeseburger, slice of homemade pizza or some decadent dark chocolate.

I listen. I breathe. I allow my body to feel different things. I am happy. I am content. I am

… Read More!

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Monday Inspiration: Spring Clean Your Life

6 Comments / Health & Wellness, Lifestyle /

When you think of spring cleaning what’s the first thing that comes to mind? For some of you it may be cleaning out your closet, or perhaps dusting all the nooks ‘n’ crannies in your apartment. For others, you may think of cleansing, dieting or losing weight to get in shape for summer.

This season, I’m challenging you to to rethink the term “spring cleaning,” broadening it to include all aspects of your life: mind, body and soul. Here are some super simple tips to get started right now.

1. Drink more water. Period. Start your morning off with a cup of warm water + the juice of half a lemon, and hydrate yourself throughout the day. Currently, I’ve been loving Essentia Water, which is purified & enhanced with electrolytes with a pH of 9.5 to promote an alkaline environment. Learn more here.

2. Eat Clean(er). OK, OK, you’ve been hearing the whole “eat clean” thing everywhere lately, but what the heck does that mean and where do you even begin? Eating clean is easier said than done, until you get invited to 2 weddings in a row, and your co-workers burger starts staring at you during … Read More!

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Do Good, Feel Good: A Lesson in Spreading The Love For a Better You

5 Comments / Lifestyle /

Are you stuck in a rut?

Feeling a little “blah” from the frigid weather?

Feeling like straight up crap?

Heck, I totally was all of the above last week. I think I cried approximately 3 times, and I was completely “on edge” about everything.

I was under a lot of stress.

I was sad.

I was “busy.”

I ordered take-out food…like twice.

I avoided workouts like the plague.

I was kinda sorta putting myself last.

At first I tried to hold these feelings within & pretend everything was all hunky dory. You know, because I am “supposed” to be positive 24/7, and I inspire others to put themselves FIRST and to treat their bodies with love.

What kind of leader am I to “screw up?”

Then I remembered that I am a teacher, an inspirer and a motivator and that all great teachers are not perfect. I am not perfect, but I am ME and I am REAL and that’s what makes me a great teacher.

I can relate…to you. Oh, and just a quick FYI there is no such thing as screwing up or being “bad” anyway, and it is never too late to start over. We … Read More!

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No, I don’t need you to shrink me & make me hot: Here’s Our Body-Love Message To YOU!

27 Comments / Health & Wellness, Lifestyle /

The other evening, I nearly fell off my chair when I read my friend & fellow health coach Kendall Covitz’s Facebook status:

“A trainer looked me up and down and said ‘I can make your butt smaller and shrink you.’ I didn’t say anything since I was working for another company. What would you have done?”

Yes, I was mortified this happened to her but the reason I was shocked is that the SAME EXACT THING happened to me the day before. (You’ll read all about my story below in a minute) Was this a new trend? I had to reach out to her to tell her my story. We quickly realized that not only did this happen to the both of us just two days apart, but it was the same trainer.

After making each other giggle and realize what the woman said to us was pure hogwash (we both know each other are beautiful even if that means we’re not stick thin models), we knew we had to do something about it.

You see, as holistic health coaches, Kendall and I both work specifically with women to help them feel beautiful in their own skin by eating … Read More!

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5 Must-Have Affirmations for Falling Back in Love with Your Body

2 Comments / Health & Wellness, Lifestyle /

As you know by now, I spent years bashing and hating on my body. I’m talking total mean girl. Ironically enough, it was during the times I was most strict on myself, counting calories, exercising twice a day to burn off indulgences, and eating food that tasted like cardboard that I hated my body most.

I would tell myself horrible things when I looked in the mirror like:

I am not good enough.

I will never be thin enough.

My friends are more beautiful than I am.

I need to cut back more in order to lose the weight.

My thighs are fat.

I am a failure for “over-indulging” last night.

If I lose more weight, maybe then I can finally get a boyfriend.

In due time, I began to believe these horrible thoughts. They became a part of who I was. That’s the funny thing about our mind; it’s a powerful, powerful tool and we must be careful what we tell ourselves (especially when it’s hurtful).

Practicing positive affirmations can be an amazing way to turn negative thoughts into loving thoughts as you make the transition over to self-love! And no, they don’t need to be reserved … Read More!

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On Self Love: How Do You Want to Feel When You Look in the Mirror?

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The thoughts we tell ourselves become a part of who we are. Therefore when we say mean, hurtful things to ourselves like “I’m fat,” “My thighs are too big,” “I’ll never look as pretty as she does,” or “I’m not good enough” we start to believe these thoughts. Doesn’t do much for our confidence, now does it?

As women, we constantly beat ourselves up and push ourselves to be better, faster, stronger, prettier, sexier. We are our #1 critic after all. We say things to ourselves that we would never dare say to a best friend!

This weekend, I encourage you to be a little easier on yourself. Look into the areas where you aren’t being so nice to your body, and ask yourself where those beliefs are coming from. Then think about how you want to feel when you look in the mirror and start to embody those feelings.

Do you want to feel beautiful, strong, confident? Start telling yourself I am beautiful, I am strong, I am confident. Watch as your mood lifts as you begin to see you already are all of those things. Self-love at its best, baby!

Fill in the blank. I want to feel________when … Read More!

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