Choosing a Healthy Lifestyle for Yourself

Being healthy doesn't have to be all about weight loss. We should be living a healthy lifestyle because it's what best for us. Weight loss is a bonus!

Today's post is a bit out of my comfort zone. It's not something I usually talk about, but it's something that I've really had on my mind lately and feel like I should share with you guys. Living a healthy lifestyle is not just about weight loss! Let's dive in!

Wearing: ⅞ Legging | Oversized Sweatshirt | Strappy Sports Bra

Realizing I Need to Make Changes

Obviously I've always known that it's better for you to live a healthy lifestyle... you know, rather than to not live a healthy lifestyle ;). But sometimes it's easy to loose sight of what that really means.

It's not about a diet.

It's not about loosing weight.

And it's not about how you look in the mirror.

It's about being healthy. And that's it. Healthy is a lifestyle. It's not a fad, trend, or short term solution. It's deciding how you want to spend your life, and not just the physical side of it, but also the mental side, and sticking with it.

Wearing: ⅞ Legging | Strappy Sports Bra | Duster

For me it hit really hard in May. We had just gotten back from a family vacation and I remember standing on the landing of our back stairs and reaching back to itch my head. Something we all do probably hundreds of times a day. Except this time my hair felt weird. And then it dawned on me, there's no hair. It was my scalp.

Dealing with Alopecia

I ran straight to my bathroom and pulled my hair up to find a giant bald patch. Since almost all of you here are women, you will totally understand this next part. For women your hair is a very important part of your image, and so the idea of loosing your hair really hits hard. I was in a bit of shock for a moment and then immediately started googling all the things and I came to the conclusion - I was experiencing Alopecia.

Wearing: ⅞ Legging | Oversized Sweatshirt | Strappy Sports Bra

Now that it's been a few months I can look back and realize in the grand scheme of things it wasn't a big deal. But for me, at the time, it was a big deal. It was a sign that something was going on with my body. There are so many articles that will tell you it has nothing to do with stress, but there were some that said it definitely does. But at the end of all my research I knew it was definitely related to stress. We were going through a lot at that time and it just made absolute sense. And sometimes you can just feel things deep in your bones and you know what you know.

Creating a Healthy Lifestyle

Once I came to realize that the stress in my life was taking over I knew I needed to make a change. And honestly it's been a long process. Working out and getting in shape was at the top of my list. I've struggled for years to loose weight. And when I say years I mean... oh.... like 10. My oldest is 11 (and weighed 9lbs 12 oz. at birth) and I just never bounced back after him. Then I had two more kids (who were also over 9 lbs). I just wasn't gifted with stretchable skin. I wish I could say that I've come to grips with that and learned to love my body for what it is. But I haven't. I 100% haven't and I struggle daily. But I'm learning.

Wearing: ⅞ Legging | Strappy Sports Bra

Sometimes you just need to recognize your issues and start working on them and you need to let that be enough. It's ok to fail, and then get right back on track. It's not ok to fail, feel worthless and completely give up.

Working Out

So here I am, a few months later. I've had great weeks of eating healthy, and I've had some failures. But failing one day out of the rest of my life doesn't mean I should give up. Unfortunately this is how I used to think. If I'm in a hurry and I eat something that's not the best, it doesn't mean I need to throw in the towel. It's just a signal to try harder the next day. I'm learning to be ok with this and focus on the progress. Progress over perfection right?

Wearing: ⅞ Legging | Strappy Sports Bra

I joined a gym and have been working out. I've missed days because of work and our schedule, but I refuse to quit just because I couldn't make it a few days.

Like I said, this is a lifestyle change.

So I grabbed myself some new work out clothes to give myself some high quality, performance apparel that never sacrifices style. Being able to feel good in my workout attire gives me the confidence to walk into the gym!

Wearing: ⅞ Legging | Oversized Sweatshirt | Strappy Sports Bra

At the end of the day we all need to love ourselves. How can we affectively love others if we can't love ourselves? So let's stop comparing ourselves to what we see online or even just at the store, and start looking at how we want to be and how we are going to obtain that lifestyle.

Where am I going with this whole post? To be quite honest I'm not sure. However, I am sure that I want to be accountable to somebody to stick with these changes. So today I'm sharing my before photos. This is me. These are my stretch marks (and my unfinished baseboards) and I'm going to find my confidence. Let's do this!