I’ve been working with Kara for a few months now with her nutrition and training. We do three-four strength workouts, two HIIT sessions, and she does a leisure hike a week. We’ve made some big changes with her nutrition – specifically with her macronutrients, and their timing, as well as using some carbohydrate cycling.

She has made tremendous progress in these four months. She’s down in inches to the double digits, her muscle definition is coming in strong, and her clothing is now falling off of her (girlfriend needs to schedule a shopping spree!)

I mean, check out her before and after photos!

Great progress, right?! Inches down, muscle definition popping, and clothing size dropping.

But my absolute favorite indicator of progress came the other day, when I was just checking in with Kara after she’d gotten home from a beach vacation.

“One day I sat at the beach all day. The entire day. AND I wore my bikini – and didn’t care what anyone else thought.”

You guys. This made. me. BEAM.

Because not only did she rock her bikini, it wasn’t because she finally thought she looked “good enough” to do so (which, of course she totally does) – but because she didn’t care what others thought. How freeing is that?!

My biggest concern as a personal trainer and coach is that my clients are healthy, happy, and confident in their own skin. If they want 6-pack abs or to get lean, defined legs, that’s fine – I’m along for the ride and will help them get there. But it’s truly rewarding to see the confidence that comes along with the journey.

Because here’s the thing – if you’re not doing it solely for you, but rather someone else, society, and event, etc. then there’s not much point to working so hard, because:

a) it’s likely not going to stick long-term, and

b) no one else really cares if you have 6 pack abs, ya know?

Being confident in your own skin is what it’s all about, and it doesn’t have to come at the after you’ve dropped the weight/cut body fat/leaned out, etc. In fact, it probably should happen toward the beginning of the process, and should be worked on from the get go. Because if you don’t love yourself NOW, then what makes you think you’ll suddenly have a change in perspective about yourself when you reach X weight, or when you fit into X size, etc.

It is perfectly OK and absolutely possible to both love yourself and your body now, and work on it at the same time.

In my opinion, there are a few secrets to loving your body:

-Give less f#*$%’s. Sorry to be crass, but if anyone has a problem with your body or the way you look, it is FAR from your problem. That issue is all their own, and it’s sad they have to think and live that way, with that mindset. What a horrible waste of space in their thoughts. Anytime I’m a little bit self conscious of my body, I tell myself, “I am NOT on the beach/wearing these shorts/ – here for anyone’s viewing pleasure. I’m not here to please anyone or displease anyone.” It’s what made me feel confident to rock this bikini, and not give an eff what anyone else was thinking.

-Set some “do” goals. I have all of my clients come up with at least one “do” goal. It could be to be able to do a chin up, or 10 perfect push ups, or whatever. No goal is a bad one, as long as it focuses on your strength or ability. We tend to focus so much on the asthetic goal that we miss our chance at feeling how GOOD it feels to crush a “do” goal.

Positive self-image affirmations. Practice saying out loud that you love your body. That you’re grateful for it. If you’re super focused on being SO grateful that you HAVE two capable legs, it makes it hard to pick them apart.

Stop comparing. This one is HUGE. Not just in our body shapes, but in all areas of life. We all have different shapes, metabolisms, genetics, personalities, and mindsets. It’s super important not to compare a) your rate of progress, and b) your body shape to anyone else’s. Focus on you, and the actions needed to reach your goals.

Lift some iron. Or do whatever physical activity absolutely lights you up and makes you feel powerful. Running, yoga, and hiking all make me feel amazing and alive, but there’s something about lifting weights that also makes me feel strong, capable, and bad ass.

Before I go – there’s still a few days left to sign up for my Peak Physique Online Boot Camp with phased macronutrient coaching and carb cycling! The ladies in my current program are getting stronger, shedding body fat, and losing inches. If you’d like to dial into your nutrition and start an effective, fun, and challenging training plan, this boot camp is for you! You can learn more or sign up HERE. — Or if you’d like to make sure it’s a good fit for you, just fill out the form HERE and I’ll be in touch with you shortly 🙂

xoxo,

Paige