Guest Post: Respect

Hi Ladies! I’m glad you all enjoyed Andrea’s guest post yesterday! I thought it was wonderful and it definitely motivated me to try some Yoga! My gym offers some basic classes so I want to start going once a week to experience some of the wonderful benefits she outlined!

Quick update on me! I will be very busy for the next two weeks because of school, but, I do have some good news! I got a 91 on my Chemistry test yesterday! I’m well on my way to keeping the A that I have in there. Tonight is my Chemistry Lab final and after that I only have a quiz and one more final left. Repeat to self: I can do it, I can do it, I can do it!

I had a GREAT Making the Cut workout yesterday that I don’t have time to write up, so I’m sorry. Once I’m done with the challenge, which will be soon, I still plan on doing the workouts from time to time, so you will definitely be seeing them written out in the blog! After the MTC workout, I did a quick 8 minute mile on the treadmill.

FUNNY STORY/CONFESSION ALERT

I had an embarrassing moment yesterday. Usually, when I wear capris to the gym, I don’t wear underwear. Gross, I know, but whatever, panties aren’t comfortable to me. So, I was running my mile on the treadmill and I REALLY had to pee. When I was done I RAN to the bathroom, sat down, pulled my pants down and completely FORGOT that I had underwear on–and I peed WITH my panties on. All over em! YUCK! I didn’t know what to do. If I were to pull my pants up, they would have gotten wet and looked like I peed myself, so I took my panties off, wrapped them up in paper towels and threw them away! HAHA! WHOOPS. Silly Lisa!

Ok, onto my guest post for today from Tina. I have “known” Tina for a couple of years now and our fitness journey and our issues with our body have mirrored each others. She is one of the BIG reasons I am here today. She has taught me a lot and continues to motivate and inspire me. So, please, enjoy the guest post from her! She’s a smart woman .

RESPECT

Who do you give respect? Your parents? Your boss? Your friends? Your significant other? Your dog, cat, hamster, fish, ferret? What about yourself? Here are some various definitions of respect:

• to take notice of; to regard with special attention;to regard as worthy of special consideration; hence, to care for; to heed
• esteem: the condition of being honored
• regard highly; think much of
• willingness to show consideration or appreciation

Do you respect yourself? Can you give yourself a huge hug for who you are?

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You may not believe it, but we deserve more respect than anyone else we give it to. You are wonderful, amazing, beautiful, strong, and important. There is no one else like you in the entire world. You deserve respect. Because if you can’t give it to yourself, who else is going to in this world?

You might wonder how in the world you could possibly respect yourself. You may start playing that never ending soundtrack in your head that lists off your shortcomings, your body issues, your fears, etc. Well, you know what? None of that matters. You as a person matter and deserve to be fulfilled and happy. I have gone through many things in my short time here on Earth. I have battled depression, binge eating, disordered relationships with food, difficult family relationships, holding myself to unreasonable standards of perfection, and I could go on longer. But there have been things that have helped me gain back my life. And those steps I have taken all relate to learning to love myself and respect myself.

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1. Have faith. I won’t preach to you on my particular beliefs, but I will openly say that my faith in God and my relationship with Him opened my eyes to how worthy and loved I am. By taking some time each morning to pray, I start each day feeling renewed. This time started by asking God to help me know how to listen to my body and not binge, they grew to having strength to get through a fitness competition, and now are all I need to just praise Him for loving me despite all the reasons He shouldn’t. If God can love me, how can I not love me? Talk about perspective. Find something larger to connect to. Find something to open your eyes to the value you hold in this world.
2. Intuitive Eating. Letting go of all the food issues, the rules, the demons in your head telling you that you are “good” or “bad” based on what you eat can be a huge step in the right direction of respecting yourself. I have been writing a series based on the Intuitive Eating.
3. Find your niche. Discover what you are passionate about. Focus on that and share it with others. If you have something that you love and that you feel good doing, you can’t help but let it overflow positivity in your life. Whether it be fitness, cooking, nutrition, health issues, serving others, family, etc, we ALL have something we are good at and that we can share with others. I know I get pleasure from helping others, from sharing my faith, and from raising my daughter. Doing something you love makes you feel good. And feeling good about who you are is all part of respect. It may take some soul-searching, but the treasure you find is worth it.

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Those are just a few of the things that have helped me grow to respect myself. I urge each of you to try them on for size. I can guarantee you they will fit you perfectly. Unlike those unrealistic “skinny jeans” you have waiting in your closet trying to determine your self-worth right now. Who gives a f*** about those? Respect will change you. Choose respect. Choose to live.

What are some things you do on a daily basis to respect yourself? This has been a big thing with me lately! I don’t give myself near enough credit for what I do and this has been something I’ve been working on. Allowing myself to feel good about doing well in Chemistry, realizing that it’s NOT a fluke, that maybe I am smart and capable in that area.