I got to where I am today with my mentality about dieting and nutrition through a ton of struggle. I started exercising and dieting because I had a very negative relationship with my body. Negative body image was a part of my reality as young as kindergarten. I thought that if I was smaller if I could lose the weight, have thinner arms and thighs, look the way most of my friends looked, I would be happier.
My negative body image launched me into the world of fitness and dieting, specifically restrictive dieting and overexercising. When I first got started working out at the local YMCA, I remember trying to eat as little as possible and exercise as much as I could. I was successful at times, but it was only a matter of time before I would have a binge. And with the food binging came the guilt and shame from working so hard in the gym, only to waste it by gorging on food.
I held this mentality around eating, dieting, exercising, and my negative thoughts about my body through high school and into college. Although I always enjoyed lifting, food was something I earned in the gym, and so the cycle continued. Long cardio sessions were often a part of my workout regimen… I don’t even enjoy long cardio sessions. Many of these long sessions were followed by binges.
I started to make a shift in my mindset because I just became exhausted. I was so tired of the 2-hour gym sessions, so tired of the extremes of feeling super hungry and then uncomfortably full to the point of vomiting (which happened on several occasions), and just so tired of beating myself up mentally and physically on a daily basis. I started looking for a better way.
So, I started looking for answers. Doing research. Asking better questions like, “what would happen if I didn’t count calories? What if I didn’t do an hour of cardio multiple times per week and did a quick HIIT workout instead? Is it possible to feel good in my body without all the restriction and crazy amounts of cardio? Do I even have to count calories to get the results I want?”
I started to explore and experiment. It wasn’t long after that I discovered Precision Nutrition, and this was honestly a game changer for me. This online nutrition coaching and certification company really helped me start to shift my relationship with food to the mindset I have today. Finding PN in addition to some of the self development/ business leaders I most admire like Gary Vee, Chalene Johnson, Marie Forleo, and Jay Shetty to name a few, has transformed my self image, my relationship with food, and my life.
Slowly over the last 4-5 years, my relationship with nutrition, exercise, and my body has transformed into one of love, compassion, and nonjudgement. I did the work, the healing, and now I am here, doing movement that feels good, and eating in a way that makes me feel empowered, strong, and at peace with my body. That is what I hope to portray in this week’s fit vlog video.
If you’re currently struggling with your relationship with food or your body, just know that you don’t have to stay there. For me, it was gaining more insight and perspective from “mentors from afar”, as I like to call them, which helped me transform my mindset. For you, it may be therapy. All I ask is that you keep looking for the support and guidance you need to overcome it. Even if one approach doesn’t work, keep looking. You deserve to get to the other side of this. WE ALL deserve to feel good in our bodies.
I hope this message and this week’s video was helpful in any way. If you’d like to continue the conversation, you are more than welcome to leave a comment below this post or send me a private email at Brie@brieogletree.com. I’d be happy to chat with you.
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