What defines YOU?

I used to be ALL about the scale. Constantly worrying about how much I weighed. Sometimes I would literally weigh myself about 3 times a day. I became obsessed with consistently looking at that number, usually only to be disappointed with myself.

       Being a college athlete, I had extra pressures constantly weighing on me. We would have monthly "check in's" where our body fat was tested. Imagine about 15 college aged girls who already have the pressure of society telling them they need to look a certain way, then go ahead and add on to that the monthly check ins we had; definitely not ideal for a healthy relationship with your body.
  Anyways, my point is that the scale literally means nothing. Scales don't tell you how strong you are, or how hard you worked that day. They don't tell you how pretty you are, how smart you are, or even how healthy you are. Eating right, and exercising is what will get you to your ideal look and shape. Rather than measure your progress by the number on the scale, go by how your clothes fit, and how you look in the mirror. Most importantly, don't get discouraged, we all start somewhere and change doesn't happen overnight.

   My advice would be to hide your scale, focus on eating healthy and being active rather than what that stupid number says in the morning. Don't let that number define who you are. Sure, go ahead and check your weight every once in a while, but realize that even if you gained weight, that could very easily mean that you gained some muscle and lost fat! Let me tell you, it's taken me years to finally get to this mind set, I had a lot of bad shit ingrained in my mind for so long. But I can honestly say that I am so much healthier mentally and physically. Weighing less than 120 doesn't make me happy. Feeling healthy makes me happy. Knowing I gave 100% effort to my day makes me happy, my husband and family makes me happy. At some point in your life you have to decide and realize what defines you and what makes you truly happy.

Working out used to be a chore for me, I honestly would only do it because I wanted to look good, or because I ate too much food the day prior. When you realize the importance of exercise and a good diet, it becomes fun! You learn to love it because it makes you a healthier and happier person in general, when this is your mind set that's when working out becomes less of a chore and more of an enjoyable activity.

There's a video going around lately of a motivational speaker named Lizzie Velasquez. She has a rare disease which ultimately could have made or broke her. She chose to make the most out of her life and her very unfortunate situation. Her story is all about how you define yourself, and how you can turn any situation into something worth living for. Here it is: 

   Isn't that video so inspiring? If you don't have time to watch it now, make sure you do later, you won't regret it! Don't let the scale define you. I let it define me before and I was miserable. Be happy, be yourself, and strive for progress, not perfection.