Before I begin this post, I first wanted to thank you all for your comments on the past two posts. First, for all the fabulous ideas on low volume, nutritionally/calorically dense foods. Avocados, nuts, full fat cheeses/yogurts, trail mix, lara bars, and hummus – here I come. Next, thank you for all the thoughtful comments on this morning’s post relating to faith. I didn’t intend the post to come across as me questioning sharing my faith or how I do so in any way. I am 100% confident in what I do here and solely wanted to share the why. I really appreciated reading all of your insights and opinions as well. Thank you to each person who shared!

Each day, I wear many hats so to speak. Most important of those is acting as a role model. More specifically, a role model to little M. She copies everything.

She tries to dress like mommy. She loves to play on her ‘puter just like mommy.

She picks up phrases like “holy cow!” from mommy. And shouts “Gooooo Dawgs! Sic ‘em!” whenever she sees a Georgia decoration.

She is into workouts with her mommy.

She has a sweet tooth like her mommy, evidenced by her constant begging for a lollipop at the doctor office today. She also loves things like tofu, apples, beans, broccoli, and yogurt like her mommy too.

I cannot deny that this little person closely monitors all of my actions, attitudes, and decisions. Or that I have the greatest impact on her development, especially at this stage when we’re together all. the. time.

That feels kind of frightening. I love little M so much and only want what is best for her. I want her to have a healthy relationship with her body. I desire her to feel loved and know how to show that love to others. I want nothing more than for her to develop into a strong young woman who believes in herself and holds to her values. Can you feel the pressure? I can. I can also feel, however, the privilege in this responsibility. And the unique opportunity it presents me to continuously grow and improve upon myself.

It was for her that I became more solidified in my journey to fully overcome binge eating. When pregnant with her I knew I had to continue working hard on the recovery I already started and having her in mind made it even easier. She kept the one relapse I faced immediately following my competition’s end from turning into more of a problem.

I never utter the word “fat” anymore because I don’t want that to ever be a way she views people. With her in mind, and sitting at my feet, I have had the power to stop myself from succumbing to old habits of critiquing my body in the mirror. Now the mirror is there to simply be sure I look presentable and move on. We own no scale so she will never see me step on and my mood change based on the number fed back to me.

I make sure to take time each day to laugh and play to bring more joy to her world. When things feel overwhelming, I find the strength to move on through prayer and do my best to never retaliate with frustration or anger. Even though that example doesn’t prevent two year old temper tantrums, I hope that my ability to stay calm helps her demeanor in troubles as she matures. I also always try to show kindness to others and take pleasure when she shares her cheerful demeanor with others.

Mothering poses so many challenges. Not only because we have to teach our children, but we also teach ourselves in the process. I think I do a pretty dang good job. It’s largely thanks to her though and the full circle process of learning from each other. I guess its true what they say. That the biggest challenges provide the most opportunity for growth. I feel it each and every day.

• In what ways are you a role model to someone?
• What challenges have helped you grow into a stronger person?
• Don’t forget to ASK ME ANYTHING for the November Q + A series!

Good morning! The past couple of days I have felt compelled to write a post on this topic. I don’t quite know exactly what to say and kept putting it off, but now, even though I still don’t know exactly what to say, I figure I just need to write and see what comes out. Sometimes that works best for me. Hopefully that happens today, because I want to do this topic justice. Why FFF? WHY Faith Fitness Fun?

[source]

I had a “blog” for a few months before this where I sporadically posted about my competition prep journey. I didn’t enjoy it and it wasn’t really blogging for me. Before starting Faith Fitness Fun, I thought long and hard about what I wanted to share and if I had the will to commit. I wanted this blog to be more. Which is why when I started this blog a little over 9 months ago, Faith Fitness Fun was the only name that I could settle on. Nothing else fit me or what I hoped to present here.

I could not ignore the faith aspect of my life and its affect on my wellness as a whole. For that reason, it needed a predominant space to reflect my belief in its importance to healthy living. I still hesitated to do so because I hate nothing more than those who preach to others, judge others for differing beliefs or values, and have a holier than thou attitude. Those actions do not represent faith (in general) or a Christian (in specific).

[source]

I hope this blog never comes across as preachy. I hope people never leave feeling like I try to “convert” them or that I judge them. That would make my heart ache so greatly. I hope to share my life and my journey to finding balance, health, and fulfillment in all areas and not gloss over the fact that faith does have a role in there. So then, why include it at all if it acts more as a backdrop to my balanced living? Simply, I couldn’t not include it.

My faith has helped me to love myself more than I ever could. The knowledge that I was specially created with a purpose and carefully crafted opens my eyes to more than the physical flaws I could too easily settle on.

My faith gives me the desire to respect myself and my body. When battling binging, I had to pray the same prayer every single day. It helped me gain perspective that my body was deserving and I needed to treat it better than the starve and overload cycle I had submitted it to too often.

[source]

My faith supplies power in the belief of my worth and allows me to pursue goals whole heartedly. From things as simple and trivial as losing baby weight to as large as the belief I can raise a child into a loving, respectable young woman, my faith sustains me. I can trust in God and simply the belief that He has a good plan for me and is on my side strengthens me to keep going and to continue striving in the pursuit of my best life. He may place me on a path and give me the passion, but I do still have to do the leg work and having faith in Him makes it bearable.

My faith calms my soul. I have never hidden the troubles I encountered in my past. I openly share the hurts that may plague me on occasion now. If I did not have my faith, I could easily lose myself within those pains. My faith reminds me there is hope and so much more to live for. It has done so much more than just fill my life with more joy. It has literally saved my life.

That is why I include faith in this blog. Not to tell you what to believe. No, not at all. I include the faith in Faith Fitness Fun because I trust it can facilitate wellness in so many ways – mentally, emotionally, and physically. How could I leave something like that out? Likely, besides this post, it will never come at the forefront of what I share here. That is okay because it’s still always there. I hope you feel it. And now you know why.

• Do you believe things like faith (in any number of forms) plays a role in overall healthy living?
• If you feel comfortable sharing, how has it effected you personally?
• Don’t forget to ASK ME ANYTHING for the November Q + A series!