Oct 21, 2020
Okay, so I’m being a bit redundant by saying booty butt, but it rolls off the tongue like peanut butter. Does peanut butter roll off the tongue? I just read another blog post that mentioned peanut butter and now that’s all I can think about. Do I have peanut butter in my pantry?
I digress. A LOT! I know.
The purpose of this post:
I Want a Yoga Body
My second encounter with yoga was with my last corporate job. They offered free yoga classes. After a few suggestions —after months, really —from my boss, I took the invite and went to class. And… I LOVED IT!
The teacher was incredible. AND, most important for this post, she LOOKED INCREDIBLE! Very fit. She had muscles. She was skinny. She was beautiful. And I remember thinking, I want to have a body like that.
Just because you think it, though, doesn’t make it happen. If only….
Stress Eating and Holding onto Unhealthy Habits
I love food. And when I’m stressed, I love food even more. You know what kind of food I really like? Ice cream. And cookies —mostly chocolate chip. And french fries. And mac and cheese. And Korean fire ramen. And cheesy stuff and chocolatey stuff and easy-to-make or -acquire stuff.
Food is good. Food is great. Food is DELICIOUS!
And when I worked at my stressful corporate job, I had some really unhealthy habits of eating out a lot and treating myself to Cold Stone —it was too close to my house.
So, needless to say, even though I wanted that yoga body, I didn’t do much about it.
Cue Life Changes
When Scott and I decided to hit the reset button, a lot of realizations went off in my brain. The biggest one: I was not happy with my body. I hated the way my clothes fit. I did not feel confident. I felt gross.
And one day I saw this ad. It was for Noom; do you know it? (Side note: Not an ad. I just want to share with you what I did that made a difference in my life.)
So, I saw this ad and I thought, why not? And I downloaded it. And I paid the fee. AND I started using it.
Noom is a fitness app that’s not really a fitness app… Well, wait, I’ll explain it. It’s an app that focuses on the psychology of why we do the things we do, mostly why we eat the way we do. So instead of just focusing on calorie counting and the right foods to eat, I took lessons/courses each day that taught me about making better eating choices and establishing those as habits. And I joined a support group. And I had my own coach to help me make goals and keep them.
I followed this app thing for months. And sometimes I got frustrated, yes, because the scale or my measurements didn’t show me exactly what I wanted to see. But slowly, which I learned was just right for me, I started to see my yoga body.
Oh, yeah, I should mention that during this time I was also doing hot yoga at least five times a week. So I was burning fat by eating healthy and exercising. And I was gaining that yoga muscle.
Why that Yoga Booty Butt Matters to Me
It was hard work to lose the weight and go to yoga every day. It was hard work to stay with the app and read all the articles and follow through with all my goals. I got discouraged A LOT!
But, I stuck with it. And I learned that I can say no to too much or not-good-for-me food. I learned that I have more control over my body than I give myself credit for. I learned that I have the power to do amazing things with my body.
Do I still give in to the elephant? You bet ya. In fact, I got in a wreck a couple weeks ago. I was devastated, because it was my fault, and my first wreck, and all the feels, and all I wanted was a quesadilla and a Dr. Pepper. Of course I went and got a quesadilla and a Dr. Pepper.
And, confession, I had a big chunk of delicious cake yesterday. A BIG slice!
But, that doesn’t mean I then let it all go. I keep working on maintaining the body I worked hard for. And when I gain over five pounds—like I did when Scott came home and we went on vacation and we moved —I don’t beat myself up; I keep working at it.
My Takeaway
I have the power to make my body what I want it to be. Let me say that again: I have the power to make my body what I want it to be.
I didn’t write this post to encourage you or anyone to go out and get a yoga booty butt or to lose weight or any of that. The point is we (you and I) have the power to be who we want to be. We (you and I) have the power to make the small choices that lead to bigger things. We have the power. YOU have the power!