From Worst Enemy to Best Friend

Growing up, I always felt like I needed to hide every. single. inch. of my body.

I mean, seriously. Who wears long, black leggings underneath a simple dress in the middle of summer... in Florida!?

If I wasn't already dying from the heat, I probably would have worn a sweater, too, so that I could hide my "arm fat" in this photo as well. I actually brought one with me and ended up having to carry it around the whole day. (Talk about "baggage"...) I was so ashamed of my appearance & thought that everyone else was looking at me with disgust, thinking the exact same thing.

But truthfully, I was my own worst enemy. Over the years, I ended up bullying myself MORE than I had ever been bullied by my peers - because it just HAD to be true, right?

Never in a million years could you have convinced the girl on the left that I would one day wear a cropped top that shows both my arms AND my midsection... and still be able to stand tall, confident & proud. (And feel fucking beautiful in it, too!)

But here I am, almost seven years later.

I learned that in order to change the parts of myself I didn't quite like, I had to STOP telling myself I wasn't good enough, wasn't beautiful enough, wasn't "skinny" enough (whatever that means) and instead foster a loving relationship with myself, food and my body.

Over the past 7 years, I've learned to become my own best friend. I've travelled all over the world, fallen in love with people and culture, made friends with strangers, taken myself out of my comfort zone, pushed myself through the toughest workouts, and immersed myself in learning everything I could possibly know about fitness, health, nutrition and mental health.

Why? Not because I was fat, ugly or disgusting, but because I am worth way more than the horrible ways I treated myself back then. Because I deserve to be happy. I deserve to feel comfortable in my body. I deserve to pursue the things that make me happy and live the life I was truly meant to live - with wild, reckless abandon.

And guess what? So are you.

With love and wellness,

#Motivational #Motivation #Transformation #WeightLoss #Mindset #Development #SelfDevelopment #MentalHealth #SelfLove #FatLoss #Worthiness #SuccessStory #Success #BodyImage #Confidence #BodyConfidence #Personal #Blog #Journal