Brace yourself for motivational speaking and Women's Health's Next Fitness Star

Today I entered myself in Women's Health's Next Fitness Star competition.  My boyfriend helped me create a video audition last night, and this morning I filled out my application. As I entered the different fields explaining why I should be the "Next Fitness Star," I did a bit of soul searching. The application asked me why I thought I should be named the Next Fitness Star. What made me think I should earn that title? It brought me back to why I started personal training, but more importantly, why I started Be Well, this blog you are currently reading and the business I now run myself.

The reason I started personal training is no real touching story. I got certified never really thinking I would use my NASM certification. It started out as a potentially safe job to fall back on so that I didn't have to waitress while I auditioned. To be totally honest, in a way, personal training is still that for me. I do enjoy being a trainer and more importantly, I love my clients, but counting reps and isn't what makes me like my job. Many of my clients have been working with me for years. They are amazing people who I am happy to know and spend a couple hours a week with every week. They are my true motivators when I'm struggling through a workout of my own as I remember how hard they push and how hard they work through every workout I take them through. My workouts aren't easy, and they really rock them out.
But I digress, like I was saying, the reason I started personal training wasn't because I really wanted to help people lose weight or help them fight through their personal struggles. A lot of the people I work with in NYC are pretty fit already. They really do take care of themselves and work with me to get that extra push or to help them keep an appointment for a workout because they live such busy lives. What matters more  is why I started Be Well because I have become that person who has wanted to help people lose weight and fight through personal struggles. Before I started, I never knew that this was part of what I was meant to do in this lifetime. Even if it's just for now.

I started writing Be Well because of some internal struggles I face and also what I noticed a lot of other people struggle with. And that struggle was not about losing weight, but truly feeling good in your own skin. I wanted to get the word out that being well is about creating a healthy lifestyle and to accept yourself as you are (something I still struggle with). It's not about constantly working to have those washboard abs with deprivation, but about the realization that being well is about being happy inside and out. To not compare and despair. To make being well a state of mind and a joy in life. I needed to write about this and get the word out, and that's what I really enjoy about being a trainer.

So to come full circle, the reason I want to be the the Next Fitness Star is to get the idea out there that being well is not just working out and dieting, but to truly make it a state of mind. I learned through this job that I pretty much fell into. I learned that I am passionate about living and loving life in a healthy and balanced way. I love this part of my life and I love sharing reasons to be healthy and tips to make it happen. I'm not perfect, and I want to get the word out there that it's okay not to be.

I surprise myself constantly with the things my body is capable of doing that I never thought it would be. I never thought I would run a 5k,10k, two half marathons, workout 6 days a week, get through the Insanity workout (as I write this, I'm almost halfway through the program!) like I'm doing now. I feel proud that I have become as strong as I am and know I can motivate others to push just as hard.

Being well is: Lacing up your sneakers because you want to feel good and live longer; making your diet about eating well and eating happy; eating good for you foods daily and to cheat too; enjoying your glass(es) of wine and chocolate without beating yourself up for it the next day; LIVING YOUR LIFE! LOVING your life! What is this life about if we don't enjoy it? What is this life about if all we are doing is worrying about what the scale reads or how many calories you have eaten? Yes, it's important to enjoy in moderation, but the key word there is to ENJOY. Not to deprive. All in all, get your workout in to make your heart work better, achieve a goal, and make your body feel great by reaping the rewards of your hard work. If you want washboard abs, there's no shame in that, but don't become a miserable person because of it. If you love food, eat it but don't go overboard! Don't fill your body with crap (processed foods like cheetos and cookies that can stay "fresh" on the shelf for years) every day.
LIVE IT, LOVE IT, AND BE WELL!

Year of Success: Part Deux

If you know me, you know that I don't make resolutions, I make a new years theme. It's an overarching idea to live by to keep me going throughout the year, rather than something small that I know will only hold steadfast for maybe a month or two. For example, instead of making a resolution such as "in 2013, I will lose 5 pounds" my theme is "2013: The Year of Success." In fact, that was my theme last year. I wanted 2012 to be the year of success. I wanted it to be the year I became what I had been putting out into the universe for so long. I wanted to achieve all of my wildest dreams and put the drive I had been sitting on for so long into action. But now when I look back when hindsight is 20/20, I realize I needed to get rid of all of the stuff that was holding me back to truly make my life successful in a way that I felt good about. I wasn't ready to be as successful in all areas of my life in the way I know I can be, because I had to clear the old to make way for the new.  So, now 2012 has become the "Year of Closure" and 2013 has turned into "The Year of Success: Part Deux."

Remember how the world was supposed to end according to the Mayans this December? Of course you do! I really think a part of it did end for a lot of people. I know it did for me. I have been in this 6 year cycle where I have been learning, I've been humbled, and I've grown. I believe that 2012 was the end of the shoveling crap phase of my life, and now it's time for me to bloom. It's time for success. And it's time for joy!  I have a feeling that the Mayans knew what they were going for when the calendar ended and it didn't involve meteorite showers or giant locusts taking us away--they saw it as a time of the death of the current collective subconscious and a time for rebirth in 2013. Or they were just tired and 2012 seemed as good a time as any to shut calendar counting down. Either way, I'm feeling refreshed and renewed this year, coincidence or not.

As far as my fitness goes, I just started doing the INSANITY workout plan and I cut out alcohol for the entire month of January.  I'm already feeling a little slimmer and a more fit with each day that passes. Even if it's just mental, that's all I need for now! In the non-fitness parts of my life, I have decided to really push the acting part of my career and give it one more go to commit to making my dreams come true. My 2011 theme, "Year Without Fear" is still kicking in the background and I'm making strides where I haven't before. I challenge you to do the same. If you can't think of a theme of your own, take mine and make 2013 the most successful one yet. Try a new workout program; cut crap from your diet that you know isn't doing you any favors; add more nutritious foods into your diet to help your body work better; and as cheesy as it sounds, believe in yourself to make the changes you haven't made due to fear, insecurity, or whatever else, so that you can be a better you. But most of all, BE WELL!