A Note From The Girl Who Failed Swim Lessons

Sports and fitness are 100% foreign to me, I’ll just be straight up honest.

^ not an athlete

I come from the theater world, performing arts, so I was never into the sports scene. I totally rooted for the KU Jayhawks, but I had no idea what was going on in the game. I vaguely remember trying to do swimming lessons but even that

wasn’t for me; they had to put me with the kindergarteners in the fifth grade because I had to actually learn how to swim before I could keep going. I quit because it was so embarrassing and I didn’t want to do it!

I was on a soccer team at one point in time and I didn’t last longer than one season. I hated PE in school (I was always the last one to come in for the mile). I tried to be friends with my PE teachers and chat them up hoping I’d distract them from the fact that I wasn’t actually participating! In high school, we had to have a certain number of "sports credits" so I substituted my sports credits by managing the wrestling team and building theater sets! I tried getting out of any physical activity as often as possible too, so if there is anyone more unqualified to be talking to you about sports, it’s definitely me because those two paragraphs were a brief “rundown” of my tenure in sports!

^ trying really hard to learn how to take care of her body

Here's where it’s interesting though - fitness and health in today’s world is my happy place. It keeps me going. It keeps me stable and energized. I value my health and fitness routine now because I can feel the difference in my body when I stick with it. It’s such a personal journey and the discipline it takes to hold myself accountable is huge!

On the note of holding myself accountable - I try and get to the gym three times per week and I try to eat nutritious foods as well. I don’t love cooking, I’ll be honest, and if something takes longer than five minutes to make, I don’t want to do it. I’ll usually whip up a protein shake that I know has the nutrients and vitamins that will fuel me throughout my day and a meat/veggie combo for dinner (usually turkey or fish). I’m still exploring fish since I’m not a huge seafood person and I’ve started to find some meals I love! I start each and every day with a protein shake and tea and usually do the same for lunch (my shake recipes are to die for). It works for me and my busy lifestyle and fuels me to keep moving which is the best feeling ever. On top of that, I really love how my body feels after getting an adequate amount of water, so I push water and essential vitamins too.

When I was younger, I could eat whatever I wanted but as we all know, we get older and our metabolisms slow down a bit. I’m starting to feel my body change and have really noticed how the fuel I give it affects me daily. I can tell when I don’t take care of my body because I feel sluggish and sleepy. Anyone else? For me, I have to make my fitness a routine or it won’t happen; I don’t always stay motivated but I definitely stay consistent and consistency wins every time.

You don’t have to be an athlete to have a healthy lifestyle and you don’t have to have a big history in sports to find something or some way to move your body to be strong. From an art theater girl to a budding fitness influencer (eh?), I’m here to tell you that you absolutely can do this too. I never thought I’d actually enjoy the gym, but now I crave that time. What about you? Do you love the gym?

Crush some goals this week!