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Your Mind is an Asshole, Your Body a Gift – Why Do We Constantly Mix That Up?!

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Listen, I’m not saying your mind is always an asshole, but when it comes to what it says and thinks about your body? Most time…it’s an abusive asshole. Your mind controls how you feel about your body, what you think about your body and often these thoughts result in your overall feeling of shittiness towards yourself and sadly, more often than not it leads to body-loathing. 

We constantly hear about the power of our thoughts. We hear that our mind and our thoughts control our path, our destiny, and ultimately the energy we put out into this world (thank you, Oprah, and “The Secret”). And hey, I totally agree. There’s great power in our minds, our thoughts, our energy. What I need you to understand is that your mind can be a total cow and a completely abusive entity breaking you down, telling you you’re not good enough and guiding you towards your own self-destruction. 

Your body is a thing of beauty. It’s phenomenal. It performs miracles every freakin’ day. The fact that you wake up, breathe, have a heartbeat, smile, frown, cry, laugh, talk and move throughout your day is an incredible gift. But, do we acknowledge it’s greatness? Do we consider every day we get to get up, move, survive, thrive a gift? No…we’re too busy being told by our mind that we’re too lumpy, bumpy, chubby, boney, skinny, ugly, wrinkly and all the other crap our mind throws our way.

And yes, the media and society we live in have a lot to do with what our mind is incessantly berating us with. But, perhaps we need to find a way to stop our mind from controlling the greatness that is our body, that is our strength, that is who we truly are. Perhaps we need to start celebrating the glory of the miracle we live in and stop telling us that it’s not good enough.

Here’s the thing…you gotta stop talking smack about your body. What’s it ever done to you? I mean sure…we get injured, we get sick, and things happen to our body that we don’t particularly enjoy (hello peeing when I sneeze), but it houses my mind, my soul and where the heck would I be without this thing? I’d be a big blobby blob slithering around on the ground. 

It’s time to tell your mind to stop being so mean. It’s time to stop the negative self-talk reel that you have going round and round and round in your mind. And yes, I know that’s easier said than done, but don’t you think it’s time to at least start to try? The first step is simply “noticing what you notice”. This is one of the very first exercises we have you do in our Screw the Scale program. We simply ask that you start noticing when your mind starts talking smack about yourself or your body. What triggered it? What did your mind say? How did you react? How did you feel? Why did you respond the way you did? Just start noticing what you notice.

From there, after you start to see a pattern, change the thought. Try…just try…to put something positive in there instead of the negative crap you’ve been telling yourself for years. You won’t be able to do this all the time…the mind is a bully and will constantly try to bring you down…but take control and repeat positivity. You’ll win eventually. 

After you win a few times against your bully of a mind, your mind may actually start to change. It might actually acknowledge some strength, some endurance, some gifts your body has given you. Let those thoughts enter and embrace the warmth that comes along with it. Let your body absorb the kindness and nourish it as its never been nourished before.

It’s time to flip the switch and love your body. It’s time to tell your mind to bugger off and allow it to change and adapt and love something it’s been told to hate for a long, long time. 

Good luck, Mamas…go on…get out there and start noticing what you notice. If you need me, I’m here. All you need to do is ask for some help and I’ll be the first one shouting kindness at you and your body. 

 

006 – Workout Episode – 20 Gets You 10

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download

OH yeah, baby…it’s time for another podcast workout! This one has you working for 20 minutes. Now, if you only want to go through the block once, you’ll get yourself a sweet and sweaty 10-minute workout. Do the entire podcast and you’ll get about 25 minutes of pure joy, muscle-burnin; and heart-pumpin’ goodness. You in?

Before we start, here’s a list of the exercises that you need to know:

Pushup
Heel Lift
Dead Bug
High Knees
Star Jump
Dips
Reverse Lunge
Duck & Weave
Burpees
Double Hook (2 hooks to one side, then switch, two hooks other side, then switch and on and on and on…)
Diagonal Lunge (similar to reverse lunge but step behind you on a diagonal)
Knee Drive
Plank Jack
Yoga Jump
Triceps Pushup (slide hands so they’re in line with your chest, keep elbows close to sides)
Squat Jump
Burpee Jack (burpee with a plank jack at the bottom)
Burpee with Pushup (burpee with a pushup at the bottom)

Now…get to work! Off you go!!

 

Hey Fitness Industry – Take Your Pills, Your Wraps, Your Chemicals and Stuff It!

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I am beautiful.
I am strong.
I am powerful.
I am deserving of all the good things, including health, wealth, abundance and joy.

I am all of those things, but why is it that I used to cringe every time I reminded myself to say them out loud?

If I asked you to say those four sentences above, could you? Could you stand tall, in front of a group of people and say those words? Can you accept them, honor them, and speak them out loud and not feel like an imposter? 

Our bodies define our self-worth. Well, if you look at my beloved fitness industry, that’s what they sell you. The fit, slim and trim people are joyful, happy, empowered. The overweight, underfit and weigh-scale challenged women are unhappy, miserable, lacking in confidence. This is the “truth” among the media you read, you watch and you listen to. 

Well, I’m freakin’ sick of it. I’m sick of you getting down on yourself because the scale read a number you didn’t want to see. I’m tired of watching you crumble and stumble because you don’t fit the “fitness mold”. Frig…I don’t fit the fitness mold. But here I am…telling you right now:

I am beautiful.
I am strong.
I am powerful.
I am deserving of all the good things, including health, wealth, abundance and joy.

And you know what? It took me all 39 years of my life to be able to say those words out loud. It took responding to the industry I love so much and standing up to it and shouting “NO…you don’t define me. The scale doesn’t define me. I get to define my worth, my love, my passion, my value to this world. Me. Not you. Not the scale. Not the fitness industry telling me every corner I turn where I’ve gone wrong”.

I drink wine. I eat chocolate. I hate leg days. I have cellulite. I have stretch marks and I have belly fat. I like Baileys in my coffee. I also love salad. I workout at least 6 times a week. I can get up and run a 10k no problem. I honest to GOD love burpees. And I empower 1000s women to love themselves no matter what.

I’m taking a stand against the industry I work in. I’m standing against your “bikini-body-ready” messaging. I’m standing against all the companies out there trying to shrink me, make me weigh less, make me FREAKIN’ HUNGRY AND EAT chemicals. I stand up against you. I stand beautifully tall and proud against you. You can take your pills, your wraps, your smoothies, your artificial food and you can stuff it. 

I eat healthy because it makes me feel good. I choose salad because, no, I don’t always want salad (I RARELY want salad) but it’s healthy and it’s good for me and my body likes to feel good. I like to feel good. I workout because it relieves my stress, my worry, my anxiety. I choose to empower women because it is what I’m meant to do. 

No, I won’t swallow your pills. I won’t define myself, my worth, my success based on the scale. I won’t succumb to your incredible marketing tactics that make me feel less than because I don’t have a six-pack and will, most likely, never have one. No. I will not buy into your marketing strategies any longer. And, I’m going to open the eyes of all the women in my life to their power and the potential their bodies hold.

It’s taken me 39 years to get to this point. And, I’m a confident woman. I’m educated. I love fitness with all I am and it is just recently that I’ve decided that I’m enough the way I am. I want to be healthy. I want to be strong. Not because I want to look good in a bikini…I want these things because I want to feel good, I want to have energy at the end of the day and I want to be healthy and fit. For my quality of life…no other reason.

I beg of you, if you’re reading this and this resonates with you, please know fitness and nutrition can be an incredible tool in your life. But, we need to change the end goal of fitness and nutrition programming. The end goal is health, self-love, acceptance and celebration of your body. It is NOT losing pounds, fitting into size 2 or getting “bikini-body ready”. 

If you’re interested…I can help you. I so desperately want to help you. Do I want you to buy my program, Screw the Scale? Yes, of course, I do. It’s freakin’ amazing and it will change your life and how you look at fitness. BUT…if I can get you to simply look at fitness as a tool to help you love yourself and you don’t buy my program? I’m A-OK with that. Just…go…get active. For you. For your body. To honor the gift you were given. I want you to step off the friggin’ scale, bash it with a sledgehammer and get to work on YOU.  

Embrace yourself. Love your body. Celebrate all you do. Every day. That’s the power of fitness that I want you to experience. It’s something you do for you and no other reason than health and your quality of life.  

I am beautiful.
I am strong.
I am powerful.
I am deserving of all the good things, including health, wealth, abundance and joy.

If you’re interested in my program, CLICK HERE to learn more about Screw the Scale. If you’re not…that’s fine…just please…stop listening to my industry tell you you’re not enough. You are. You may just need to do a bit of work to get to a place of accepting it. 

 

 

Disconnecting To Become a Better Mama

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I was recently on holiday with my family and, while I’m absolutely attached to my phone because of what I do, it’s the ONE week every year where I go completely radio silent. I don’t log in to Facebook, I don’t check emails, I don’t go anywhere near a computer. And, it’s freakin’ glorious. My phone explodes and overheats the moment I turn it on after the week, but hey…it’s so worth it.

This year was no different. As my friend drove us to the airport, I sat in the back with my kiddos and I had my son push the little airplane button on my phone and just like that, I disconnected. Well, not exactly. I had to turn it back on and do it again so my daughter could also push the button. They love that part. It’s the moment they know I’m going to be with them, really with them, for the entire week. They actually cheer. And then I feel like a jerk because I know how much I’m attached to my phone because of work and random scrolling and I know it affects them.

Why do I even bring my phone on this week-long zero-connectivity holiday? Simple. I like the camera. Seriously. It’s a really good camera. 

I get asked all the time if I sneak off during the holidays to go online and “quickly” check on things. The honest and sharp answer is “NO”. No freakin’ way. There is no “quickly” check on things when you own a company as there will ALWAYS be something urgent going on. Always. 

I have zero desire to go online when I’m on this holiday. It’s my one week every year where I get to just forget it all. I’m just Lindsay, Mom and wife. Nothing else. And those roles, those are the most important roles I have. Don’t get me wrong, being the OHM is amazing, being a friend to many is humbling, being a daughter is the best…but being me, Mom and Wife? Yeah…that’s where I really shine. 

We had a fabulous holiday this year. Really fabulous. But, the point of this article isn’t about how amazing the nachos, drinks, pools and ocean were. No, this is about what happened when we returned.

We got home, I turned my phone on in the airport and…it exploded for about 10 minutes loading everything. And, since then, I’ve been connected and working like a fiend since. It’s like our holiday never happened. And, that is where I need to make a change. 

I was watching a movie with my son the other night, and by watching a movie, I mean that he was watching and I was randomly scrolling through Facebook. Not even “working” just randomly scrolling, checking on my franchise owners’ pages and groups, liking posts, commenting when I could, etc. My son turned to me and said “Mom, it’s like you’re not even here”. 

Shoot. Dangit. Frig. DAMMIT.

He was right. Just sitting next to him isn’t being present. Just being there with him isn’t enough. This isn’t an incredible A-HA moment for most of you and it wasn’t really for me…what was the A-HA moment was looking into his eyes and seeing how honest and sincere…and lonely he was. And I was right there. But, I wasn’t. I wasn’t present.

So, I decided to do something about it. Now, I own a fairly large company and it’s getting busier every day. So, disconnecting for weeks at a time is impossible. I even tried cutting off electronics for certain times of the day. BUT…again, I work in a very consumer-driven company and I’m a startup, so right now, I just can’t do that.

What can I do? I’ve decided I can do mini-disconnects. I can commit to one weekend per month of complete disconnect. Yes, I’m going to have to schedule it. Yes, I’m going to have to plan it and organize with my team. But, it can happen. My son and daughter will get to pick the weekend and they’ll get to push the airplane on my phone on Friday night at 4pm and I’ll push it again on Monday morning at 5am to reconnect. 

That’s my plan. The best part? My son is BEYOND excited. When I asked him what he thought of my idea the biggest and most beautiful smile fell on his face. And, although for a lot of you reading this, this doesn’t seem like much, disconnecting for one weekend every month, for me…it’s a biggie. And, I’m committing to it. This is going to happen and I cannot wait to share with you how our monthly disconnects go.

Hopefully I’ll see a whole lot of this smile…

Will you join me in disconnecting? It’s going to be great. I just know it. 

Success Isn’t a Given – You Gotta Go To Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work

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I was recently chatting with someone who had a business close and the hurt, frustration and general feeling of being jaded by business emanated from her. I felt every ounce of grief, sadness, frustration and anger and my heart broke for her. I don’t like to see people fail. Even when my “competition” fails, my heart goes out to the business owner, because I know what goes into running a business. I know how much of yourself you commit to your business and watching it close must be devastating. 

After I finished talking with the woman who closed her business, I took a few moments to reflect on myself, my brand, my company, my Hot Mamas. And, here’s what I came up with…

HOLY S**T…this year we celebrate 5 years in business…and I’m still here. I’m. Still. Here. And, I’m thriving.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’ve gone through some extremely low points over the years. I’ve doubted myself, my vision, my ability to execute. I’ve quit. I’ve been hurt. I’ve been scared, mad, frustrated, angry and I’ve never doubted myself so much in my life. Welcome to entrepreneurship. It’s quite a ride.

The best part? You can handle all of those emotions if you learn to ride the wave. If you can buckle down, forge ahead and believe in yourself, you can achieve. You will achieve. Now, it might not be in the business you initially intended because well, maybe that just wasn’t the right business for you, but once you find your place in the business world, you can succeed.

There are 1000’s of pieces to the puzzle that is entrepreneurship, but you need to build your business from the four corner pieces and work from there. 

My corner pieces? It took me awhile to realize how essential these pieces are, but I now know that these are the pieces that have brought me to where I am today:

1) Passion. Now, this is a given and you probably know this one. But, I’m talking true passion. I’m talking “wake you up in the middle of the night with your heart racing and ideas slamming around your brain” type of passion. Whatever you decide to do you need to be LIT UP by it. Because, on the days when you want to quit (and there are a lot of those days), it’s this passion that will help you forge ahead. If it’s your true passion and you don’t work on it, you’ll feel like you are missing a big part of your life. If the thought of not working on your business breaks your heart and deflates you, you’ve got it right. When you think about your passion, you should be filled with drive, determination, and energy.

2) Belief. You need to fully believe in the success of your company. Your belief has to be unwavering. How you get there and the journey you have to take will make you question everything about yourself and others, but your belief in your company? Un-wav-er-ing.

If you go into business with the mindset of “I think this could be good”, you’re going to fail. You need the mindset of “This will succeed, there’s no other option”. Why? Because if you believe in what you’re working on, you can’t quit. You seriously, absolutely, 100% can’t quit.

I believe in what I do with Hot Mama and I know I make a difference. I also know that we will be successful. We may have rocky times, but in the end, we do a lot of good work and we help a lot of people. I believe in the goodness of my company and of all the women working with me…I can’t fail. There’s no way. I have never doubted the importance of Hot Mama or how much it is needed. So, I believe in my company. I believe in its success. Always.

3) Grit and perseverance. Like I said, business is hard and will make you question everything about yourself and about others. It’ll pick you up, throw you down, stomp on you, then pick you up again only to throw you down and stomp on you twice as hard. You don’t have to like it, but you do have to get through it. 

You’re going to get knocked down. People are going to let you down. You’re going to let yourself down. You’re going to make mistakes. And, as your company grows, you’ll need more grit and more perseverance than ever before. People will question you more. People will doubt you more. People will plant more seeds of doubt in your mind than ever before. 

Grind it out. Get through it. Stand your ground. Push, dig and drive your business. If you’re passionate about your business and you believe in your business…you constantly pick yourself up, adjust your ponytail, straighten your clothing and you get back to work. To do that…you need grit. You need that something inside you that says “No, you’re wrong…this is worth it. Let me show you just how far I can go”. That’s grit. That’s perseverance. 

4) Solid support.  Now, the above three points are incredibly important but most important is support. You need a cheering squad. You need a strong team forging the path with you. And, you need a soft place to land on the hard and brutal days. 

Support comes in various ways and you need them all.

  • Support within your company. You need support IN your company and you need to work with people who are passionate about what you are doing. You need the support of the people you get to work with every day. In your company you need people working with you who believe in what you are doing and in what you’re trying to do (because yes, they’re two different things). You need people who will walk through the fire with you because they believe in you and your business as much as you do, if not more so. That’s your team…and if you don’t have a supportive team, you’re hooped. Every now and then you need your team to say to you “I believe in you. You can do this”. Because let me tell you…if you don’t hear those words or you don’t have that support, your journey just got a whole lot harder.

  • Support at home. It will be impossible to build your business if you don’t have support at home. Your partner, your family…they all need to be onboard. You’re going to take out a lot of frustration and anxiety on them and it’s often your family that will have the guts to tell you to knock it off and get back to work. If you don’t have that, you’ll fail. You need someone so fully in your corner that no amount of bitchiness and self-doubt causes them to waver. You need someone who pushes you to believe in yourself and who will knock some sense into you when you start to be ridiculous. You need unwavering support from your family because trust me, you’re going to doubt yourself enough for the entire world, you don’t need their doubt riding on your shoulders too. You have enough of that all on your own. 
  • Support from your friends. Now, support from your family is essential but equally important is support from your friends. They’re your soft place to land. They’re the ones who will pick you up off the floor (literally), give you a glass of wine and listen to your doubts and fears on repeat for years and years. You will sound like a broken record because your fears and doubts will always be your fears and doubts. Good friends, they listen, they hug, they let you cry, they let you doubt…then they also give you a kick in the ass and tell you to knock it off. Friends who support you allow you to be you, allow you to grow and change and become what you’re meant to be. Find the people who accept you as you are today and as you are as you grow and hang on tight to them. You’re going to need them, not only for support but for celebration…because nobody celebrates your success like your friends do…nobody. 

There are so many more puzzle pieces you need to be a successful entrepreneur, but I feel like these are the four pillars that have helped me build a business and keep it running for five years. It’s not easy, being an entrepreneur, it’s not at all easy. If you think working for yourself will be fun and amazing, that you can make your own hours and work on your own time, you’re wrong. You’re going to be your worst boss ever because you’re going to be more demanding of yourself than anyone else. But, if you have passion, belief in your business, grit and perseverance and a support team in all aspects of your life…you can do this. 

Make sure your business is right for you and get to work. It’s not easy, it takes patience. It takes determination. And, honestly…it takes a really bombass idea and an ability to work harder than you’ve ever worked to execute your dream. But I’ll tell you one thing: it’s worth it. It’s all worth it. 

Good luck to any and all of you entrepreneurs out there. I’ll be here…grinding it out, doubting myself, and loving every single moment.