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DAMMIT! I Forgot Fitness is Supposed to be Fun, Not Punishment

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Fitness has always been a part of my life. My Mom was an aerobics instructor and honestly, my first memories of my entire life are of picking out her leotard and legwarmers and going to classes with her. For the most part, fitness has also been a very fun and social thing for me. I’m a big fan of group exercise (obviously, I started a wicked company that revolves around it, yay Hot Mama!). I love the people. I love the energy. I love the swearing. I truly love group ex.

Recently though, my workouts have become a grind. Like a “I really don’t wanna go in there and get on that treadmill and push, push, push myself. I hate it in there. Ugh” type of grind.

Here’s the thing, I was working out to lose weight, not to have fun. Yeah, I know. Me, the Founder of a fitness company that is successful because we make fitness fun, loving and supportive. Me, who battles against that F**KING scale and creates events to smash the aforementioned scales with sledgehammers. Yeah Me. I’ve been working out to lose weight. Because well, I’m uncomfortable in my skin right now and that’s not an awesome feeling. 

I have Hashimoto’s disease. It’s an autoimmune disease that attacks your thyroid. Basically, my thyroid doesn’t work at all and I take thyroid meds to manage it. It’s seriously not a big deal, but my medications never seem to even out and balance. This summer I became severely hypothyroid and couldn’t get on top of it. Weight gain and fatigue had me feeling self-conscious, embarrassed and oh-so-tired.

But, every morning I would get on my treadmill and hammer out some intervals. I would sweat and swear and couldn’t figure out for the life of me why I kept gaining weight. I would push myself and my workouts to a point where I started hating my body for not responding like it is supposed to. Stupid thyroid.   [Read more…] about DAMMIT! I Forgot Fitness is Supposed to be Fun, Not Punishment

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. 

 

 

Screw the Scale is the New Screw Skinny

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Earlier in 2017, I created a program called “Screw Skinny“. This 8-week in-person program offered through Hot Mama Health & Fitness combines fitness education, workouts and self-love exercises. The goal? Help women learn to love their bodies through fitness and what we call “Love Yourself More” exercises. We’ve recently finished the first 8-week session and to say feedback has been incredible is an understatement. It went far beyond my wildest expectations. 

We first launched a trailer video for Screw Skinny that involved interviews with women talking about stepping off the scale, not defining their worth by numbers and, literally, taking sledgehammers to their scale. I must say the day of filming this video was one of the most powerful days I’ve experienced in my life and I am so grateful to everyone who was involved in that very first day of bringing my vision of Screw Skinny to life.

That day of filming culminated in a 9-minute Screw Skinny video. I hope you take the time to watch it because the women in it are PHENOMENAL and have a lot of good things to say. 

 

But, an interesting thing happened after I launched the video. I started getting feedback that I was “skinny-shaming” or “skinny-bashing”. And, while yes, good marketing and programs are supposed to start conversations (which is exactly why I named the program Screw Skinny), I’m also open to conversations and feedback. I truly do listen to people (probably to a fault at this point) who reach out and connect with me. Well, as long as it’s done in a respectful and non-assholey, non-trolly way (know what I mean?!). 

Let me be the first to say that I stand by the name “Screw Skinny“. I won’t be removing or editing the video we did, nor will I be changing the graphics on any social media posts we’ve previously posted. I also won’t apologize for a name that I truly believe in. I will, however, listen openly to feedback and consider opinions, options and suggestions. And yes, I have decided to change the name of our Screw Skinny program to Screw the Scale for our ONLINE program. 

Why? Because I get it. I understand. And, I appreciate people taking the time to respectfully reach out to me and have an open and honest dialogue with me. 

So, what really made me change the name? While I do stand by “Screw Skinny” and I do love the conversations I’ve had with others, the ENTIRE POINT of the name is to stop giving words like “skinny” so much power, it’s really more about stepping off the scale. So, why even bring the word into it. 

Why? Because…again…it start conversations and it allows us to have a platform to talk about loving our bodies no matter what. Skinny, fat (yeah, I said it), fit, unfit, wiggly, jiggly, lean, cut…whatever the heck word you choose…I want to take the power away from descriptive and ridiculous words. BUT…I am one person with one small soap box. So, I’ve accepted the fact that I can continue to have conversations with people using different words.

Screw the scale, not screw skinny. 

Will it be as impactful? Yeah…friggin’ rights it will. Screw the Scale is just as catchy and I won’t be told that I’m skinny-shaming anyone.

Here’s what actually got me to change the name. I had a woman message me and ask me to reconsider the name. I asked her why and that I think the name started conversations. She agreed. She liked what I was doing. But, she asked me to consider how a knobby-kneed 14-year old would regard the messaging “Screw Skinny”. Is she going to take the time to watch the video and really understand the purpose, or is she going to just see the graphic and think “My body is skinny, so screw me”? 

Yikes.

Now that…that didn’t sit well. As I battle for women to love themselves. To accept one another and love one another NO MATTER WHAT. As I try to change the way women look at their bodies and at fitness, that comment stuck with me. I would never, ever in my entire life want someone to be made to feel less than because of a campaign I’m spearheading. I had to sit with it for awhile. I had to ponder and think. But, my gut, my heart, my head all begged me to change the name. So, I have. 

I want to empower and inspire and motivate all women, teens and young girls to appreciate and love the vessel they have that takes them through their lives. No matter what the scale says, they have strength, power and beauty within their body. So, “skinny” has nothing to do with it. 

I want to have conversations with women about loving and honouring their bodies and I do realize the power and influence I have, so I need to ensure the influence I’m putting out sits well within my own self and is a positive one for all women.

While I want women to step outside their comfort zones and actually talk about their powerful bodies I cannot do it if I have this little niggle in my heart. Knowing that I may affect a young girl in a negative way, that my words could impact someone in the exact opposite of my goal, well now…that’s something to really think about, isn’t it?  

There’s really only one way I can continue with this full-on battle against negative self-talk and body-loathing. I must change the words I use. Words have so much power and it’s an uphill battle to convince most women (not all, I know this) that they’re so much more than their stupid morning weigh-ins.  

I’m certain I will be throwing out my body-loving sword for years and decades to come, but I’m here and I’m committed to the good fight. I so desperately want you to stop and assess the power and strength of your body. But, it’s about stepping off the scale, not putting down the shape of a body. So y’all…Screw the Scale is the new Screw Skinny. 

Same program. Same goals: stop, reflect and love the strength and power you have in your body.Different name. 

You’re more than you give yourself credit for. Your body is beautiful and it does amazing things for you every single day of your life. It’s time to learn that, remember that and love yourself. You are not a number. You are strength and power. 

Screw the scale.

*Our online version of Screw the Scale in launching May 4th…stay tuned!*

When Sledgehammers Meet Scales, Magic Happens

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How can I possibly capture the emotional moments of women unleashing their strength and power in writing? It’s daunting and overwhelming, but I’m going to try to give justice to the energy and love that was felt during the Hot Mama Scale Bash Celebrations. 

It was last summer that I woke at 3am with the idea of creating a program where I combined fitness, fitness education and self-love exercises to help women learn to accept and love their bodies as they are. I landed on finally calling the “self-love” exercises “Love Yourself More” and they’re an integral part of our 8-week Screw the Scale (previously Screw Skinny) program. It is the combination of fitness and Love Yourself More exercises that make this program completely different than anything you’ve ever tried before.

I also thought it would be ridiculously amazing to offer an event where women could take back their power from the scale by bashing it with a sledgehammer. I wanted to give women the opportunity to smash (literally) a piece of equipment that has more often than not created heartache, self-loathing and body image despair. So, I created our Scale Bash Celebrations where we literally take a sledgehammer to scales and unleash the power we have within ourselves.

I saw a void in the fitness industry and I wanted to create a new, ground-breaking, self-loving fitness program. A lot of people workout to look better, fit into their jeans or lose a designated amount of weight. And, unfortunately, we’re heading into a season where we’re about to be inundated with getting “bikini-body ready”. That kills me. Every time. I needed to change that. 

Think about it: does the fitness program you’re currently on remind you to love your body? I’d hazard a guess that for the most part, that’s not the focus.

So, what about the work that has to go into accepting your body the way it is? Sure, let’s get fit and healthy, but perhaps we, in the fitness industry, also need to provide tools to help you learn to accept your body in its healthy form. That may not look like what the media images show us. That may look jiggly, wiggly, skinny, boney, muscley, not muscley, dimply or sleek. Health and fitness can come in all shapes, sizes, curves and glory. We need to start embracing and loving all silhouettes.

Why are we not teaching that? We were missing the point. 

But not any longer.

When sledgehammers meet scales, magic happens and programs like Screw the Scale can help us move past the numbers and towards self and body-love. The good news? I’m not alone on this mission, I have a band of women teaching this right along with me. 

About 100 women participated in our 8-week Screw the Scale program and I wish I could explain to you how humbling it is to hear how a program that came from my heart has impacted so many women. When I get pulled aside and told that this program helped you become a more patient, more energized, more loving Mother or that you can finally look in a mirror and love yourself, please know I am so grateful for your words. Your words are why I do what I do. Your words constantly inspire me to do more, give more.

Knowing that you’re taking the time for fitness and putting your health and self-love on your priority list is a beautiful thing. Learning that you’re happier, healthier and teaching your kids about the importance of fitness and body acceptance, well, that’s everything to me. So, thank you.

It’s beyond humbling. It’s beyond stunning. It’s beyond all my far-fetched dreams and expectations. 

So, How did the events go? Well…there were sledgehammers, scales, workouts, cheering, laughing, crying. There were so many emotions and so much love at each of the three events, I left feeling breathless, inspired and humbled. 

The energy of women bashing scales is phenomenal. Powerful. Beautiful. Even in the smaller groups, the energy put through the sledgehammer into the scale was exciting and…riveting. It went beyond the physical smashing and many women had a serious cry sesh shortly after. If we can help women step off the scale and learn that they’re so much more than that stupid number, I will celebrate and #dancedammit for the rest of my days. 

Trust me when I tell you that you’re worth it. You have strength. You have power. You are not defined by the numbers on your scale. I will help you raise your sledgehammer to your scale and bash it with the beauty and strength you have inside of you. Screw the scale, Mamas…you’re so much more than a number. 

 

Wanna know the coolest part? Me and my Hot Mamas…well…we’re going to continue pushing you to love yourself. This program will be offered at a franchise near you, just check in with them! And, if you don’t have a Hot Mama franchise near you (you should buy one), our online Screw the Scale program will be launching on May 4, 2017. So, keep watching for the magic…it’s coming.