HiFelicia

today I went to the gym, ready to put that work in and boom: headphones DEAD, I lose my nose ring, it was so warm in the gym and outside the ice melted in my water bottle, but I still stomped it out on the stair master and treadmill for 40 minutes because who was finna leave? The old me would’ve left so fast, girl! No headphones? Oh, time for lemon drops then! Over the years luckily I’ve matured and my mind has changed about exercising. It used to be to be the worst chore to me, now I consider it a blessing to be able to move & stretch my body. I use to let my hair or lack of motivation stop me from taking care of myself. Then I would look up a year later & hate my body from the weight gain but not just that! The stiffness, the bones cracking, the pain from trying to do simple tasks and moves ! People 30+ know what I’m saying 🫶🏿 if you don’t use your body you lose your body, simple as that. I consider my workout time like spa time, & theres no wayyy you could be in a bad mood after a workout. You never regret a workout, & once you start to feel your body changing you’ll begin to put more effort in. Trust me, you look great right now, but did you know you could look even better? Feel even better? I’ve always been off & on my fitness routine due to laziness, heartbreaks, life woes, & self imposed injury I’ve caused myself due to not stretching-yes-stretching is just as if not more important than exercise/fitness/weight loss.

With the quality of food seemingly dwindling these days I have had no interest in eating at restaurants ESPECIALLY fast food. The more you know the less you eat, period. If you’ve ever looked into the ingredients these places use in their food, you might wonder whyyyy they use so much to begin with… like whyyy does the chicken at chik-fil-a have 40* ingredients… that don’t even sound right. Even if you don’t know what the ingredients are, you still know all those ingredients in CHICKEN is crazy. I’ve been at my favorite spot aka Kroger:) grabbing food & cooking/preparing it at home. I crave my own cooking no matter how convenient it is to slide thru a drive thru, but you live & learn. I also went vegan for two years so my body understands what it wants & needs & i can actually listen now.

I want to share some tips to anyone looking to begin a fitness journey but don’t know where to start, or may be nervous.

• Buy cute gym clothes – when you look good you wanna show off anyway, so use this mentality in the gym and you will have a lil pep in your step ! I love Reebok
• Don’t sacrifice your health for a fat ass– the truth is… fat is fat baby. Even if it sit up nice and right, even if it jiggles perfectly, even if all the men fall out when you walk by. tighten up like Megan and I promise you, that ass aint going nowhere!
• Do research before you begin– ask your friends who work out consistently, they are always a big help but there are so many ways to get in shape research indeed is needed. Youtube and google is very helpful here, because not only do you need to create and follow a proper fitness plan for yourself but also researching food and its benefits.
• Buy the big headphones, not the earbuds– IT SUCKS when you’re going hard in the gym and those damn ear buds keep popping out. Some of them are cool and stay in place, but it was something about when I got a pair of wireless over the ear headphones that made me go harder than everrrr.
• bomb ass playlist– ykwtfgo
• warm up-stretch-cardio of choice-choose a muscle group and do 4 exercises dedicated to those muscles – is my recipe. of course as you build strength and endurance you could work on multiple muscle groups but here it is- YOU SHOULD NOT BE MISERABLE during your workout. Uncomfortable? Challenged? yes. but miserable? absolutely not.
• Go ahead, eat it! – if you are addicted to Big Macs and crave one three times a day, indulge. Yeah sure! This worked for me, & although I was happy to satisfy a craving, I started to notice how terrible I was feeling. Sluggish, stuffed, mind foggy, lazy, and overall unhappy due to my terrible choices. The vast difference I felt between eating what I wanted vs. what I needed was enough to get me and keep me on the right track- but you have to be careful and pay attention to your body with this one.
• Water water water– I literally carry around a 64oz stainless steel water bottle like it’s my child. I save so much money when I’m out because I’m not buying any drinks, which also means I’m not consuming any extra calories.
• find a great gym hairstyle and learn to maintain it- LETS BE REAL- hair will stop a lot of women from going to the gym to look even better. I get it, but you have to find something you can maintain that won’t stress you out because if you feel any stress from this journey, esp with your hair, you WILL quit lol! Braids, wigs, Upart wigs, clip ins, and sew ins could definitely help you look gorgeous while working out and after. I wear frontals but I secure them with a wig band and tie my hair up and night so it still looks nice and neat. Make sure to wash your hair often when working out 😉 (hats that match your gym fit are perfect too)

Maybe I’ll add more tips later but for now, try these and see if it gives you extra motivation. There is no amount of money you can pay to look healthy and fit, you have to do the work! Take care 🌸

“get your fuckin’ ass up and do the work” -Kim Kardashian