I Can - Fitness & Lifestyle Coaching

How has it been 21 years since you turned my world upside down in the most incredible way??? 🤯🥹❤️
My biggest teacher, my inspiration to be a better human and the one who I credit for saving my life from a very different path that could have been.
Wise beyond your years, a huge heart full of compassion, love and kindness and the ability to feel deeply … which is a special power that overwhelms you as a young person. The world will try to tell you it’s not allowed, but you will come to realise just how much of a special gift it is.
Keep being you, I’m in awe of the man you’ve become. My greatest achievement, thank you for the privilege of being your Mum 🙏🏻 ❤️

Are you tired of spending your precious energy on worrying about how you look and feeling miserable when you think your body doesn’t look how you think it ‘should’?

We all care what others think to a certain extent, it’s a survival mechanism as we need each other to survive, but basing your self-worth on how you think others perceive you (because let’s be honest you’ll never actually know 🤯) will leave you feeling anxious about changing or maintaining a certain appearance , with a fragile sense of self and no trust in yourself.

How you feel about, think about and see your body as well as the behaviours you engage in as a result of your body image can, and very often do, have a huge impact on your quality of life.

Is it time to start another bu****it diet or ‘plan’ where you end up miserable, tired and having gained no knowledge or skills to help you once it has finished…. Or might it be time to try a different approach to your fat loss or health and fitness goals?? 🤔

Delish Pad Thai, courtesy of BBC Good Food recipe 😋 and a stunning sunset …. Perfect end to a lovely day 🥰☀️😎💃🏻🏋🏻‍♂️🙌🏻

What are you grateful for today? 🤔🙏🏻❤️

I love teaching at Solace, lovely class members, great inclusive culture, awesome owners who care about their clients, relaxed and positive vibe and a whole load of fun… AND if I’m lucky Hendrix the dog
💕🤩💃🏻🎉🙌🏻🐶🏋🏻‍♂️🤸🏻🧘🏻‍♀️

✨Happy Monday ✨
☀️Every day we have the opportunity to start something, to take action, to move towards what we want to achieve.
☀️We can frame it as having a fresh start and remember that any goal we set our minds to is reached by taking a series of small consistent steps.
☀️Having goals is like a road map of how you want to live your life, your values determine the path you take.
🤓Are there any lifestyle changes you’ve been meaning to make? Any personal development habits you’ve wanted to introduce?
What can you begin doing today that is a step in the direction of your new path? Remember this can be a tiny habit, not complicated or difficult ❤️

How much of your time and energy is spent thinking, worrying about or trying to change parts of your body or appearance?

Have you ever stopped to consider….🤷🏻‍♀️

If you are a human female it is a fact that you probably experience negative thoughts and feelings towards your body 🚹( men and boys I see you, I know this affects you too and you find it harder to even entertain the idea of ever openly admitting you struggle with it, I’m truly sorry. But women have had this s**t inflicted on them for time and with huge ferocity, we are disproportionately negatively affected). People with a disability, and those who are transgender are also disproportionately affected.

I will be happy when I ….
‘Lose half a stone’
‘Fit into a smaller clothes size’
‘Have smaller thighs’
‘Have a flatter stomach’
‘Have bigger boobs’
…. And on , and on and on …. And on 😔
(Spoiler alert, there ain’t no magic pot of self-esteem at the end of that s**tty diet rainbow !)

Research clearly shows that women and girls put their lives on hold due to body dissatisfaction ☹️
From dropping out of sports at school, not putting hand up to contribute in class , to not putting ourselves forwards for jobs, not going swimming or wearing swimwear at the beach, withdrawing from social events to pursuing relationships
….. and on, and on ….. And on 😟

This affects women and girls of ALL ages, the stats from research are shocking, but not surprising given the culture we live in where thinness, weight loss at any cost and many disordered eating and exercise habits are celebrated and praised. Here are a few :
🤯 Nearly 80% of young teenage girls report fears of becoming fat

🤯 Nearly 70% of adult women report withdrawing from activities due to their body image

🤯 61% of adults and 66% of children feel negative or very negative about their body image most of the time. (2021 survey , women & equalities committee )

Body image problems are one of the strongest risk factor for the development of an eating disorder. Higher body dissatisfaction is associated with a poorer quality of life, psychological distress and the risk of unhealthy eating behaviours.

So, how can you cultivate more appreciation and satisfaction with your body? We are bombarded with messages from many sources that are not always obvious, telling us that we need to look a certain way, there is one body type that is acceptable/ attractive / beautiful
… and on , and on …. And on 😠

So it’ll likely take a bit of work. But wouldn’t that be worthwhile? Just imagine how fulfilling life could be if all the time resources and energy we poured into our appearance, our body and how we think others see us was spent on the things that we truly value 🤔❤️✨

Start today ….. what about your body are you grateful for? What does it allow you to do and have you stopped lately to think just how amazing it really is? ✨☺️

I’m not naively telling you to just ‘love your body’ and that it will all be fine…. Far from it and if only it were that simple 🙈 but this s**t is ruining lives and it makes me really sad.

Let’s break the cycle …. We can all contribute to not engaging in diet talk, not berating our bodies in front of our children, not commenting on other women’s appearance at any opportunity and understanding that we don’t actually care about how our loved ones bodies look…..so why is it we believe they would judge us because of ours ❤️

As a personal trainer I see how much harm ‘fitspiration’ & the one depiction of what a ‘fit’ body (that is mostly unrealistic and unachievable) should look like can inflict and I will do everything in my power not to contribute to that.

More posts to come on this, please comment and share your thoughts 💭

✨Monday mindset✨
Do you spend any time working on your relationship with yourself? What is the quality of your self- talk and how you treat yourself in tough times or when things don’t go as planned 🤔

Awareness is the first step, can you start noticing patterns and think of how this may be impacting you and your other relationships. Many of us speak to ourselves like we are our own enemy rather than a best friend 😧

Can you try today to be a little kinder ……❤️