The Sweaty Betties Q & A!
Read MoreSweaty Betty Q&A
One of my all time favorite pages to follow is The Sweaty Bettie’s! If you aren’t following, go LIKE https://www.facebook.com/TheSweatyBetties?fref=ts now. She posts advice and links and workouts and even has Inappropriate Picture Friday! What is that you ask? The Sweaty Bettie’s post an inappropriate picture every Friday – there was one that stands out to me that ended with her saying “my mom said I should apologize for my inappropriate picture today”. The page literally cracks me up and is full of fun and info – don’t miss out!
So I figured doing a little Q&A would help everyone understand what the page is all about and get a little insight on who is behind this great page
How did the Sweaty Betties start? The Sweaty Betties started with my best friend and I, we were both a little burnt out with fitness and wanted to make it fun again. We started doing challenges with each other and one morning over breakfast our husbands came up with the name The Sweaty Betties. It evolved over time and earlier this year we had an amicable split and I wanted to continue with the original goal of SBs to continue to motivate, educate and inspire.. and so the page carried on.
Were you always into health and fitness even in your teenage years? Hmmm well, fitness yes, health, not so much. I was a little obsessed in my teenage years and I struggled with bulimia. I wish I had known better and healthier ways about food instead of just restricting and purging and I wish I hadn’t wasted so many years hating my body.
What’s your favorite body part to workout? I love working out back. It makes me feel powerful and strong.
Do you have a fitness idol? I look up to a few people in the fitness industry as idols, but more as business role models. I love Jillian Michaels, Jamie Eason and also recently Chalene Johnson.
What’s something you do that is def not health/fitness related but just can’t seem to give it up? Maybe food related? Maybe coffee? I really can give it up and I often do. I go through phases of drinking a lot and then none. Some mornings I have it, sometimes I only want it in the afternoon. I probably would be sad if it were never an option though. I just like the taste of something hot!
What’s your “reason” for being healthy? I would have said a few years ago, it was about how I look… now its really about how I feel. How I feel about how I look is definitely intertwined in that, but I realized how much more capable I feel when I am fit. I feel more confident in all my abilities when my physical ability is great.
What’s your best piece of advice for someone who is struggling to lose weight? My best advice is to be consistent. Too often we set unrealistic goals and give up. If we could just start with a small goal and be consistent, the results would come.
What are your thoughts on tummy tucks, liposuction, etc? Interestingly, I’m highly against lipo and I don’t mind tummy tucks if its something that you desire. Here’s the deal with lipo– you only have a certain amount of fat cells in your body. So lipo removes them completely. What happens when you gain weight after lipo? The fat just goes to another location. I’ve seen some really weird bodies after lipo– big huge arms with a small waist, etc. Its just a no no. DONT DO IT!! Besides its very dangerous and brutal.
Tummy tucks are another story. A tummy tuck is to remove loose skin after losing a lot of weight or babies stretching it during pregnancy. I always recommend anyone to wait at least a year after their weight loss because the skin can still tighten over time.. But if its still there and you busted your ass to lose 100+ lbs and thats the last thing from making your feel confident.. then do it! JUST be very very careful about who does it and realize there are great risks involved. I had a friend who did it and had to have a revision. She was very very depressed with her results and it was psychologically damaging. Its not something to be taken lightly. Realize also that a tummy tuck doesn’t give you a free pass to skip the gym either. It should be done after all the weight loss is complete and what is left is skin that is hanging. I also do preach self-love and I think you should be happy with yourself no matter how you look. A tummy tuck will not fix self-hate and psychological issues, but it can def increase confidence so if you have the means and its bothering you, I wouldn’t judge you for it. This is also how I feel about breast implants.
Where do you buy your fitness apparel? online these days. ActivewearUSA.com mpgsport.com and lornajane.com or I end up at expos and finding cute stuff at booths. I have wayyy to many gym pants at this point. I used to be really cheap with clothes, but I realized as a trainer I was spending 6 + days a week in my gym clothes I needed to start buying quality. I started with Lululemon of course, but I found brands I liked better with just as good of quality. Now I have so many because they LAST for years!
What kind of face wash and shampoos do you use to keep the oils to a minimum on your face and your hair after workouts? I use Dove soap, which was recommended by an esthetician actually. As far as after workouts, I love Suave or Dove Dry Shampoo or baby powder. You of course need to dry your hair first… I know it seems gross, but blow dry the sweat and then touch up the roots with powder or dry shampoo and you’re good to go. I hate doing my hair, so I try to wash it only as necessary.
What brand shoes do you wear? almost always Nikes and I have a big thing against Vibram 5 fingers and Toms, I refuse to wear either because I think they are ugly. LOL
What’s something you can do now that you couldn’t do last year? I have a much better body acceptance this year. When I was really into fitness modeling and competing I was highly critical of myself. I have a much less perfect body now and much higher acceptance, ironically. I have come a long way and I’m definitely proud of that.Do you workout alone or with a friend? alone. I found over time, that I was more advanced than most people who wanted to train with me and I ended up just training them and not getting in a good workout. However, I’m not opposed to a partner. It can be really fun that way.
Are your workouts mostly at home, gyms, outdoors, etc? at this time they are either in my home or a gym, Even though I am in great weather, I rarely workout outdoors.
Do you have any pets? I have two dogs; a black lab and some kind of cutie shepherd mix. They are 5 & 7 and make me laugh daily. I love puppies but we got them both from different owners who no longer wanted/could have them.
What is your occupation? Personal trainer, fitness expert, fitness personality, social media queen
What’s the worst household chore? ugh! folding clothes! I just hate it! Its probably why I also hate wrapping gifts. I’m not good with detail oriented crap like that!
What body part on yourself do you most dislike? I generally complain about my butt, but I get a lot of compliments (at least from my husband and black men… LOL) I definitely have some junk in the trunk and thats where my body fat goes, but I guess it could be worse! Luckily Kim Kardashian has brought booty back in style, so I’m starting to embrace it.
What’s your favorite thing about having a Facebook page like Sweaty Bettie’s? I love the connections I am able to make with women all over the world and meet people I never would have come across. I have made some fabulous friends over the year and made wonderful connection that never would have happened before the power of social media.
What’s something that frustrates you about having a page like Sweaty Bettie’s? I have learned the hard way, that you can’t please everyone. I’ve definitely always been a people pleaser, but being on a platform in front of over 25,000 people you realize there are over 25,000 personalities and you can NOT make everyone happy. Inappropriate Picture Friday is one such thing… even though I probably lose more followers on Fridays than any other day, the fans who know me, (and that I’m not aiming to hurt anyone) love it and want me to continue. With Fridays, I have come to expect that some people won’t agree (like my mother, and she calls me nearly every week to tell me she disapproves… sorry again mom) Other times, I can simply post a statement or an opinion and I’m met with a crazy backlash or an argument I’ll admit, those are hard. I hate to lose any fans, but I had to learn that people will misunderstand you, they will question your intentions or integrity and you just have to be true to yourself and know who you are. There have been a few people whose comments I let upset me so much I wanted to just quit altogether, but I had to realize that the people I help and the people who leave positive statement far out number the negative ones. You definitely learn to develop a sense of who you are and what you will tolerate very quickly. I realize that there really are just trolls on the internet who just love to pick a fight and you have to be the bigger person.
Right or left handed? Right– and I’m pretty much handicapped with my left side. My right elbow was busted up once and I tried brushing my teeth with my left hand… lets just say it was a disaster that left my gums bleeding.
If you were told you only had a month to live what would be the #1 thing at the top of your bucket list?
Thats a tough one, I would probably scramble to go see some old friends and not tell them why, then I would spend the last two weeks of my life in Europe and just traveling around enjoying time with my husband doing whatever he wants to do with me before I go. I have done a lot in my life and have no regrets.
Sorting my self out… FINAL POST…
So I write this as I’m crying and emotional from many things going on in my life…probably not a good time to figure out your life, but I never do things the way others do anyway. Writing makes me feel better, so here are my ramblings…
“I’m not running anymore, just don’t want to anymore.”
“What? Why? Are you crazy? You are not giving that up, you will run again, you have to.”
Let’s start by saying this: there is more to life than running. There is more to the fitness lifestyle than running. You do not have to be a runner. It took me running a half marathon to figure that out.
I ran the half marathon because I needed to prove to myself that I could do it, but also because everyone else was doing them so why not?
Why not? Because if you don’t want to run a half marathon, then do 1 of the 100 other things you could do to build up a sweat.
Runners get this recognition in my head because they run races and get medals and do it for miles upon miles. But there should also be a sense of recognition for myself when I get to the gym 6 days a week or totally kick ass in a specific workout.
It’s not all about running.
I’ve unfortunately lost my passion for blogging and posting my life, and I think it’s only because I really need to focus on some other things right now and I’m overwhelmed. My life needs to come first and I’m not living it the way I should be.
With all that said…I’m stepping away from all of this, because I can’t handle it anymore. I can’t handle the pressures, the injuries, the constant reminder of what I should be and what I want to be. I want to be me – not Change One Thing.
So from the bottom of my heart, I sincerely thank every single one of you who have supported my journey and helped motivate me and the others on our FB page. I wish you all success on your life goals.
I don’t know if this will be forever, but for right now, this is it.
Note: My next and final post on COT will be to announce the winner of the weight loss challenge on October 15th, so please be sure to submit your videos on time!!
Read MoreHalf Marathon Re-Cap
The ins and outs of my running…
So today I had a comment on my page that stated: “you used to be so motivational, now all you talk about is running, and it’s done nothing for the non runners”
Wow…if you haven’t figured it out already I take everything personally and straight to the heart so I was kinda hurt by this comment. But at the same time so pissed!!
I have come a LONGGGGG way with running and anyone that has lost a significant amount of weight can relate to the mind battles that come along with the journey. I start running and I immediately start doubting myself. I tell myself “You look crazy, you don’t have a runner’s body, people are looking at you”…”you’re never gonna be able to run a half, because you’re huffing and puffing way too much”…”you’re gonna finish last and look ridiculous”
Yes, I literally talk to myself in this way. I may have lost some weight, but my “fat brain” is still sometimes in full swing!! During my training, if I ran by myself I completely sucked. I would stop every 1/2 a mile thinking I was dying. Sooo frustrating because I KNOW I can run and continue to run. So doing my long run, ALONE, this past weekend was a HUGE test for me mentally and of course physically.
I ran 8.6 miles without stopping and was able to keep a decent pace the entire time. I wasn’t in pain or huffing too much and I felt powerful. I got back to my car and bawled my eyes out. I sat in my car and cried. The feeling of “proud” is amazing…I say I’m proud of myself all the time, but this, THIS time I meant it with more passion than you can imagine.
My mind plays tricks on me and when I overcome those tricks, it’s a big accomplishment. How dare someone downgrade that. Just because you are not a runner does NOT mean you cannot relate to my posts. Everyone has goals and good days and bad days…I want to hear all about yours regardless, I don’t hold back and I don’t expect others too. BUT if you’re going to deliberately try and bring me down, please don’t. I do it enough to myself I don’t need your help LOL
We all can live this life to fullest, I KNOW it and THAT is the ultimate goal behind everything. So go do that.
And here’s your warning now: I am attempting 10 miles this Sunday morning. I promise you this now, if I run 10 miles straight through you will see lots of smilies and exclamation points and freakouts and tears of joy from me… so just go with it
Someone Come Find Me…
Letting Loose- *R- Rated Post* Scroll at your own risk!
