poem by Mikko Harvey

Here’s a really long blog about a bunch of things. My mind kinda wandered while I was writing it but I feel like the points in here are all kind of important so I’m sorry this is kinda disorganized and written oddly. 

“no matter how little calories i eat, i still dont lose weight “

I saw somebody say this on Tumblr and was inspired to share what I do for diet and exercise with you guys. I would love to influence my fans or anybody who is reading this to TAKE CARE of their bodies and stay fit the healthiest, most nourishing way possible. 

This past year I lost 11 pounds thanks to my friend Isaac (@Isaacboots on twitter). He taught me all about nutrition and weight loss and how to keep my body fit and healthy! Some of the things he was telling me made absolutely no sense to me at first but I just went along with it and I’m really happy with the results! I’m definitely NOT saying I’ve got the best body in the world and I’m certainly not a supermodel or anything remotely close!! But I feel healthy and good, inside and out. I’m one hundred percent comfortable in my skin and I think that’s something to celebrate. I want all of you reading this to be able to feel that way as well. I asked Isaac if I could pass on some of the knowledge that he taught me to you guys and he said yes, so I’m grateful that I get to share this with you all. :)

Before I talk about food and exercise, I want to explain why I chose to write this. I’m fairly new to Tumblr so I’m not really used to it yet but I always see these posts about girls being so depressed about their bodies and about their weight and about how their starving themselves and it just makes me so sad. I genuinely care about you guys and I don’t want to see any of you young girls out there beating yourselves up or feeling anything but beautiful!! So as somebody who used to be very hard on themselves and beat herself up all the time I want to help as much as I can. 

First thing I learned is, being skinny isn’t the most important thing in the world. Being happy is. Happiness comes from self love and learning to accept yourself no matter what. No matter how your body looks at the moment. Whether you’re wearing make up or not, whether you’re bloated or not. Whether your friend posted a god awful photo of you or not. None of that superficial bullshit matters. I’m telling you from experience the more you learn to love yourself the more beautiful you will look on the outside. I had this realization a little while ago when I went to work with zero make up on for rehearsal. At first I felt so insecure and scared of what people would think but I didn’t have time to do it so I just walked in and did it. I honestly felt so free. :) Since then I haven’t worn make up once unless I was filming or performing. Even my boyfriend prefers it now. My point is… We all have things we are insecure about. It’s NORMAL… but in the big picture those little quirks and things are what make you you. If we wait until we become perfect before we love ourselves, we will waste our whole lives. You are already perfect right here and right now. 

I know what you’re going to say. ”I can’t love myself, I hate myself, I hate my body” so on… I’m a 19 year old girl, I’m my worst critic I know. But next time before you beat yourself up or hate on yourself, remember that you are lucky enough to be living on this beautiful planet. Be grateful to be alive and healthy and young and able to reblog lol. 

Now with all that being said I’m now going to share with you all the knowledge I learned from Isaac because as much as your exterior isn’t what truly matters in life… Feeling good, proud, happy and confident about yourself and your body DOES matter. :) 

So what I learned from Isaac is… Eating fewer calories and counting calories has NOTHING to do with being your thinnest or losing weight. It’s WHAT you put into your body. I’m currently consuming more calories than I ever had before and I’m thinner than I’ve ever been. I’m never hungry. My belly is happy and satiated all day long. 

The main thing I stay away from is starchy carbs (no rice, potato, pasta, bread, cereal, etc.) and sweets (with a cheat day once a month because it’s good for your soul :D ). However it’s important to have some carbs (depending what they are) because they’re a great source of energy and certain carbs eliminate bloating. Like oatmeal. I have organic oatmeal with flax and cinnamon every morning to get my body going and to have some energy for the day. I usually eat it with 2 hard boiled eggs or a handful of almonds for protein. I generally have really long work days every day so throughout the day I keep myself energized and my belly full with fruits and veggies with almond butter or nuts, green tea and healthy bars like Think Thins, Live Raw bars or Pure bars. Yes these bars have more calories than a 90 calorie Special K bar but here’s why they’re the smarter choice… The ingredients in a Special K bar aren’t natural and are harder for your body to break down. If you eat snacks that are more natural (Think Thins, Live Raw bars or Pure bars, fruits, veggies, nuts etc) you’ll consume way more calories but your body will be able to process and USE the ingredients for nourishment instead of storing them as fat. For lunch I always have some lean protein with a fruit or veggie like salmon and kale or chicken with hummus and some berries. For dinner I have whichever of the two I didn’t eat for lunch. I usually alternate! I try to have my last meal of the day before 7:30. If I get hungry before bed I will never let myself go to sleep hungry. I’ll just have some fruit or nuts. A glass of dandelion tea before bed is also great for you. A lot of people also say that fruit isn’t good for you because it has a lot of sugar and that avocado or hummus or cashews have too much fat. This is true… fruit has some sugar and some carbs. Nuts and avocado and hummus DO have a lot of fat but they aren’t the kinds of fats that will make you fat. They’re healthy fats. They will nourish your body. The sugar in fruit is natural sugar and it’s fine and good and delicious. Of course moderation is good when it comes to natural fats and sugar but I’m just telling you guys about what’s been working for me.

      The greatest thing about this way of eating is that you get to eat every 2-4 hours. The reason why it works is because it keeps your body burning all day long. Eating more actually makes your metabolism work faster and harder. So you’ll be eating more than ever but you’ll be eating the right things and when you’re eating the right things and exercising, your body will be healthy and in great shape!

I try to exercise daily to get my heart rate up and keep my body going. Isaac teaches a class called Fat Assassins (lol I love the title) and it’s literally the hardest, most amazing class in the whole world. I try to do it every day. He’s releasing a DVD of the class soon so I will let you know when it’s out! Feel amazing whenever I do it. Whether it’s dancing, yoga, swimming, hiking, jumping jacks, plans, ab and leg work outs, running, cheesy exercise videos.. whatever you want to do it’s just important to have that time to work out as often as possible.