Easy for you to say!

Okay. If there is one thing that drives me INSANE...(who are we kidding. nearly everything is capable of driving me insane. Feel me out here.)


It's when people say something like "Well,easy for you to say, look at you!" 
Or, "You're so young, you should look amazing."


Why do those type of comments drive me nuts? Because I have to work SO HARD to keep my physique in this type of condition.

My body was NEVER "lean" or "slender" growing up. In fact, I was pretty damn mushy. (Here I was in middle school, mid teenage weight-gain during the summer)  I always had a flat stomach and an hourglass shape, but there was plenty of meat on my bones. While my diet was not clean whatsoever, I ate WAY healthier than a lot of my bone thin friends. I almost  never ate fast foods, pizza, processed hostess-type products, etc. I ate lots of peanut butter, cheerios, lean cuisine meals, and low-fat ice cream. Okay, so that stuff is processed, but you get what I mean? No ding-dongs or lunchables or pop-tarts were in my belly. I wore a size 10 dress to a formal in 9th grade. In this headshot, I was about 16, wearing size 31 jeans. My jeans now are mostly 26's.

  I wear a size 2 now in dresses, etc. (sometimes a 4 is needed for the curves..) But don't think for a SECOND that it comes easily. 

I don't lie about my workouts. I always tweet and blog about the vast amount of vegetables I stuff myself with so that there won't be any room for cravings. I more or less live on egg whites. I wake up to aching muscles and continue to put myself through grueling workouts no matter what. So don't think I just wake up and go through the motions, hoping that I'll stay the same size and not get fat. I work too hard. 

What's my reward? Well, I wake up every morning to a flat stomach, usually with energy, and feel good about the condition of my body. Even if I' having a "fat" or "bloated" day, I know that if I stay hydrated and work out, it'll go away in a day or two. I know my insides are clean, my body receives endless nutrients from all of the whole foods I include in my diet. Do I absolutely LOVE every meal I sit down to eat? No. There's no reason to! Do you think people who are shamefully plowing through a bag of Lays at their desk are thinking "Wow, these chips are sooo amazing thank god for the company that produced these chips and allowed me to eat them" ????!!! 

I eat foods that will yield positive results for my body, inside and out. Sure, I like green beans. Would I rather be eating banana bread or coconut milk ice cream? Sometimes, hell yeah. But that's not what I'm about. There is a time and a place for everything. I take my goals very seriously, and it has worked very well for me. I used to think that looking at a donut would put pounds on me. Now, I know that isn't true, but I know the donut would do NOTHING to help me. While it might not immediately harm me, it wouldn't immediately help me either. Also, packing on way more muscle to my frame has given me the ability to eat lots of calories without gaining fat at all...at least noticeable fat.

MY POINT IS...You want something? WORK FOR IT. I work for what I WANT (even if some people think I already have it) EVERY SINGLE DAY. I make time for workouts, no matter how inconvenient. I microwave broccoli no matter how many times my sister complains that it smells. I sprint and climb stairs the day after I squat and deadlift. I get excited to do it all over again when the week is over, and I take my much needed day of rest. 

It is NOT easy for me. I work really hard, battle some really ugly thoughts and feelings about food and exercise occasionally, struggle with borderline eating disordered thoughts. Fitness and physique transformation comes with mind games and obstacles, that you need mental strength along with physical strength to tackle. I deal with those things every single day. So please, if you read this post...do not ever tell me to be "thankful" or that I'm just "blessed" with my body. I spend hours on end working to be the best human I can be, and will continue to spend hours on end trying to have the best physique I can possibly have. I live for it. But I've always lived for challenge. I do NOT take the easy way out.

There. I think I'm done! Next time you're doing cardio even though your legs could barely get you out of bed...just remember, you aren't the only one. I'm probably feeling the exact same way. So are the other hundreds of fitness die-hards that slave over their bodies every day.  Go hard or go HOME!