If you follow my Instagram, you may have seen that my profile page claims that I am an enthusiast of all of the above ^. If you ask any of my friends, I am sure they would say the same. Recently, I have been exploring more of myself in my posts because I feel like it only helps everybody to understand more about the girl behind the words. As you may have seen in some of my previous posts, I struggled with weight gain which started around the time my mom was in renal failure and I wasn’t sure if she was going to make it. I’m not even sure she was sure, even though she told me that she was. This also happened to be my first semester of graduate school, so all around a new and stressful time for me. Once I was finally able to accept why I was struggling, I was able to set some goals and work towards a new lifestyle. Fortunately, somebody found me during that time and brought me into the Beachbody family. That was almost two years ago, and I am still absolutely in love with my workouts and my lifestyle- even though I’m not perfect about staying on track.
These middle two items are both hidden calorie whammies- but I still love them! Part of my lifestyle is to never deprive myself of the things that I love or the things that I crave. I do have an understanding with myself that when I do something that other people may consider “destructive” I evaluate why I wanted it, what made me do it, and how I will still reach my goal. In this way, I’m never truly destroying a bad diet with one meal, which is impossible anyway. I love my whiskey mixed with anything (or just on ice) and I love my cab sauv. I never (okay rarely) turn down an offer for either, and that’s okay too. A lot of it comes with knowing when the opportunity is likely going to present itself, and making adjustments. Running an extra mile, doing some extra push ups, whatever behavior teaches me to associate indulging with consequences. If it’s still worth it, which I decided that it is, then there’s no reason for guilt!
On to my favorite: wool. I starting knitting in graduate school because I had friends that knit and I wanted to fit in, and because I heard that it had a calming effect. Both proved to be advantageous for me because I reaped the benefits of scheduled friend time by way of knitting (craft) club and relaxation when I lose myself in the stitches. I was also able to gather the courage and confidence to start an Etsy shop with my knits, and I have learned how to make patterns and test patterns and use the yarn for a guide. It’s awesome to share a talent with everybody, and that is what I get to do in both arenas.
So, I am an enthusiast. But that doesn’t mean that I do or have all of these things all of the time. Life is still about balance and still about knowing your limitations. It’s really hard to balance things that you love with things that are necessary, but that’s totally adult-hood.
She’s Got a Whole PhD 