Welcome to Friday’s Featured Female!
This weekly series features inspirational stories from admirable women. IMHO, it’s always good to be reminded of how strength, determination, hard work, heart and ingenuity can impact the quality of one’s life and I’m proud that these women will allow me to share their stories here.
Today’s #FFF is Jody@Truth2BeingFit. Jody is a motivator extraordinaire. If you’re at all involved in social media in the health/wellness realm, there’s no doubt that you know of this fabulous woman. Jody is not only an example of what hard work can do at any and every age but she’s also a community builder. I love that Jody shares other writer’s content, actively comments on blogs, Instagram and Twitter and shares her detailed workouts and overall life wisdom with everyone. Jody is a positive force but she’s not afraid to show the gritty side of a well rounded life. I felt like I hitting a blogging milestone when Jody first shared my content – I had arrived as a health and fitness blogger. I hope to meet this California resident in person someday soon but until that time, I ask you…
Soooo….have you met Jody?
Hi! My name is Jody and I blog at Truth2BeingFit. When I first started my blog over 6 years ago, I blogged solely about exercise, healthy eating & workout tips. As time went on and I aged, ;), I branched out to healthy living, healthy aging, healthy eating, exercise & fitness help, motivational & life posts and more! I am not a one size fits all blog. I think it makes it a bit more interesting for readers to read about different topics. Yes, it all leads back to a healthier lifestyle BUT with Balance in Life. That is something I had to learn along the way. I made plenty of mistakes when I was younger!
I first want to thank Melissa for asking me to contribute to her Friday feature. I am honored to be part of this series! My take on this is a bit different so let me give you some background on me first.
I was heavy as a kid & lost my weight in high school. I was 35++ pounds overweight at 5’1”. Being honest, when I lost weight in high school, it was more about finding a boyfriend, being cuter, looking better – all the superficial things that come with being a high school girl. It was not about getting healthy.
I did lose the weight by making better food choices but then being thin got away from me. I was too thin at one point back then. In college, I did put a little weight back on but in my 20’s, I got into the eat less, eat salads, skip meals, all fat is bad, exercise a lot type of mentality. Back then, there were not all the social media & news stories we have now. If you want to check out a post of mine with a few older pictures, click HERE. Here is one of the earlier pictures after I lost weight but not as much weight training:
The one thing I did know though was that eating the wrong & too much food got me to being overweight. So I knew the from day one that I was not going to be able to just lose the weight & go back to eating like when I was heavy. Many make this mistake. So at least I had that mindset – that it was a lifestyle change for life – eating better & exercising. It was the balance in life that took me longer to learn.
In my 30’s, I finally started to understand the importance of the RIGHT food choices along with exercise. I learned how to “listen to my body” along with what I already knew, a mind/muscle link when I lifted weights. I also became a “mindful eater”. This is not intuitive eating but just paying attention to what I eat, how it tastes, slowing down, stopping when full – all that good stuff. 🙂
So… I had already been lifting weights along with cardio (fitness classes & treadmill running) in my 20’s. In my 30’s, after meeting a bodybuilder in the gym, I fell in love with the weights even more. I started to lift to compete! I did compete in amateur bodybuilding for 2 years in my late 30’s! I won both years for my age & height group. This is my first year picture.
After bodybuilding, I knew enough about this “dieting” stuff. I do not diet by the way – what I do is life to me. How I eat, how I exercise, how I treat myself – it is just my life – my lifestyle. So I took a few months to slowly lose some of the weight & size from bodybuilding. From that point on it was all about listening to what worked for me. In fact, it had always been that way. I never really fell for the “if it works for her than it works for me” mentality. THIS IS SO IMPORTANT!!! It is about YOU, not them! Always remember that! What works for others is not always right for you. This means food, workouts, rest & more! We all have different lives, different jobs, kids, no kids, active jobs, sedentary jobs – this is about YOU!
I can tell you that when I hit perimenopause to menopause, all this listening to my body & doing what was right for me paid off! These are some hard times with lots of physical & emotional turmoil for many. I had already learned how to do make changes to my food & exercise plan in a slow & deliberate way, listen to what my body was telling and is STILL telling me & always doing what is right for me, not others. HUGE HELP getting thru this time! It is still tough but this helped so much!
So, how is this different from other posts… After looking at all my pictures, you probably think that I really learned to love myself. NOPE! So, what I really want to say is that along your journey, always remember to work on the inside too! I worked on the outside thinking it would correct the inside. That did not happen…. I still was not happy with myself even though I looked a ton better. I was well into my 40’s before I started working on this. At 56, I still am working on this.
No matter what journey you are on, always remember the inside – that is what counts the most – loving oneself!
If you want to ask me about my workouts or eating or anything else, feel free to email me at jody@truth2beingfit.com. You can find me at: Truth2BeingFit; Instagram; Twitter; Facebook.
What major step have you taken to be better (or even best!) to yourself?
I love this! I love how you talk about the “journey” of the inside!!! No one really knows what’s going on there…unless you let them. Awesome post and great inspiration for a Friday!!
LOVE! You are so right Jody its not just about working on the outside, the inside MATTERS! If you don’t work on the inside, by the time the outside is where it should be you doubt that you are where you should be. Does that make sense? For me that is what happened and until I worked on the inside I was never satisfied. I needed extra help, I couldn’t rely on me I needed my Higher Power and God was it. Thanks for sharing my friend!
Allie – thank you thank you!!!!
Melissa – thank you so much for featuring me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jody, I absolutely love the distinction you make between Intuitive and Mindful Eating. IE may work for others, but for me, it either means severe restriction or, if I’m being honest about my cravings, wanting chocolate for breakfast. Mindful eating, on the other hand, has me pause, check in with what I need, and eat that.
Thanks for sharing your story!
Thank you for sharing your journey Jody! I’m in the Perimenopause stage and trying to figure my body out, it is changing and things that worked before aren’t as effective now. I think your a wonderful person and I’m happy to have met you!
Jessica – thank you!!!!! And yes, I always felt that mindful was much different than the IE eating. Like you, I pause to think about it as well as pay attention when I eat & how I feel- 🙂
This is such a great Friday feature, I really like hearing from others, who I may not have come across before. My favorite piece of advice from Jody above is that what works for others may not work for you. You have to listen to your body. Well said. She’s an inspiration. Thanks for sharing, and have a great Labor Day weekend!
I agree. Not everyone addresses the inside as well as the outside and Jody does it well.
I agree Sheri. Expanding your focus to include inside and outside is exceptionally important to truly feel at peace with oneself.
Lucky you to have met the wonderful Jody. I hope to meet her soon. I’m not thrilled about approaching perimenopause myself. I’m sure I’ll be writing about it though.
Great to read your story, Jody! You are super inspiring and I love what you have to say about doing what works for YOU, not for others. Your “I am enough” message is also awesome as is the importance on loving yourself inside and out.
Looove that 1980’s fitness outfit, Jody! hehe.
Thanks for featuring her, Melissa. Jody is just all kinds of wonderful. Great example for others, and you can tell she has a wonderful spirit. But she has yet to offer to share her cookie with me and I’m mad about it. Phooey!
Amen!
Love Jody! Josie, I think you and I read in the same circles but have not yet been introduced. I just briefly checked out your site and damn (!), thanks for giving us 40 year old + moms something to be proud about. I’ll be following you for sure!
Thx Melissa!!!!!!!
Lori – HUGE HUGS friend!!!! I hope we meet in person one day!!!!!
Melissa – come to me – I can tell you all the crap I went thru! 😉
Ashely, thank you!!! When I was young, I thought everyone could do what I do & be fine – so much learning as we age!!! 🙂
Tiffany – thank you so much!!! I am so lucky to have met you in person!!!!!
🙂 Melissa!!!!
Josie – always with the humor!!!! I would share with you if I met you in person!!!! Thx friend!!!!!
Melissa, I have followed Josie for years & watched her transform – amazing woman!!!!