Are Your Body Goals Actually Worth It? (Part 2)
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Setting body goals has become a common practice in today's image-conscious society, with many individuals striving to achieve their “ideal” body. While this journey can be an amazing journey to endure, it is important to first examine whether these body goals are truly worth the effort and sacrifices they require.
You know I’m all about helping you build the body you want. I’m here to educate you on how to finally see the results you’ve been wanting to see. But I’m not here to watch you do it in an unhealthy and unsustainable way.
That’s why I’m back with part 2 of “Are Your Body Goals Worth It?”. Because here’s the truth sister: Your body goals just might NOT be worth it. That’s why in this bonus episode, I’m going to share the last 5 reasons for you to consider whether or not you should continue on the journey you’re on, plus what I would recommend doing instead.
What I discuss:
You need to stop chasing your body goals if you experience any of the following:
You are neglecting your relationships…
You feel a strong financial strain…
Decreased energy and vitality…
You no longer feel a sense of happiness and fulfillment in your life…
A huge decline in both physical and mental health.
If you love this episode, you’ll also love…
Episode 349 - Are Your Body Goals Actually Worth It? (Part 1)
Episode 337 - What Your Low Calorie Diet is Doing to Your Body
Episode 279 - 9 Reasons Why I Choose to Workout with Dumbbells
Episode 235 - 11 Ways Macro Counting Changed My Relationship with Food
If you want more from me, be sure to check out...
Instagram: @embraceyourreal | @movementwithjulie
Movement With Julie | App: https://sale.movementwithjulie.com/
Macro Counting Made Simple: https://www.macrocountingmadesimple.com/
Website: www.juliealedbetter.com
Free e-book: www.juliealedbetter.com/free-ebook
Amazon Storefront: https://www.amazon.com/shop/influencer-6bda1ca8?ref=cm_sw_em_r_inf_pub_influencer-6bda1ca8_dp_DgsIam9salgfi
Transcript:
[00:00:00] Hey there, beautiful human. You're listening to Embrace Your Real with me, Julie Ledbetter. A podcast where I empower you to just be you. With each episode, I issue a dose of real talk and actionable advice for building your confidence, honoring your body, and unconditionally loving your authentic self. Stay tuned if you're ready to embrace your real. Let's get it, let's go. [00:00:21][21.1]
[00:00:27] Hello and welcome back to part two of our are your body goals actually worth it? You guys know I am a huge believer in helping you build the body that you want, but I'm also here to educate you on how to see the results that you've been looking for and do it in a healthy and sustainable way. I'm always going to try to give you as much information and as many resources on making sure that you don't fall into the trap of setting these unrealistic body goals and these fitness goals and not doing it in a sustainable way. [00:01:03][36.3]
[00:01:04] And so that's why I'm back with part two, because the truth is, sometimes these body goals that you have set, or maybe just not even intentionally, like just subconsciously set, they might not be worth it. And so in today's episode, that's exactly what we're going to be talking about. But before we dive in, I want to share this review. It came from MrsCarrieKay. She gave a five star review and said, Amazing, awesome and oh, so much truth. Listen, a friend referred Julie's podcast to me a long time ago. And back story. I'm a serial dieter, a former workout aholic, and just have totally messed up my view of eating and body image. I decided after going from one extreme of being super thin to a total anti diet gal that this summer I'd commit to counting macros. I've dabbled with it before but ultimately gave up. I decided to give Julie's podcast a listen, since I see it in my library every day and oh my, oh my. I've listened to so many episodes in the last two days. She gets it. I'm so excited for this journey of counting macros and for a new mindset for a shift with my dieting life. Every episode has a little or a lot of nuggets of pure gold. Thank you, Julie. [00:02:14][70.3]
[00:02:15] Oh my goodness. I am so grateful for you. Thank you so much. She actually wrote Jen in this podcast, but she actually direct messaged me and said, Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. I did not, it kept auto-correcting to Jen. I totally meant Julie. So if you see this on the review, it says Jen, But I have since talked to her in the direct messages and she is just such a sweet gal, so great, so, so thankful for you. I'm so thankful that you finally gave the podcast a listen. And man, maybe that was just the perfect timing. Like, maybe it's just been sitting in your library and now is the right time. And so I'm so excited to see where this journey takes you. I can single handedly tell you that properly fueling my body through utilizing the tool of macro counting has transformed my life in so many ways, which is why I talk about it so much because I'm so passionate about teaching other women to do it. And I just believe that if every woman truly understood the fundamentals of properly fueling their body, that would solve so many issues. [00:03:14][58.8]
[00:03:14] Obviously not going to solve every issue, but it will solve so many issues because the primary thing that is that happens with people not being able to see results is that they're either under fueling or over fueling their body and they're just not properly fueling it. So they don't have the energy, they're not seeing the results for all the hard work that they're putting in. So, so grateful for you. Thank you so much, Carrie Kay, for sending in this review. [00:03:38][23.9]
[00:03:39] Before we dive into this week's episode, I wanted to kind of dive into and just recap what we discussed in part one. I won't go into like a full blown recap, but just kind of share for signs that your body goals might not be worth it. And you, if you want to dive in deeper, I will link that in the shownotes. If you haven't tuned in to part one yet, you don't need to necessarily do it in order, so you can tune in to that after this. But number one, if you're pursuing your body goals for just the mere fact that you want to look like someone or you think that you are less than someone, then this is not a goal that you should be pursuing. You can nourish your body and move your body all that you want, but at the end of the day, you're not going to look like them. [00:04:18][38.6]
[00:04:18] Like we all are individuals, no matter if we're doing the same exact workouts or eating all the same food, we're likely going to have completely different genetics. And that plays a huge role. As long as you are wanting to feel energized, you're happy, you're healthy, then whatever your body is after that, that's what it's supposed to look like. And that key fact is so, so important. So I talk deeper about that in part one. Number two, if you find yourself resorting to unhealthy methods to lose weight or to maintain a low weight, it's really time for you to rethink your body goals. These methods can have detrimental effects on both your physical and mental health, and their short term benefits are often outweighed by their long term consequences. So just remember that be real. Like is this extra 10lbs that you want to lose worth the health issues that it might cause? And so just asking yourself that. [00:05:06][47.7]
[00:05:06] Number three, if you find that you are not enjoying the process of working towards your body goals, it might be a strong indication that they might not be worth pursuing, at least in this season of life. Really achieving a healthy body should be seen as a journey, not a destination. So whatever you are doing now to achieve your goal, if that is not something that you see yourself doing long term, then it's likely not something that's going to stick. And then lastly number four, you are neglecting other areas of your life. So if you find yourself neglecting other essential areas of your life, such as your relationships, your work, your hobbies in order to pursue these body goals, that is a clear indicator that these goals might not be worth pursuing. [00:05:44][38.4]
[00:05:45] So that's just kind of a preview of what we talked about in part one. Again, I will link in the show notes so that you can easily go tune in to that after this. But let's dive into the last five signs that your body goals might not be worth it. [00:05:56][11.2]
[00:05:56] Number one or number six, you are neglecting your relationships. I kind of touched on this in part one, but a significant consequence of pursuing your goals is the potential neglect of distancing yourself from important relationships. This intense focus on losing weight can really consume significant amounts of time and energy and attention, leaving little room for nurturing connections with loved ones. Whether this is your parents, your significant others, your friends, your family, really constantly prioritizing your workouts and your meal prep and your self-care routines may lead to missed social events or reduced quality time with your friends and family, and overall, just strain your relationship with your significant other. [00:06:36][39.4]
[00:06:36] So neglecting the emotional and social aspects of your life in favor of your weight loss goals that can and often does lead to feelings of isolation, loneliness and loss of support systems. Now, will I be the one to tell you, Oh, you just got to go all in with your relationships and not prioritize your health and fitness. You guys know me. No. You've got to learn to balance your personal aspirations with nurturing healthy relationships, but also recognize the importance of honoring your body and knowing that you're doing it so that you can be the best version of yourself, so that you can have these meaningful relationships and you can provide the gifts and talents that you've been blessed with to help them or to serve them in some capacity. And this is awesome. Like, if you can maintain an open communication with your close ones about your goals, they can be the biggest support system that can actually help you towards creating healthy and sustainable health and body goals. [00:07:37][61.0]
[00:07:38] Number six or number two, you feel a strong financial strain. Now, if you are chasing these body goals and you're feeling like, Man, I just like I am straining my budget, I am going into debt for these things. Oftentimes people fall into the trap of thinking that they need all of these things like fat burners and juice cleanses and detoxes, and they're spending thousands, like hundreds to thousands of dollars on a monthly basis for these things, thinking that this is going to be their cure. And then they find themselves, you know, in debt or stressed financially and still not seeing results and then just being like, I give up. Like clearly I'm just not meant to, you know, be able to achieve X, Y and Z. And it's because we have allowed ourselves to believe the lie and we believe this myth that, you know, supplements are going to be the key indicator, the key thing that lead to results. And that's just not the case. I always tell people when they ask me about supplements, I always say I always ask them first, like, are you first, you know, nourishing your body with what you need? Like, do you know what that looks like? And are you doing it on a consistent basis? The answer is yes. Okay. Then I go on to the next question. Are you honoring your body with movement regularly? If the answer is yes, okay, great. Are you following an effective program that is training each muscle group? The answer is yes. Okay. Let's talk supplements now. And you know, I personally only eat I only use a few supplements. I use a whey protein to ensure that I'm getting my proper proteins. I do a scoop of protein a day. I use a GI support, which is digestive enzymes for bloating, and it also helps with just overall digestion. And then I use a pre-workout, I would say about 60 to 70% of the time it's a caffeine free pre-workout really just helps with blood flow. I will be the first to tell you though, like if I don't have the pre-workout or I don't have access to it or some days I'm just like, now I don't need it. You know, I feel energy. I feel like I ate a big meal last night or whatever. Like, I just feel energized, like I don't take it all the time. So it's not something that is essential for me and that's it. [00:09:40][122.5]
[00:09:40] You know, I take a multivitamin, but that's it. Like I'm not taking detoxes. I'm not doing these green juices. I'm not doing any of that. And I'm not saying that, you know, the greens are bad. I'm just saying that you don't need all of these things, especially if you haven't even done the find the foundational things which is properly nourishing your body and doing it consistently and moving your body and doing it, following an effective program, you can easily, easily, properly fuel your body for, you know, I'm not even going to put a dollar amount because it's going to be different from each person depending on where you live. But you can be reasonable. [00:10:16][35.1]
[00:10:16] You can be on a budget and still achieve your health and fitness goals like that is 100% something that is possible. And I want you to hear it from me because I feel like. So many people in the fitness industry, they're selling you this and they're selling you that. And I'll be the first to tell you it's because they're making a lot of money off these affiliates. They're making a lot of money from your sale. And so just be very mindful when it comes to that, just knowing that you genuinely don't even need like I always tell people, like, do you struggle with protein in getting your protein intake? A lot of people, they do say yes. And if that's the case, I'll say, you know, a whey protein or some sort of protein can really help you in that. But if some people say no, I'll say don't worry about a protein. You don't even need protein powder. Like if you're able to reach your protein goal through your nutrients on a daily basis, that's great. Same with grains. Like if you are eating enough micronutrients, you don't need the grains, you don't need the greens. So just keep that in mind. I'll be the first to give you some real talk on that. [00:11:13][57.3]
[00:11:14] Number three or number seven, decrease energy and vitality. So many times we go into these body goals and we just don't feel like ourselves anymore. We don't have the energy. And chasing this weight loss goal can often result and decrease energy levels, chronic fatigue, lack of vitality, overtraining, these restrictive diets and constantly monitoring this physical progress that can take a toll on both your physical and your mental well-being, like pushing yourself too hard physically without allowing sufficient rest and recovery that can lead to burnout and decrease overall energy levels, inadequate nutrition, excessive calorie deficits, extreme dietary restrictions, and really deprive your body of essential nutrients impacting your energy, focus and overall vitality. [00:11:57][42.5]
[00:11:57] When you're constantly pushing beyond your limits, that will leave you feeling drained, unmotivated, and unable to fully enjoy life's experiences. So if this is how you're feeling, then it's time to reevaluate ASAP what you're doing. What you are doing is not worth whatever like what you're currently doing. That goal is not worth the impact negatively that it's having on your life. It's important to remember that sustainable progress requires this balance approach, like listening to your body signals, prioritizing adequate rest and recovering nourishing yourself with a well-rounded diet that's going to be crucial for maintaining these energy levels and overall vitality. [00:12:38][40.7]
[00:12:39] Optimal health is about achieving a harmonious balance between having and enjoying an active lifestyle while still having the energy to engage in other areas of life that bring you joy and fulfillment. And if this is not what you're experiencing, then it's time that you rethink what you're doing and why you're doing it and how you're doing it. [00:12:59][19.9]
[00:12:59] Number four or number eight, you're no longer feeling this sense of happiness and fulfillment in your life. So focusing solely on body goals and neglecting other aspects of life that can lead to an overall decline in happiness, fulfillment and satisfaction. When you place this excessive emphasis on physical appearance, it can really create this unhealthy mindset which contributes to negative self-image, low self-esteem, and this constant sense of dissatisfaction. So while striving to change your body, it is essential to recognize and appreciate the other aspects of your identity, such as your personality, the values that you have, the talents, relationships, engaging in, activities that truly bring you joy, pursuing personal, personal interests and investing time in personal growth and development. Those are all things that are very vital for overall happiness and just a well-rounded fulfillment. [00:13:53][53.5]
[00:13:54] So yes, we can work towards changing our bodies, but don't allow that to take away from your happiness or your overall life satisfaction. If your happiness has declined and you recognize that that is a direct correlation to what you're doing in terms of your body goals, then it's time that you rethink it. Like just rethink the strategy that you're taking. This is another reason why a lot of people personally love the journey of achieving their body goals, utilizing my program. So utilizing the movement with Julie app, I just actually had a nurse contact me. She's like, Hey, she messaged me in the app, which is if you're in the app, I love messaging with you guys. I messaged you guys on a daily basis, like sometimes hourly. Honestly, if I'm sitting by my computer and a message pops through, I'll just chat back and forth. You guys, you guys are frickin amazing. Like, I love this part of my job. It just feels so personal and I just love that aspect. But she messaged me and she said, Hey, I did not think I would love these workouts as much as I did. I'm a nurse who works 12 hour shifts, and I thought, you know, I was struggling so much with working out and actually prioritizing it. And she realized that it was because she wasn't enjoying her movement. And so she just said, I'm so thankful. Like, thank you for this program. And those types of things like that is that brings me so much joy. [00:15:08][74.4]
[00:15:09] But this is why and I, you know, I hear this on a weekly basis, like people are able to both achieve their goals, but also love their life and feel like it's something that sustainable. And so that's why I'm a huge believer in utilizing the tool of macro counting and really learning how to properly fuel your body. And then also, I'm just a big believer and a big lover of dumbbell workouts because they're so dang convenient. [00:15:33][24.0]
[00:15:33] So I'll link both of those in the show notes below. That was kind of a side tangent, but I'm so grateful for you guys and I'm so thankful that you're seeing progress with these programs because really all you do, you have to commit, you know, 30, 45 minutes, 3 to 5 times a week in terms of your workouts and then just properly nourishing your body. Now, that's going to be a lifelong, lifelong journey, right? It's going to look different in different seasons of life. But having the foundation and the education of how to properly fuel your body, man, that's something that is just so empowering because then you don't feel like you need to have a coach for the rest of your life. Like telling you you need to eat X, Y, and Z, like you need this meal plan. It's like you have the education and the ability to make these informed decisions depending on what season of life you're in. [00:16:17][43.2]
[00:16:17] Number nine or number five, a huge decline in both physical and mental health. So let's be very clear the pursuit of body goals should never come at the expense of physical and mental health. It is essential to recognize signs of deterioration in both of these areas of your life as they serve really strong indicators that your body goals might not be worth the toll that they're taking on your overall well-being. So for me, when I was in college and I was eating, maybe I mean, on a on a like I'm doing like air quotes on a good day, I was eating like maybe a thousand 1100 calories and I was doing 2 hours of cardio every single day, like literally 6 to 7 days a week. I was just I was in the college gym at CSU, and I was just doing my elliptical thing. Oh my gosh, you guys, I was overtraining and I didn't realize it. My hair was falling out. I did not have a menstrual cycle. My nails like my nail health, it was crazy. My nails, my skin were breaking out. I was bloated all the time. I was getting sick all the time. And all of these things are key indicators that something is not working properly in your body. [00:17:21][64.3]
[00:17:21] These hormonal imbalances, this weakened immune system, metabolic disturbances, injuries, all these things. Clearly that is your body saying, hey, it's screaming at you, saying, hey, what you're doing is not realistic. So it's important that you recognize those signs so that you can learn how to change course and say, okay, my body is clearly the cool thing about our bodies. I have to say, if you if you find yourself in this area right now, I don't want you to be discouraged. I want you to look at this as an opportunity because this was me. And I could have said, oh, you know, this is my life. I'm just I'm never going to have a menstrual cycle. I'm always going to be bloated. My skin's always going to be freaking out my nails and my hair, and they're never going to be growing like brittle, all these things. Or I could be empowered. And I can say, you know what? I'm going to take control of my health. I'm going to figure out how to properly nourish my body. I'm going to figure out how I can effectively workout and love it. [00:18:14][52.5]
[00:18:14] And that's what I did. And our bodies are adaptable. That's the coolest thing about our bodies. I just praise God every day that our bodies are adaptable because it has completely changed the course of my life because of that. And so I always tell people like, you have the power to take the next step in a different direction, and if you do and you don't stop and you just keep going forward, of course there's going to be derailments. Of course there's going to be challenges. Of course there's going to be times where you get off track. But if you just keep moving forward and taking the steps to honoring your body and properly nourishing your body, your body does amazing things and it will thank you for it and you'll start to feel more energy and vibrant and all of the most beautiful things so that you can experience life like truly experience life through lens and a lens of vitality. It is amazing. [00:19:01][47.1]
[00:19:02] I talk more about like the physical issues that can trigger your body when you restrict and punish your body in episode 337. So link that in the show notes below, but it's called what your low Calorie Diet Is Doing to Your Body. So again, I will link that in the sentence, but I really think that that episode will help you a lot. But let me recap what we discussed in today's episode. So we talked about you're neglecting your relationships. That's a clear indicator that your body goals are not worth it if you're feeling a strong financial strain, if you have decreased energy and vitality, if you no longer feel a sense of happiness and fulfillment in your life. And lastly, if you have a huge decline in both physical and mental health, those are clear signs that what you're doing is not worth it. And to take the necessary steps to redirect yourself and say, okay, what are the steps that I need to take, which I have so many different resources. [00:19:51][48.9]
[00:19:52] If you want to learn how to properly fuel your body through utilizing the tool of macro counting, I have a powerful episode Episode 235 - 11 Ways that macro accounting changed my life. I will link that in the show notes below. If you feel like you're ready to start this journey, I have a program for you. It's called the Macro Counting Made Simple Online Academy. I'll give you a step by step guide as to how to get started and how to stay consistent. We teach you the step by step that we you know, once you fill out this extensive questionnaire form, we then send you back to your customized macros and then we teach you how we did it so that you can feel empowered in the future so that you don't have to rely on coaches for the rest of your life. [00:20:29][37.1]
[00:20:30] And then secondly, if you prioritize yourself through honoring your body with movement, I talk about the importance of resistance training and why I'm a firm believer in resistance training and really prioritizing that over cardiovascular. Now, cardiovascular, of course, is important, but I personally just have found in my own journey as well as just, you know, speaking to thousands of women on a weekly basis and just asking them what their goals are. Resistance training is the best way to change your body composition. And I talk about this. I talk about why I choose resistance training over any other type of workout in episode 279 nine Reasons Why I Choose to Work Out with Dumbbells. So we'll link that in the show notes below. If you're ready to start resistance training, you're like, Yes, I want to start honoring my body. This sounds great. I'm ready. I've got a program for you. It's called The Movement with Julie App, and it's a weekly workouts, five Bernie workouts every single week. It's a go at your own pace. There's video demos, looping video demos for every single movement. There's alternate exercises and it's there's two workout options a day. So either you have a 60 minute, which typically takes people on average and anywhere from 42 minutes to 55 minutes to complete. And then there's a 30 minute variation which takes on average anywhere from 26 minutes to 32 minutes to complete. And so whether your time, you know, you're strained on time, there are effective workout. These are time efficient and effective workouts. So you're going to rest assured that you are training each muscle group effectively so you can learn all about that and get 50% off your first month as a new subscriber by going to sale. That's S-A-L-E dot movement with Julie dot com. I will link that in the show notes as well. But that's all that I have for this series. I hope that you found this helpful. I hope that this kind of sparked some just encouragement, maybe some real talk, maybe some, you know, hit hard conversations with yourself or with other people like Man, you know, I just I don't know if the route that I'm going is the most sustainable route. [00:22:27][117.3]
[00:22:28] That's okay. The beautiful thing about life is that we get to change at any course in time. We get to change the direction that we are headed. And and so I believe in you. I believe that you're going to make the right decision. I believe that you're going to have discernment and wisdom as you evaluate these things in your life and evaluate if what you're doing is realistic and sustainable. But that's all that I have for today's episode. I love you so much. I mean it, and I'll talk to you in the next one. [00:22:52][24.5]
[00:23:02] All right, sister. That's all I got for you today. But I have two things that I need you to do. First thing, if you are not already following me on the gram, be sure to do so. Julie, A Ledbetter. Yes, It's with an A in the middle for that daily post work out real talk, healthy tips and tricks, and honest accountability to keep your mind and heart in check. The second thing be sure to subscribe to Apple Podcasts to never miss an episode. Thank you so much for joining me. It means the absolute world. And I'm going to leave you with one last thought. The most beautiful women that I have met in my life are the ones who are completely confident and secure in being authentically themselves. Remember that beauty goes so much deeper than the surface. So go out there and embrace your real because you're worth it. [00:23:02][0.0]
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