Struggling With Body Image, Fitness & Food? Here’s 5 Things That Helped Me
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I know many of you listen to this podcast because you struggle with your relationship with food, with fitness, with your body and maybe even yourself. I do the best I can to provide all the guidance I can, but sometimes you need more than that. I want you to know that it is OKAY to ask for help. I didn’t heal my relationship with food and fitness and body alone. Without my husband, I might still be stuck where I was.
Things I discuss:
Spending time in Prayer and God’s Word.
Prioritized Educating Myself
Found Other Like Minded Women
Became aware of what I allowed myself to WATCH & LISTEN to
Learn To Become your biggest cheerleader
Link mentioned in this episode:
Episode 106: Ask Me Anything: My Spiritual Journey Pt.1
Episode 184: What to Do When Things Aren’t Going Your Way
Episode 197: Real Talk on Building Confidence in 2022
Episode 1: How I Stopped Hating My Body And Finally Embraced My Real
If you want more from me, be sure to check out:
Instagram: @embraceyourreal | @movementwithjulie
Website: www.juliealedbetter.com
Free ebook: 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:
Hey. Hey, beautiful human. Can I steal 5 minutes of your time? I have something super important to share with you, but I promise I'll be really quick. You're listening to my weekly bonus episode of Embrace Your Real with me, Julie Ledbetter. I'm about to give you a quick tip for building your confidence, honoring your body and unconditionally loving your authentic self. Stay tuned. If you're ready to embrace a real. Let's get it. Let's go.
Hello and welcome back to another bonus episode. If you are struggling with body image, fitness or food, I want to share five things that have helped me. I don't know about you, but on my journey of just really learning to speak to myself lovingly and also like try to clear the confusion when it comes to how to properly feel my body and how to properly work out so that I can see results. I was just confused and I was always looking for advice. So my number one goal on this podcast is to give you the advice that I wish I would have had. 20 year old, 25 year old Julie. And so that is exactly what I'm going to be doing today. I'm going to be giving you some real talk and sharing with you five things that have helped me with my body image, with fitness and food. Before I dove in, I wanted to share. This review comes from Alli Fit MD. She gave a five star review and said Loved this episode on splits for workout. I needed a plan and now I have one. Thank you. I love this so much. That is exactly what I talked about on episode 253. It's called my workout split. So if you are looking for workout split and you were wondering what to do and what I do and why I do it and why I program movement with Julie the way that I do. Be sure to check out Episode 253. Thank you so much, Ali, for your review.
Let's dove straight into the five things that have really helped me when I struggled with body image, fitness and food. Number one, first and foremost, is spending time in prayer and God's word. So if you've been tuning in for a bit, you have likely heard me talk about my relationship with God as it single handedly the most important thing to me on my journey of healing, my relationship with both food and especially with body image. Turning to God and getting into his word really transformed my perspective. And it gave me truth when I was allowing myself to believe the lies of the enemy. This really, really started to change in my life when I committed to spending at least 20 to 30 minutes in the morning before my day started, in his word, in prayer, phone, distraction, free, and just allowing myself to read his word and pray and journal and meditate and all of those things. So that really helped me when it came to especially my body image and just the struggles that I had. So maybe for you this might be starting out with five or 10 minutes. I know that we're busy. I know that you have demanding schedules, but maybe this means that you need to set your alarm 10 minutes earlier to get the time and space to yourself. And even if this means locking yourself in a closet so that you don't have distractions, do it. I'm telling you, starting out the day by journaling and just taking some time to be quiet and reflect on all the things that you have to be grateful for, as well as getting in God's Word will completely change both the trajectory of your day, but also your thoughts and your actions.
Number two, I prioritize educating myself. Now, this is primarily talking about my relationship with food and fitness. I've said it before, but I'll continue to say it that educating yourself on food has singlehandedly transformed my life when it comes to gaining more confidence to overall have a better relationship with food especially, but also in fitness. And because when you don't know anything about food, it's really easy to believe the lie that society constantly throws in your face like X, Y, and z. Food is going to make you fat or it's not going to help you reach your goals are on the flip side, if you take this shake or insert whatever trendy product, food or diet that's in the news, it's going to help you shrink your stomach or eliminate cellulite or whatever it is. You are being thrown these ads every single day. And if you do not have the proper tools in your toolbox and know I'm not just talking about following a meal plan that a coach gave you that will not empower you, that will not educate you, and it will not allow you to make a decision for yourself long term. I'm talking about educating yourself on how much your body needs, educating yourself on how to properly feel your body. Because if you are just constantly relying on the next meal plan that this coach gave you, you're always going to need that to be able to stay on track. You're always going to need someone to tell you what to do in order for you to be able to stay on track. And I don't know about you, but that is just not food. Freedom to me. Food freedom to me is walking into a grocery store and both putting foods that I know will nourish and fuel my body with the proper micronutrients into my basket, as well as putting the dang treats that are good for my soul, that I know that I will both enjoy guilt free and in moderation because I'm able to have them whenever I want. That is true food. Freedom to me is not feeling stressed around. Food is instead walking into a situation like a restaurant or into a grocery store or. Into my meal prep with confidence because I know how to properly feel my body. I've educated myself on that. This also applies to fitness as well. For literally years, you guys, I followed random workouts on Pinterest or random workouts that I found in Women's Health magazine. I'm literally cringing as I say this because I'm just remembering college. Julie on the elliptical, like looking at the latest meal plan and looking at the latest cardio schedule. And that's what I would follow. And I was so terrified to pick up dumbbells. I was so scared because I thought it would make me bulky. I truly believe the lie that cardio was the best way to build the body that I wanted. And yet it never worked for me. But I'm telling you, unless you educate yourself or you dove into a program or you immerse yourself, whether that is a free webinar or if it's a paid program or whatever it is. There are so many books, there's so many podcasts out there that will teach you stuff for free. So learn to educate yourself and you will feel more empowered than ever when it comes to your food and your fitness.
Number three, I found other like minded women maybe are blessed with an amazing family, or your parents or siblings are built in mentors. If so, please utilize them. Please do not take them for granted because there are so many people out there that don't have that. But sometimes our family hasn't faced the same issues that we faced. They might not be able to relate to what you're going through and therefore they can't really provide you with the advice or guidance that you need. If you struggle with body image issues or you have an unhealthy relationship with food, maybe it's a sensitive subject. And when someone doesn't really fully understand what you're going through, sometimes it can make you feel just like you're less than or what you're struggling with is stupid or whatever it is. It's really important that you find someone or you find a community of people that can relate to you and both provide you with guidance as well as advice. So how do you go about finding a mentor? Well, easier said than done. But if you know someone who openly talks about healing or openly talks about body confidence, reach out to them or look to maybe the resources that they put out online. I know that there are so many people out there that are sharing their story, and I and I truly believe that when you share your story, you are able to connect with other people. So maybe you haven't been able to find anybody. I'm telling you, when I was fresh out of college and really struggling, I decided to just openly start sharing about my story in hopes that it connected with other people because I selfishly wanted to build a community and I didn't realize how amazing it was when you start opening up. I mean, I know that this sounds kind of cringe or scary, but opening up like, I don't know about you, but my Facebook is filled with people that I know. Facebook is typically filled with people that I know. Instagram is filled with people that you know, both people that you know and people that you don't know. And then for my TikTok, I literally don't think any of my friends or family are on TikTok. So for me, I remember when I first started opening up on Facebook and they were like all people that knew me in real life and it was scary. It was scary as heck to start sharing about what I was struggling with and sharing my health and fitness journey and my struggles of body issues, body image issues and all of those things. But when I started doing that, it blew my mind as to how many people like reached out and said, I'm struggling with this same thing. And when you have even one person tell you that like, thank you so much for sharing openly and transparently, that really encouraged me with X, Y and Z. It just reminds you that you are not alone and you don't have to go through this alone. And I remember just connecting with so many people based on me, just sharing openly and transparently. So if there is if there isn't somebody that you're finding online that has similar issues or maybe you just want to continue to build a community yourself, I want to encourage you to just start openly sharing transparently your story. And it's also a great way to keep yourself accountable. Like if you're struggling with accountability. It is so great to know that if you're showing up a day in and day out, I guarantee if you don't show up, if you've been doing it consistently for a month or two months or three months, if you don't do it for a day or a few days, I guarantee there's going to be someone that reaches out to you and says, Hey, I was seeing your post, but I haven't been seeing your post recently. And that again just reminds you that there's so many silent people out there that might see your posts or see what you're sharing and they're never interacting with it, but it really is impacting them. So start sharing, start looking. Another great way to kind of look for guidance is a social media podcast are amazing. Start following more accounts of women who might be on the other side of the struggle that you're going through. Or maybe they were. Regularly address that on their page. Listen to the advice. Listen to podcasts daily. Listen to audiobooks. There's so many ways that you can surround yourself with this positive messaging, and the sooner that you kind of do that and immerse yourself into that, the sooner that you'll be able to learn the root issues of what you're going through and you can heal. Or on the flip side, you can really start connecting with the community because you yourself have become very vulnerable.
Number four, I became aware of what I allowed myself to watch and listen to. Did you guys know on average, we listen to 20000 to 40000 words and this is obviously going to vary from person to person depending on your daily habits and surroundings. But either way, that is a lot of input that is coming into your mind and your heart. And so my question to you is, what are you doing with all this information that's coming in every day? Are you filtering that information with intention? If you're being honest with yourself, I bet the answer is going to be no. I know for me, oftentimes I'm listening to something or playing something in the background while I'm working or doing something about 80% of the time. And it's just background noise, whether that is music or podcasts or movies or shows. I also know that so many people, myself included, will scroll on. Social media will scroll for hours on hours. The For You page on Tik Tok, Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, whatever social media is kind of your place. Think of all the messages, both subliminal and blunt, that you are allowing yourself to hear, not to mention the thoughts, many of which tend to be comparison if we're not being hyper aware of it, especially on social media. So here's my challenge to you. Instead of just putting on random music or movies or shows as background noise, why don't you pick an audiobook? Why don't you swap out for a book that's going to teach you about something or maybe give you a new perspective on something that you're struggling with? One book that I've mentioned a lot on this podcast is a great book. If you're wanting to change your habits. It's called Atomic Habits by James Clear. I highly recommend that book. I have gotten so many people on that book and I know that it's just a very popular book in general. But it's great. It's great. It has so many golden nuggets of wisdom and research that really talks about how to reprogram your brain when it comes to creating more positive habits in your life. That's a great book. I also have three books that I recommend to every single woman who is struggling with body image or just in general feeling defeated in your life. These three books, individually, in their own way, have transformed my mind and my heart and my relationship with God in so many ways. So if you have a pen and paper, now's the time to get that out or just kind of make a mark at the time that this podcast is so that you can go back and check them out. But the first book is called Beauty Begins. It's by Chris and Megan Sherk. That's S-H. Okay. The second book is called Beauty by the Book by Nancy Stafford. It's an older book, but it has so much wisdom in it. And then the third book is a more recent book. I think it was written in 2008 or 2019. It's by a dear friend, Hannah Bradshaw, and it's called Fighting Forward. So all of those books, including the Atomic Habits Book, they're all on my Amazon store fronts. If you love reading books, you can get them on Amazon. You can also get them on audiobooks, I believe. I don't know if the beauty by the book is on audio. If it is, let me know because I would love to actually listen to that book on audio. I've only ever just read it before, but really immersing yourself into those books and the truths that they have to share. Girl, I'm telling you, it will transform your life. Another challenge that I have for you related to this is to go through your following list on social and remove the people and influences that are not serving you and the thoughts that you wish to have. This can even go for the people that you know. I don't know if you know this, but I just found out about it about a year ago and it's literally transformed my social media experience. But there's a beautiful thing that Instagram created called mute. So if you don't want to unfollow them, because I know that that could run the risk of being super awkward in person, you can just mute them. You can do that for both their stories and posts. And it's a great way to help you establish boundaries on social media so that you are ensuring that your mind and heart is in check every time you go on that social platform. And then lastly, limit yourself on your socials. You can easily do this by setting time limits on your apps, on your iPhone. I know for sure you can because I have that on all of my apps. I'm sure Android has something similar, but you guys, you have to give yourself boundaries when it comes to social media. Your mind and heart will truly thank you for that. And it has transformed so many aspects of my life. I'm literally not even creating boundaries and setting time limits on these social platforms has transformed. Formed my life in so many ways, not only just my thoughts and allowing myself to not feel, just inundated with story after story and post after post in comparison and all of those thoughts. But it has also allowed me to deepen my relationships with the people that I care about most. And it also has allowed me to create more hobbies and do the things that I love. And I'm telling you so. Back in March, my husband and I decided to take a Sabbath and, like, really be intentional about the Sabbath. And so every Saturday night at whenever we go to bed, that is the last time that we look at our phone, especially when it comes to work. Any social platform. I'm not on social media when it comes to Sundays and it has blessed my days. My Sundays have never been as long as clear minded. I feel like I have been able to do so much stuff, like time goes by so slow when you are not just scrolling mindlessly on these social platforms. And so one way that I kind of was like, okay, we obviously can't implement Sabbath every single day because I run a business through social media, but how can I still create boundaries there? And so for me, it was limiting myself on social media and putting time limits on apps, which is awesome because if you have a time limit on an app and you come up to that time limit, it will literally shut the app off and it will say, like, your time is up. And it just it's a good it's like a rude awakening, like, okay, my time is up, and now I need to do, you know, do something else, do more important things in my life. So those are my challenges for you.
And lastly, number five is to learn to become your biggest cheerleader. Now, just remember this, that the relationship that you have with yourself is so important, and I think that that's often overlooked. We look at investing in other relationships, whether that's a significant other, a best friend, your family. And don't get me wrong, all of those relationships are so important, but I think we rarely forget that we need to invest time in our relationship with ourselves. And I remember a few short years ago, time alone for me was super awkward. It was lonely. It was weird. I literally hated it. I know this isn't the case for some of you guys. I know Joshua, my husband, he thrives being alone. He loves it. But for others there you have to be around people in order to feel normal. If you're if you're anything like, especially if you're an extrovert like that is you and that's me. Like, I feel like I need to be around other people in order to feel normal. Or at least I used to, because I didn't practice regular time away by myself. But it's important to quiet yourself on a regular basis and ask yourself like how you're really doing and answer that question honestly. This could be an audible conversation maybe while you're driving somewhere, or it can be in a journal, you know, away from the hustle and bustle of your normal routine, but really making sure that you're taking time to check in with yourself, because when you take time to check in with yourself and develop and deepen the relationship with your self, it really will never be come back void because you are with yourself, you're with your thoughts, you're with your body for the rest of your life. Like this is the only shell that we have. And so we need to make sure that we are investing in that relationship. So maybe this looks for you like scheduling some time to go to a coffee shop or pick your favorite park somewhere that brings you peace and take your journal and pencil and just start writing. Or maybe this looks like you taking a long drive as you reflect on where you're at and having that audible conversation with yourself. Or maybe it's just right in the comfort of your own home taking a bath and really reflecting. Either way, I just want to encourage you to be alone and learn that it's okay to be alone and learn to listen to yourself and learn to cheer yourself on and learn to speak to yourself lovingly. It's really time to start speaking and treating yourself like you would your best friend, your sister, your mom, your daughter, your grandma. Remember this if you wouldn't say it to your best friend or your sister, why do you think it's okay to say to yourself, if you wouldn't treat your daughter, your mother that way, why would you treat yourself that way? So just remember that those questions really hit home, especially when I feel like I'm having a hard day. When I feel like I'm having a hard day, I always ask myself like, Man, have I spent some time with myself? Like, have I really checked in to see where I'm at? And I always get kind of a smack in the face when I say, like, would I tell my niece, my Ava, my sister's daughter, who I love dearly, she's just so precious. Would I say that to her? And if the answer is no, like, Oh my goodness, why am I saying it to myself? Right? Such a good slap in the face and taken the right direction. So there you have it. Those are the five things that have helped me on my journey of struggling with body image, fitness and food.
Let me just briefly share them. Number one, spending time in prayer and God's word. Number two, I prioritize educating myself and constantly educating yourself. Remember that you don't just educate your. One time. It's a constant it's a it's a lifelong journey of constantly putting tools in your toolbox to make you more educated, which leads to feeling more empowered. Number three, finding other like minded women. This also includes maybe sharing transparently and openly with the community of people that you have and finding a community that way. Number four, becoming aware of what I allowed myself to watch and listen to. Remember, putting boundaries on that is so important and critical. And number five, learning to become your biggest cheerleader. If you love this episode, I know you will also love episode 106. Ask me anything about my spiritual journey. I talk a lot more in-depth about that episode 184 What to Do When Things Aren't Going Your Way. And Episode 197 is one of my absolute favorites. Real talk on building confidence in 2022. Oh yeah. I also can't forget episode one, which is the OG episode, how I stopped hating my body and finally embrace my real.
So there you have it. Those are some good episodes to tune into. I will also link them in the show notes so that you can easily go tune in to them after this episode. If you have a friend or coworker or someone in your life that you feel like would really benefit from this episode, I just ask that you share it out with them. You can also screenshot this and post it up on your story. I love connect with you guys and love hearing your aha moments. That is all that I have for today's episode. I love you so much and I'll talk to you next time. 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 lot better. Yes, it's within in the middle for that daily poser about 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 the real because you're worth it.