3 Weight Loss Myths Busted!
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I have three important weight loss myths I need to bust! These three myths are my biggest pet peeves when it comes to women on their weight loss journey. And that’s why in this episode I give you the truth behind these myths and give you my best explanation as to why they are not things you should believe! After listening to this episode, I hope you will return to your weight loss journey with a healthier mindset on how to reach your goals, as well as a clear perspective on why you want to reach these goals.
TRANSCRIPT:
Hey, hey, beautiful human. Can I steal five 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 Your Real, let's get it, let's go.
Hello, beautiful humans, and welcome back to the Embrace You Real podcast. I'm so excited about today's bonus episode. I am going to bust three myths that I know many of you believe when it comes to losing weight. I know it, because I used to believe them myself. All right, before you dive into the episode, I am going to read the review of the day. It comes from Rebecca 12 five, eight, nine. She says, "Just what I needed. I followed Julie for some time on Instagram, but this podcast is literally what I need. I love fitness and working out, but battle myself constantly on how I need to look better, leaner, and get my weight down. Listening to just a few of the episodes has changed my mindset dramatically. I feel more comfortable with myself. I'm proud of my workouts and proud of my body."
Thank you so much, Rebecca, for the review. If you haven't already rated and reviewed the podcast, it would mean the world to me. Take 30 to 60 seconds, all you got to do is tap the five stars, and write a [inaudible 00:01:27], whatever you feel about the podcast. Be sure to screenshot it, DM it to me, and I will send you a personal voice memo back. Let's get into the three myths.
Myth number one, a thigh gap, and ripped abs are not prerequisites for being beautiful. I cannot stress how important this is to ensure that you are not working out to just be skinny, or lean. You have to have a deeper reason why. You need to be working out, to feel confident, to feel energized, to feel more like yourself, to honor your body. I know for me, that's why I started the honor your body movement, because you have to come into this with a mindset of you honoring yourself. You're not punishing yourself. This is a celebration out of all the things that your body can do, instead of all the things that you think your body is not.
I cannot express how it is so important that you are not striving to just have a thigh gap, or ripped abs. Trust me, I've had both. Both have come very unnaturally to me. They have come with a lot of hard work, a lot of dedication, and a lot of extreme in my life. That was just not sustainable for me, and I can tell you when I had the thigh gap and when I had the ripped abs, I was still not confident. I was still not feeling beautiful. In fact, I remember my mindset in both of those times, it was in the pits both times. Both times, I remember I had a thigh gap when I really struggled with my eating and body image disorder. I remember I had a literal six pack about to be an eight pack when I was competing for my bikini pro competition.
I was just so mentally, I was not in a good place. I just know that having a thigh gap and ripped abs is not what will make yourself beautiful. It's not what you think they are, because these are not determining factors for whether or not you're beautiful. They're not determining factors for whether or not you're healthy. They're not determining factors for whether or not you are doing enough. Girl, you've got to learn to work out for you, and work out to honor your body. I need to remind you that you are beautiful, regardless of those things. Stop setting yourself up to fail. Stop telling yourself that if you don't have these things, then you're not this way. You are beautiful, and you're worthy right now, right where you're at.
Myth number two, no matter how badly you want your body to be different, you still need to eat. I know for me, when I was on my quest of wanting the perfect ideal body, I told myself that if I just wanted my body to be different, I just needed to eat less. That's what I thought. I'm telling you, it doesn't matter how badly you want to lose weight. It doesn't matter how badly you hate the way you look. It does not matter how desperately you want to change your body, you still need to eat. Your body needs food, regardless of how you feel about your body. It is impossible to build the body you want without nourishing your body correctly. It's true. I spent years and years going around in circles because I kept telling myself I needed to eat less, when my body was literally screaming at me that I needed more food. I didn't have a menstrual cycle. My hair was not growing. My nails were so brittle. My skin was breaking out.
I had so many digestive issues, so many things, my body was literally screaming, telling me, "Julie, you need to eat." And I just kept thinking, "Oh no, if I just want it to be more different, I just need to eat less, and less, and less." It is impossible to build the body you want without nourishing your body. Your body is always deserving of food. It does not need to earn food. Remember that. To learn more about why it's so important, why you should not be depriving your calories for long term, I need you to tune in to episode 18. If you haven't already, it's titled what happens when you don't eat enough, you have to tune into that episode. I think I go deep in that episode and I think that it will really help you.
Myth number three, losing more weight will not make you more confident. I cannot say this enough. I actually just posted this on my Instagram. Honestly, there is no amount of weight that you could lose that will bring you the confidence that you are searching for. Because, speaking from experience, I used to be a girl that had 12 body fat. The more weight you lose, does not mean it's going to make you more confident. Remember that when you're scrolling on Instagram, when you're scrolling on TicToc, when you're seeing all these fitness models in magazines, or wherever, on Netflix, on movies, all the things. Remember that, just because they are leaner, or have less body fat, that does not mean that they're more confident. Honestly, I found that when people are just focused strictly on their body, that does not mean that they're more confident.
I remember when I was at my lowest weight, I was also at my lowest point in myself confidence. Not joking, at all, because your weight and your confidence are not related, remember that. I thought for so long, that if I got to a certain X amount of weight, that my confidence would match it. Then, when I got there, my confidence was actually less, and that's when I had that big "Aha moment," because your body and your confidence are two separate things. So, if you want to lose weight, go for it. If you want to tone-up, if you want to feel your best, that's amazing. I don't want to downplay your goals, but just know if you also want to feel confident that you're going to have to work on that separately, and I have a whole podcast that's five ways on how to gain more real confidence. I loved that episode, I feel like it really gave you a lot of tangible things. So, be sure to tune into that episode, we'll put it in the show notes.
But, you want your confidence to be unshakable no matter what weight you lose, or what weight you gain. Because, newsflash, we, as women are going to go through so many different seasons of our life. You have to make sure that your confidence is not rooted in the weight, or what you actually look like at a certain amount of pounds, because that will come and that will go, but your confidence needs to remain. You need to ask yourself, are you searching for weight loss, or are you searching for confidence? This is important for you to answer because you need to do the work that needs to be done for either, right? If you're on a health and wellness journey and you're really trying to be more consistent in your nutrition, and you're working out, and you're trying to feel your best, that's one thing.
You have things that you need to do in that area. But, if you're looking, and you're needing, and you're searching for confidence, that's something in the same way that if you want to tone and build your muscle, you have to break your muscles down and they have to repair, and they have to rebuild, and regrow through working out consistently. It's the same thing with confidence. You've got to do the work, you've got to put in the work there. Okay?
Let me recap the three myths. Number one, a thigh gap and ripped abs are not prerequisites for being beautiful. Number two, no matter how badly you want your body to be different, you still need to eat. And, number three, losing more weight will not make you more confident. I hope that this episode spoke to you, encouraged you, inspired you, sparked something in you to remind yourself that you are beautiful. This journey of yours is worth it. It does not need to be wrapped up in a certain amount of weight that you lose, or weight that you are, any of that.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again, if the weight scale is something that you struggle with, girl. I'm giving you full permission to go take that weight scale, you smash it outside. If you've got a baseball bat, or you got concrete, you smash it outside. Then, you take a selfie with the smashed scale, and you send it to me. I will congratulate you with everything in me. I am a firm believer that it's so important that you do not get those two things mix up, because your weight and your confidence are not related. I love you. Thank you so much for tuning in and I will talk to you guys in the next episode.
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're 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-workout 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.