Good morning!
I have an amazing video for you guys to watch this morning. Let’s just say if you are trying to find motivation to get excited about your workout today you just may find it here!
Eric and I are considering doing that for our try-a-tri. :tongue:
Onto break the fast.
Apple Pie Parfait Vegan Overnight Oats
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup regular oats
- 3/4 cup almond milk
- 2 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 1/2 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/8th tsp each nutmeg and ginger)
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 of an apple, peeled and chopped
- Banana soft serve: 1 frozen banana, 1 tbsp milk, 1/2 tbsp cashew butter
- Topping: Sucanat (or brown sugar)
Directions: Mix above ingredients with a whisk and place in fridge overnight. In the morning, make banana soft serve in the food processor. I added 1/2 tbsp of cashew butter at the end of processing to bring out a nutty flavour that would blend nicely with the apple pie flavour. For the topping I used 1/2 tsp Sucanat.
Simply Delicious!
Updates:
- Email notification for comments is fixed. Big thanks to Julie! You will now be notified again when your comment is replied to.
Sports, Exercise, and Body Image
Yesterday I made a discovery.
I was in the change room at the pool putting on my swim cap. I looked at my body in the full length mirror and I saw someone who was strong, healthy, and confident. I had a little twinkle in my eye.
It occurred to me that this was one of the first times that I have not felt self-conscious about myself in a swimsuit. I had no negative feelings trying to discourage me. Thoughts and critiques about the size of various body parts were not present in my mind. In the past, I could not put on a swim suit without feeling anxiety or being critical of myself. When I had to be in front of other people with a swimsuit on, I did not feel confident because I had all of these negative thoughts about my body floating around in my head.
Something changed when I started swimming laps.
The purpose of the swimsuit was no longer to flatter the figure or to hide supposed flaws or to boost or to nip or to tuck or to distract someone’s eye. The swimsuit now served a functional purpose– to help me swim and to carry me to my try-a-tri in June. The swimsuit was a catalyst for a stronger me.
One the first day of swimming I was nervous, not just about swimming, but I was nervous about wearing a swimsuit in front of others on a regular basis. I felt like I would be judged, but what I discovered is that the only judge I had to beat was myself.
Learning to swim again has helped me conquer my fear about wearing a swimsuit in front of others. When I put on my swimsuit, I feel proud, and I now walk confidently. I praise my body for what it can do for me (‘wow these strong legs are helping me speed up my freestyle’ or ‘What strong lungs you have’) instead of supposed ‘flaws’.
After making my discovery I wanted to tell Eric and hear what he thought. I asked him if swimming has improved his body image at all, and he simply smiled and said, ‘I don’t think I have looked at my body in the mirror for weeks.’ :lol: The simplicity of my husband never ceases to put a smile on my face.
Today’s question- Have you ever participated in a sport or exercise that improved your body image? What about a sport/exercise that you felt made your body image worse?
Ohh that breakfast looks delicious! I had a raspberry sundae parfait with VOO’s today. Yum!
I think running has considerably improved myself body imagine because I can feel myself getting stronger every time and I’m still impressed when my legs can carry me for several miles. I still have a ways to go in the self confidence department, but running is helping a lot!
I don’t always look at my FACE in the mirror, but I almost always look at my body.
Hey Angela!
I have to say, I’m not quite there yet with the body image … I’m starting to think of my body as being powerful and I’m definitely thankful for this vehicle, but I’m just not there yet!
I have a question about your overnight oats … I tried making them last night with 1/3 cup oats, 1/2 cup almond milk, 1/2 cup water, 1 T chia seeds, and vanilla. They were REALLY watery this morning … did I do something wrong? I expected them to thicken up quite a bit more … I even tried microwaving them a bit this morning but that seemed to make it worse! Any suggestions?
K
Hey Kristilyn,
My guess is that it was the water…I also only typically use 3/4 cup liquid too for a thicker end result. I’m sure those two changes would make the world of difference!
PS- still loving your CDs!
My first time commenting! I am in LOVE with this blog. It just makes me happy every morning to wake up and read it while drinking my Green Monster :)
I recently started boxing as a way to improve my body image AND relieve stress. It has worked wonders. There is nothing more motivating than having a great boxing session and eking out 3 (yes 3!) pull ups when you could do none before.
Thank you! :)
I have always wanted to try boxing…sounds so kickbutt!
I don’t know if running has helped with my body image, but it has definitely given me a new respect for my legs. :) I am so much more in-tune with how my body moves and how it responds to the things I make it do. Although I’ve been active for many years, running is the only thing that has forced me to take care of my body. So, I guess in a sense it has made me love and appreciate my body… also, I don’t look too shabby in my running shorts. ;)
Btw, those people running on water.. Insane!
I think that is great that swimming has helped you with your body image. I think sports can do that for a lot of women, and especially for younger girls and teenagers.
I do not want you to take this as a criticism but I do find it a little hard to believe that you experienced a lot of self-concsiousness in a bathing suit. I’m sure you felt some (all women do!) but there have been so many pictures of you on your blog in a bikini. And I do think your bikini confidence is fantastic and you look great, but for a lot of women being photographed in a bathing suit is unthinkable, let alone sharing that photograph with the whole world.
I guess what I am saying is that, of course you have made great strides in improving your confidence, but I think you were a lot farther ahead than most women. For example, I cover myself up with a towel at the beach a lot of the time so it’s defintiely baby steps for me. I may never get to the point where i feel comfortable with people taking my picture in a bathing suit, but if I can get to the point where I at least don’t worry about it too much that would be a happy place for me. We don’t all have the same struggles, so our ending place will often be very different I suppose.
I don’t think you can judge whether or not I have had self-consciousness in a bathing suit, but to each their own.
I definitely do not doubt that you have had self-consciousness in a bathing suit. I didn’t mean to imply that.
I guess I just mean that despite the self-consciouness you felt, you were still able to do a lot of things that are way out of my comfort zone. I just have such a long way to go that I have trouble relating a bit.
The blog has been AMAZING for pushing me out of my comfort zone and challenging myself in new ways. I never would be where I am today without it, and the positive encouragement that I have received from readers. :)
when i started weight training was the first time that i really started to feel strong. my confidence comes and goes, but i always ALWAYS feel strong! i love when i’m done working out and it hurts to wash my hair, how i stand up straighter, and i feel completely ripped (even if i’m not ;))
Angela, that is an amazing thing – isn’t it a powerful feeling to know what your body is capable of?
I know I talk about Pilates all the time but it’s basically the only system of exercise I do (and I do it several days a week). It really makes me feel good about my body – amazed at the things I am capable of simply because of the strength my body has built by working itself (Pilates is a lot about the body creating physical resistance during exercises). If I can hold planks and hold my own body weight on my shoulders, what can’t I do?
On the contrary, running makes me feel…um … well it makes me feel the way gym class made me feel in high school, basically useless. No stamina, no form. I’ll get there, I guess. But for now my preferred cardio is my bike!
Of course their South African – love those guys!!! :)
I don’t need motivation today – I just need enough to get me to my meeting place with my trainer and then she’ll take care of the rest (ohhhhh, this is gonna hurt! In a good way of course!).
I keep reminding myself about how amazing all of our bodies are and that they take us everywhere and when we treat them nicely they can do things we never expected. There are days when I don’t feel like that, but as I get older they seem to be fewer and fewer. I guess you could call that growth? :)
I do have a healthy body image and I thank God that I do every single day!
Dance totally changed my body image! I danced for years growing up, when I never thought once about how i looked in my leotard. But when I took some courses in college, I realized that I was super self-concoius about bouncing around in a leotard in front of others. But before long, just like you said, it bacme a functional piece. I let myself go with the dancing and soon I never thought twice about what I was wearing, just how good I was FEELING.
I used to be super sensitive about the cellulite on my upper legs. Well, look who has to wear a leotard and dance and tumble on a blue square?! Gymnastics just forced me to show off my legs, and after a while I didn’t care one bit about the cellulite on my legs.
I think all sports–aside from maybe gymnastics or others that focus on being small–can improve body image. It shows you just what your body can do!
When I used to dance, the best thing that came out of it was how differently I felt about my body; it was so much less about how it looked in my jeans or compared to others, and instead about the beautiful shapes I could make with it, and the incredible challenges it was up to. I know dance catches a lot of flack for promoting unhealthy body images, but in my experience, being inside a room full of mirrors was exhilierating – I was able to really get used to seeing myself, which enabled me to appreciate my own strengths and the things that make my appearance unique. I think that’s one of the biggest things, actually – just getting used to seeing your body is a revelation. We spend so much time trying to cover it, flatter it, change it, but when it’s really just you and your body in a swimsuit (or leotard), it gives you the chance to just GET OVER IT and see your body for what it is – strong, powerful, functional, soft, warm, beautiful. It’s empowering.
When I played volleyball in high school, I was strong and felt really good about what my body could do with all of the jumps, spikes, and blocks. I loved my strong shoulders and arms! Now I love weight lifting at the gym being surrounded by other healthy lifters. It makes me feel good… the one thing I can’t do anymore in a group is yoga. (Unless I find a studio that I like). Unfortunately the people I was surrounded with in these classes had poor body images and I found it soon rubbed off on me. I’m thankful to be out of that environment and back to loving my strong, thick thighs! They are the roots for all of my other exercises! :)
(Thank you for this post! Loving it!)
That totally happened to me when I took a lap swimming class in college! I loved being in my swimsuit and felt SO confident. It’s night and day different from being in a beach-type swimsuit.
I miss swimming so much because of that awesome feeling.
Good for you Angela! Way to get over your fears!
Over the years, yoga has totally changed how I feel about my body. A lot of people feel intimidated by all these skinny bendy yogis but even as a teacher I’m not one of those. My back issues and chronic pain issues mean I will never be the rubber band yogini but these issues have made me more confident of my body within the context of yoga. I’m strong ( you should see my guns from those chaturangas!), I’m slim (but not to skinny anymore), I have a nice yoga butt. But most importantly the non-physical side of yoga has changed me inside so when I look in a mirror I don’t see my flaws all the time, I see my soul shining out of my eyes and whilst there are “angry soul” days, most of the time I see someone I really like!!
Himself on the other hand is more in Eric’s line of thinking. The only time he looks in the mirror is at the hairdresser’s! He relies on me to make sure his tie is straight. Ha ha :)
SO happy that you’re feeling comfortable, strong & CONFIDENT in your suit!!! Wooot!
I’ve been swimming since the age of 2 – competively since the age of 7. At times, I feel MORE comfortbale in a swimsuit then I do normal clothes! I HIGHLY encourage all mom’s to start their girls in swim lessons at a young age. Not only does swimming encourage discipline, teamwork, and passion – but it cultivates a positive body image. Growing up, I was surrounded by strong, musclar, happy girls at practice & swim meets. We all had large quads & broad shoulders – and it was BEAUTIFUL! I never once thought I was “big” or was conscience in a suit. To this day, (as with most “life” swimmers) we want to buy suits that have open backs and as little as fabric in the back & butt! because we LOVE our muscles! Can I get an AMEN!
BRAVO to you & swimming! What an amazing self realization that you’re STRONG & GORGEOUS!
I am experiencing the same type of feelings. Now that I am swimming a couple times a week, I feel so comfortable in a swimsuit now. I wish I started swimming up years ago!
Exercise used to always equal this = calories, less dinner, burn more, look better, be thinner
Now exercise equals this = strength, power, balance, beauty, understanding, peace, release
To say that I have come a long way in how I view my body and exercise is an understatement! It’s been a revolution and I’m still working on it! But finally, FINALLY I view my body as a source of strength not as size x weight x. :)
Thank you for bringing up such a wonderful idea!
Running helped to improve my body image IMMENSELY!!! Instead of wanting my body to be thin and skinny, I was excited to see it muscular! I felt so very STRONG!
GREAT video! :-)
Growing up I played a lot of sports, but my main sports were gymnastics, field hockey, and dance. I was lucky that 1. my coaches and dance teachers never put any negative focus on body image, instead encouraging us to build strength and endurance and 2. I didn’t suffer any negative body image due to these sports.
However there is something about running and sprinting that makes me feel powerful!