I promised that I would always keep it real with you guys, and so I am going to share something with you.

This week, my exercise routine has been hard.

I have been really busy, and it's hard to find the time to exercise, and when I do actually have the time to exercise, I find myself resistant, procrastinating, doing mindless and unnecessary things to fill my time (like scrolling through Facebook). I don't actually WANT to exercise- it feels difficult, exhausting, and frankly, sitting on the couch, staring at my phone feels easier.

Have you ever felt this way???

Ok, so, here's what I did.

So many members have been asking for a newsletter, so here it is! Once a week, I will try to share some inspirational thoughts (usually coming from my own experiences). Please tell me what you think! And if there is a topic you want me to write about, please let me know! Happy to oblige.

It's really hard it is to change our habits in order to get our health back in order. (I wrote about that in a previous blog that you can read here).

And I talked about the importance of healthy movement and healthy food. These are the cornerstones of health- when we eat healthy and move our bodies in the right way, we can gain back our energy, feel fewer flare-ups, and be able to move about the world with fewer aches and pains.

I know firsthand how difficult it can be to exercise with a thyroid disorder. I live with Hashimoto’s disease, and have struggled for years to find the right exercise program for my body. This is one of the reasons I designed Autoimmune Strong for myself- to use exercise to heal my thyroid rather than aggravate it. (You can read more about my story here).

You see, Thyroid + Exercise can be a tricky combination. 

So, as many of you know, I am a certified personal trainer. And today, I am going to share a little personal trainer lingo with you.

All personal trainers learn about the SAID principle- otherwise known as Specific Adaptations To Imposed Demands.

It is a basic foundation to exercise science. And it has a direct effect on what you do with your body every day.

So it's that time of year again. I don't believe in New Year's resolutions, because they are so hard to keep. But, around this time of year I do get reflective and I start thinking about what went well in the past year and what could have been better. And today, I took a long long look at myself. 

I realized that this has been a majorly important year for growth and change. So many big things happened this year. My home life is different, my work life is different, and both of these things have had a major impact on health. 

Recently, I went to an event with my parents, and there were many of our long time family friends in attendance. I had recently decided to embrace my natural grey hair- and for me, since I had been dying my brown hair for so long- this meant bleaching my hair super light so that the grey could grow out naturally without looking too messy.

“Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.” – Jim Rohn

As long as I can remember in my life, I have wanted to be skinny. Even as a child, I had a thick, strong body. I have thick muscular legs that could carry me as far as I wanted to go. But that never mattered to me. What mattered to me was how I looked in my clothes compared to my friends, compared to the girls in the magazines and on TV. I grew up feeling like I wasn’t pretty or good enough, even though I got straight A’s in school, had a happy family life, had friends, and even had a cute boyfriend.