Imagine waking up energized, ready to pull on your favorite workout gear, and head out the door. Sounds like a pipe dream? I'm here to tell you it's not! In this Confidently Beautiful episode, I'm shedding light on some real-life strategies to stay inspired to exercise and take care of your body. I've gathered some fascinating insights from my recent Instagram poll, where my followers bravely shared their favorite ways to exercise, their preferred time of day, and what keeps them motivated. But, what happens when the motivation starts to wane? That's where discipline and good habits come in. And if you're in the St George area, I've got a chiropractor recommendation that's a fantastic blend of chiropractic and physical therapy.
But that's not all! Does scrolling through your Instagram feed make you feel inspired or downright depressed? Well, I've got a list of Instagram accounts that will make you feel the former. Accounts like Shay Fit, Kelsey Nixon, and Elyse Ellis, to name just a few, that are brimming with inspiration for a healthier lifestyle. And while we're at it, let's not forget to celebrate the incredible things our bodies are capable of. After all, it's not just about looking good, but feeling confidently beautiful too. So, pull up a chair, plug in those headphones, and let's get ready to embrace a healthier, happier you.
Visit saprea.org to learn more about hope and healing from child sexual abuse
Visit Defend Innocence for resources on child sexual abuse prevention
Buy makeup, skin care and collagen here and help survivors of child sexual abuse
Connect with Ciera on Instagram @confidentlybeautifulpodcast
Imagine waking up energized, ready to pull on your favorite workout gear, and head out the door. Sounds like a pipe dream? I'm here to tell you it's not! In this Confidently Beautiful episode, I'm shedding light on some real-life strategies to stay inspired to exercise and take care of your body. I've gathered some fascinating insights from my recent Instagram poll, where my followers bravely shared their favorite ways to exercise, their preferred time of day, and what keeps them motivated. But, what happens when the motivation starts to wane? That's where discipline and good habits come in. And if you're in the St George area, I've got a chiropractor recommendation that's a fantastic blend of chiropractic and physical therapy.
But that's not all! Does scrolling through your Instagram feed make you feel inspired or downright depressed? Well, I've got a list of Instagram accounts that will make you feel the former. Accounts like Shay Fit, Kelsey Nixon, and Elyse Ellis, to name just a few, that are brimming with inspiration for a healthier lifestyle. And while we're at it, let's not forget to celebrate the incredible things our bodies are capable of. After all, it's not just about looking good, but feeling confidently beautiful too. So, pull up a chair, plug in those headphones, and let's get ready to embrace a healthier, happier you.
Visit saprea.org to learn more about hope and healing from child sexual abuse
Visit Defend Innocence for resources on child sexual abuse prevention
Buy makeup, skin care and collagen here and help survivors of child sexual abuse
Connect with Ciera on Instagram @confidentlybeautifulpodcast
You're listening to Confidently Beautiful with Sierra, a podcast to help you stay confidently beautiful, because we all have confidence inside us. We just need to bring it out and I'm here to show you how Body image, dreams, parenting style, personality and more. Here we cover it all. Get ready to stay confidently beautiful. Hello and welcome to another podcast episode.
Speaker 1:I'm going to apologize in advance for this terrible audio. I hope that it ends up being better than I think it's going to. I forgot an SD card that I need to hook up to the equipment that I normally use and my cord, for some reason, is not working when it's connecting to my computer. So that's the little back story, technical, technical side of today's podcast. But I apologize in advance for the terrible audio quality. Hopefully it's not as bad. I have not been here. I'm so sorry.
Speaker 1:We had our one year celebration and then, I don't know, I just we're going to blame it on being a year of podcasting and maybe I just needed a little break for a second. But I seriously have loved this year of podcasting. I said that in my podcast post or my post Instagram post, when I was talking about my one year, and I have loved it so much and it has been the best thing ever. I have the most exciting October planned. I hope I have some really, really interesting content and episodes that I am going to be sharing with you Today. I wanted to talk to you about motivation to exercise and take care of your body. I do not have that right now. I am going to say that I mean being 20, what am I? 22 weeks pregnant? Yeah, I don't have that. That is not a thing that I have. So this was actually a very, very helpful episode for me as well. So trust me when I say I'm going to need this episode just as much as maybe you are. So this episode was actually really good for me to prepare, because it had got me thinking about motivation to exercise and take care of my body, as I am growing a tiny human, and things that I can try and do to do that the best that I can.
Speaker 1:So I did an Instagram poll and I asked lots of questions, so I thought it would be really fun to share some of the results. So one of the things that I asked was what is your favorite way to exercise? Striking was one of the responses, which I was like I have no idea what striking is, but it's kind of like kickboxing. She says Like I mean you just so like punching and it sounds really. It sounds like a really great way to get your anchor out and all that built up energy. Another person said things that are fun dancing is at the top of her list so just like things that make you forget that you're exercising.
Speaker 1:Group classes were a big one Lifting weights and running and another one was outdoor activities such as hiking, doing things with friends and family, and running was another one that I think came up a couple of times. And then another question that I asked, which I am kind of like, the one who prefers to exercise alone. But I asked who prefers to exercise with a friend and who prefers to exercise alone, and 73% of those who responded to the poll they actually prefer to exercise with a friend and only 27% liked to exercise alone. So I thought that was interesting. I really thought that there would be more that would like to exercise alone, but yeah, I'm definitely one in the alone camp. Like let me exercise by myself. The other question that I asked was do you prefer to exercise in the morning, the night or what's exercise? 62% of you said morning, 23% of those who voted said night and 15% said what's exercise. So that was kind of a fun one to hear. I am definitely a morning person, and how do you get motivated to move your body was another question that I asked. So one of the persons I really liked her answer. She said new workout clothes or to sign up for a race. Like cause, you obviously want to wear your new clothes If you sign up for a race.
Speaker 1:I found that for me, when I ran my half marathons, I was like I have to run because I signed up for a half marathon and I can't not be ready or I can't like I signed up, I can't just like not show up and not run, and so I found that to be true for me, for sure. But then she did say, she continued and she said but after the motivation runs out, because it will, you have to rely on discipline and habits, which I thought was like so true, like we can get this burst of motivation, but yeah, the motivation is not going to last, the motivation is gonna go away. And then what do you rely on? Your discipline and your habits. So I think that's where consistency comes into play, which is something that I'm not good at right now, but I think that that's where you're going to have to rely on eventually so we can get the motivation. But yeah, we need the discipline and we need the habits to be able to maintain what we have created.
Speaker 1:I'm working with a chiropractor who is phenomenal. If you are in the St George area and you need a chiropractor, then talk to me because, oh my gosh, she is so good. My doula recommended her to me and it is not your typical chiro Like. It is like a really good combination of chiropractic and physical therapy. So with my last pregnancy I did both. I went and saw a chiropractor who was like your normal, traditional, like crack your back kind of chiropractor. And then I also went to physical therapy and I did a lot of time in the pool and I worked on things. That way, this is like the perfect combination of the two and I don't have to get in the pool, which makes me really happy. I love to get in the pool, but not when I'm going to physical therapy. That was just annoying, so I did not enjoy that. But she is the perfect combination.
Speaker 1:So I am trying really hard to do what this like. I have to get the motivation to do the exercises that she gives me. She gives me homework and I have to get the motivation to do it. A lot of the motivation right now I'm gonna be honest is I don't wanna have to go to my next appointment and say, yeah, I didn't do any of the homework that you gave me, and I am also having a lot of hip pain, and so that's also like a pretty good motivator, because if I do the exercises I do feel better, and so that is a big motivation for me right now. But I do see that I am going to have to create this as a habit so that I can continue this, because this motivation yeah, it's not going to last, like maybe my hips will start to feel better and I'll be like it's fine, I can stop doing these exercises, like I don't need to keep doing them. And that's when I'm gonna have to rely on my discipline and my habits and because, yeah, if I stop, my hips probably will start to hurt again and, come labor, I'm probably going to regret that I didn't do the exercises that she is giving me, because part of the reason she's giving me these exercises is to help with my labor and delivery, and so I really loved that piece of advice. So, yes, motivation won't last forever. You're going to have to rely on your discipline and your habits.
Speaker 1:Another way that somebody said that they like to get motivation is to schedule it Like and this actually goes along perfect with the discipline and habits. So schedule it. Tell yourself I'm going to do this, put it on the calendar, put it like, however, you need to do it, and then ignore that inner voice that tells you not to do it. Because, like, that inner voice is going to come. It's going to come If you're waking up in the morning and you your alarm goes off and you know you're supposed to go do whatever the exercise is that you want to? Like, yeah, you're going to have something inside you. Most likely that's telling you yeah, I don't want to do this. Or like, maybe you'll be okay for a week, but after a week it's going to die down. So, yeah, just to ignore that inner voice, say I told myself that I was going to do this and then just get up and do it.
Speaker 1:Another question that I asked was this was just kind of a fun one but what are your favorite healthy snacks? String cheese, beef, jerky, yogurts, fresh veggies, protein shakes, cheese and crackers and grapes, bananas and peanut butter. Those were all the ones that came up and I love all those because they're so simple. They're real food, like it doesn't need to be complicated. I have just started just to cut up fruits and veggies and like wash them ahead of time, cause I know it's silly, but I can have a bag of grapes in the fridge and I don't even touch it because I don't know. The thought of taking it out and running it underwater for a few seconds is like too much for me, and so then I don't eat the bag of grapes, like that's really dumb. But I think we all can say that we've done that. And so I have found that if I take the time on Mondays or my meal prep days, I take the time on Monday and I wash everything. I cut all the veggies, I put it in easy to grab containers. I make it so easy and so simple that all I have to do is grab it. Then it makes things so much better. So I loved that and I loved all of these suggestions because all of them are like really, really simple, easy ways to get good nutrients into your body and whole foods and good things. In fact, I just bought because of this. I was like, oh, beef jerky, that's a good idea. I just bought like the little individual beef jerky packages like from Costco and that is going to be in my snack rotation for the week. So I'm excited for that.
Speaker 1:But so some ways that I get motivated are to keep the feelings involved. So when I think about what, how I feel when I am exercising, when I'm moving my body, or how I feel after I have exercised or moved my body, then that helps me to like get up and do it a lot more. If I think about the feelings and keep the feelings involved, then it helps me to want to do it, because I know I want to have that energy. I want to feel comfortable in my clothes. I don't want to feel bloated, I don't want to feel gross, I don't want to feel like I have not been taking care of my body and I want to feel like I've accomplished something. I think a lot back on, a lot on those times when I did something like a really, really hard run, or I even just completed a yoga session, like as I'm pregnant, if I just remember what it feels like, like oh, this feels like so good. Like I, I did a yoga session. Even if it's a 15 minute yoga session, I just remember that feeling of feeling accomplished. So I remind myself of all of those feelings when I'm in that feeling of I really don't want to do this right now, I really just want to go to bed, or I really want to stay in bed, or I would much rather sit on the couch and watch a show. That's what I remind myself of is all of those feelings that I'm going to feel when I do the workout and after I do the workout.
Speaker 1:Some of my favorite accounts to follow because I have found like the content we consume is what we're going to be thinking a lot about. So some of my favorite accounts are Shea Fit. She is a personal trainer here in St George. She does a lot of like postpartum and pregnancy type workouts. So a lot of what her stuff is is geared towards moms and I love that so much because that's where I am right now and she gives a lot of free content that you can do and I have just found her to be a really good resource as I can like learn things how to like strengthen my pelvic floor and loosen my hip muscles and all of those things.
Speaker 1:Another person that I love to follow is Kelsey Nixon. She's just Kelsey Nixon on Instagram. She is I don't know if she's like an official, like chef person, but she's like I don't know. I don't know if she's a chef or a nutritionist I don't know exactly what she is but she has a food account and I love her food account. She just shares really, really healthy, simple recipes. She talks about like just planning for the week and I've just I've loved all of the things that she has shared. She's also shared a lot of really, really awesome like kitchen gadgets that I'm like, yeah, I'm gonna need to, I'm gonna need you to get that to make my food prep a little bit easier and to help me to feel motivated to eat healthier.
Speaker 1:Another one that I love to follow is Elise Ellis. She's macro friendly food. I have I subscribed to her weekly meal plan for a long time, like months and months and months, so I have saved all of her meal plans that she would send out and I loved every single thing that I made. There's probably like maybe one or two things that I didn't love, but I think that's bound to happen, no matter what what you are trying. But I really really love all of her things that she has, and she also shares a lot of really free and good, easy, quick, healthy recipes on Instagram. So definitely give her a follow too.
Speaker 1:And, of course, like there's not gonna be a time when we only eat what we cook at home. Like that, just that doesn't happen, at least not at my house. Like I can be really good, I do. I try and meal prep every Monday. Today is Monday and I, I like, did all of the prep for all of the dinners that I possibly could to make it so easy throughout the week so that I have no excuse to not make dinner.
Speaker 1:I think the biggest takeaway for me during this whole episode is just to remember motivation's not gonna last forever, but these are really good tips to get you motivated. But you do need to build that discipline and habit, like build those muscles, because it's gonna come down to discipline and habits, and if you can put some good habits into play when you have the motivation, then it's gonna be a lot easier to maintain it. So give yourself some grace. Nobody's perfect. We all are just doing the best we can, with motivation to exercise and take care of our bodies, and no matter what phase you are in life, if you are postpartum, if you're pregnant, if you have not had kids in five years, wherever you are in your life, just remember the amazing things that your body has done, whether it has given birth to children, if it has hiked a giant mountain, if it has ran a half marathon or a full marathon, if your body has maybe a disease maybe you had cancer, maybe you like I mean Tia Stokes. I love her. I love her so much and she is all about this about your body just being like amazing and just loving your body, no matter what, because your body does amazing things.
Speaker 1:So keep that motivation. Keep that in your heart. Remember the feelings. It's all about what you wanna feel. It doesn't necessarily matter what you look like, it's just the way you wanna feel. Remember the feelings. I know that you can get the motivation to take care of your body in whatever way it is that is best for you right now. So stay confidently beautiful. I will talk to you guys next week. Thanks for listening. Connect with me on Instagram at Confidently Beautiful podcast and share this episode with someone in your life who could use a little reminder of just how amazing they already are. Stay confidently beautiful.