Body positive fitness, sounds like an oxymoron doesn't it? Not really. Now a days it makes me sad to see all the fitness propaganda feature skinny, ripped, oiled down women in ripped booty shorts and a crop top. Or posing in their bikinis on stage at a competition where only the elite go.

Do I have respect for these women? Absolutely! However, not all of us look that way. As a matter of fact 99% of us don't look like that! And we shouldn't want to!

Now I am a lover and believer of fitness, but I am also a lover and believer of body positivity. I had a client tell me once after having a baby that she wanted one of two things. She looked at me and said…

I don't think she realized it but at that point she forever changed my perspective. We should all feel great about ourselves and find joy in exercise. Having fitness goals is healthy, being active is healthy, but most importantly is loving the skin that you're in no matter the nature of it. Think about how you would feel if you saw more fitness ads featuring a variety of body shapes, sizes, ages,etc?

Do you think you would feel the same amount of pressure to be thin or ripped? NO!

How empowering would it be to feel like it's okay for you to wear a sports bra and go take a yoga class because that's what you feel like doing? FREAKIN AWESOME! How nice would it be to be able to walk away unfazed after some tells you you’re too skinny or need to lose weight? EVEN MORE AWESOME! How wonderful would it be to walk everywhere not giving a hoot about what anyone else thinks because you know you look fabulous today?

I mean, I don't know about you, but I think it would feel down right amazing!

Who doesn't want to be confident? Who doesn't want to feel beautiful all the time? I'm just as tired as the next gal who feels tempted to cancel plans because she can't find anything to wear that she feels good in! Before I had my baby, I was a calorie counting, instagram posting, gym life nut!

I wasn't happy, I was insecure, and constantly feeling like I had to lose more, be more, do more!

I had reached a point in my life that self criticism started to take all of the fun out of what I loved! I loved working out and feeling accomplished, but I stopped going to the gym because I felt embarrassed about how I looked. I was overly critical of every picture i saw of myself.

And worst of all I was practically starving myself then binge eating because I had deprived myself of the food I loved for way too long! Needless to say I was a bit of a hot mess! Then I had a baby, and my body changed dramatically.

I started down that self critical role once again, then I woke up one day and said screw it! I deserved to feel beautiful no matter how many people kept asking me when I was going to lose the baby weight. So I decided to make a change!

How did I achieve a body positive attitude? It starts simple;

Resist the urge to compare yourself to others Stop worshiping your social media fitness “influences” Start finding things you love about yourself everyday

Small and simple. But very effective!

Unfollowing some of the unhealthy social media obsessions I had was a huge step! And saying out loud in the mirror to myself everyday something about me that rocked, was awkward at first I will admit, but after awhile gave me strides of confidence I never knew I had! After you start to do those 3 small things, the next step is

Seriously, some of the goals I had for myself were just DOWN RIGHT STUPID! And the guilt, shame, and emotions that would follow not being able to live up to such ridiculous goals was well… DEPRESSING! I was literally failing all the time.

It kills another part of your self esteem every time you fall victim to one of the following;

Large or unrealistic weight loss goals Fad diets that are impossible to keep up with Guilting yourself for “failing” Self shaming

Having healthy goals? Fantastic! Having goals to look like someone that isn't you? Starting a diet that keeps you from enjoying life? All Bad!

3 body positive fitness goals you should set for yourself today!

Set a goal to get active! Not to lose weight(you don't need that pressure), just to keep your body strong.

Eat healthy meals that you like! No diets, no restrictions. Screw that! Find something amazing that you love about your body everyday! Yes, EVERYDAY.

Seriously, you deserve to not have to deal with all the crap that media and societal standards throw your way.

I challenge everyone of you to not compare yourself to unrealistic ads, to stop posting pictures of the women that you want to look like, and start celebrating you! I challenge you to get active and not care about whether or not you're losing weight. I want you to be excited because you landed a yoga pose you've been practicing for months, or you squatted your all time best! NOT because the scale moved at all.

I promise you, if you can start to feel beautiful in the skin you are in, and you start to exercise and eat well just because you want to be healthier not because you want to lose weight, you will be so much happier and empowered! And honestly, once you cross that threshold, you'll wonder why you ever spent any time and energy trying to fit into what society says you should have been. After all you are AMAZING!