Gone are the days.

Gone are the days of overtraining, under-eating and guilt associated with a "bad workout", or eating "bad foods".

I am so proud of myself.

Seriously.

So.

Fucking.

Proud.

(insert hand clap)

Honestly though, sometimes, we wake up feeling quite lethargic and exhausted. I know there are days where I wake up and get this 50/50 feeling. In explanation, 50% of me wants to workout, and 50% of me knows I could also use a rest day.

I love fitness, and I love working out; however, I also recognize that rest is necessary, stretching is needed and accessory work is extremely beneficial.

Therefore, on these 50/50 days, I make a choice. I make a choice by listening to my body and mind, by either going to the gym, going for a walk or taking a rest day. This is solely based off how I am overall feeling physically, mentally and emotionally.

Rest days are just, if not sometimes MORE important, than the actual workout. Your body requires rest to recover from the strenuous work it goes through both in and out of the gym/exercise, you do. Allowing your body this recovery time is what will allow you to crush your next workout, kill that presentation you have at work, play with your kids at the park, make dinner, grocery shop and the other kajillion "to do list" items you have.

Fueling your body properly, with whole, nourishing foods, goes hand in hand with rest.

---

I used to have this really poor belief system, that went a little like this:

I must workout before I can eat those carbs.

I must workout to earn that meal.

I cant have ____ (usually a "cheat meal") unless I workout.

I have to restrict my food before I can go out for dinner, tonight.

I cant eat that unless I CRUSH the gym.

My workout was shit, so obviously I didn't earn that food.

---

Uhm Daniella, are you bat shit fucking crazy?

You DO NOT have to earn your food, to eat.

You DO NOT have to workout, to eat.

You DO NOT have to restrict your food, in order to enjoy a sweet treat.

Life is about balance, enjoying the times, making memories and YES - eating!

There is no right or wrong way to live, but there are some tough decisions taht need to be made, as they impact your overall wellbeing.

Living, eating and training does not have to be black and white.

It needs to be grey and light. As in, light all over. Light in your heart and mind. Light in your conscience without taking over your entire life, thoughts, and essential decisions. Guilt should NOT be associated with food or your exercise regime.

We workout because we love our bodies, not because we hate them.

We eat because we love ourselves, not because we hate ourselves.

We enjoy treats with our family because we love making memories, not because we want to restrict our intake.

There is no checklist that you need to fill, before you indulge or eat a meal.

To be quite blunt - if you believe that there is a checklist that must be attained before eating, YOU NEED TO to go re-evaluate your relationship with food, and re-evaluate your relationship with fitness and yourself.

If you truly believe that you need to successfully fill out a checklist before attending an event, eating a meal, having a cookie, etc, you MUST RE-EVALUATE.

This is an extremely unhealthy mindset to be in, and it will only cause extreme and detrimental health, family and relationship problems.

Trust me, I've been there.

I really have.

I know what that guilt feels like. I know how uncomfortable it is, to go out of your comfort zone. You may feel like you're going to lose everything that you've fought and worked so hard for. However, that couldn't be farther from the truth. More often than not, extra rest, nourishing properly, ensuring your intake is at an adequate level, ESPECIALLY on rest days-as your body is trying to recover and NEEDS nourishment to do so, will only BENEFIT you, helping your goals become more attainable and sustainable.

#TeamNoDaysOff is bullshit.

Restricting your intake, will set your up for disaster.

Removing an entire food group from your diet, could seriously hurt your internal organs/hormones and overall health.

Skipping a workout, wont kill your gains, or make you fat.

Having a cupcake will not ruin all your hard work.

Eating extra calories one day because life happens, will not automatically mean you have gained 3lbs of fat overnight.

-STOP THE NONSENSE-

"One bad meal wont make you fat, and one healthy meal wont make you skinny"