Rock What You Got

October 12, 2015October 11, 2015 / ktbuchs87

I’m going to have you do a little homework before you read this post. Oh stop moaning, it’s not that hard.

I want you to listen to this song:

Did you listen? Good. I’m trusting that you did.

I have listened to Superchick for years and in fact, I have heard this song a good 50 times before. But as I was out running about the other day, this song came on and it kind of hit me in a new light.

Rock what you got.

I have spent a lot of time trying to change things about me so that I can “rock it”. I focus on what needs to be fixed or adjusted to get to a point where I feel like I am worthy of being awesome.

That’s not cool.

I have been given everything that I need to rock. There are so many awesome things about me that no one else has, and I’m doing myself a disservice if I don’t choose to rock what I’ve got.

I’m not saying that I don’t want to improve myself or do things to meet new goals. It’s ok to rock what you have right at this moment while working to achieve other things. Be proud of YOU every single second of the day. That pride and encouragement, even if it just comes from you alone, can help push you forward.

So how about it? I’m making a pledge to start rocking everything I got.

My ability to push myself at the end of a long run? Rocking it.

My willingness to try a new or difficult yoga pose even if I faceplant? Rocking it.

My desire to help serve others in the best way I know how? Rocking it.

My hope to accomplish new goals and dreams? Rocking it.

You don’t have to wait until you think you have what it takes to rock it. Start now, this very second. You have everything you need in this moment. Even if you don’t feel that way, act like you do. I bet pretty soon you won’t have to be faking it.

Have an awesome Monday and remember, rock what you got!

5 Things I Do When I’m Struggling With Bad Body Image

August 31, 2015August 31, 2015 / ktbuchs87

For some reason this weekend, I was having a tough time with my body. Every piece of clothing I put on felt awkward, I didn’t like the way I looked, and I felt like everyone was just staring at all of my flaws. It was not a very fun weekend to say the least.

As much as I would love to always be proud of my body and never struggle with these insecurities, I know that I will probably always have to work on body image. When I was younger, I would let these negative thoughts consume me. I literally thought that my body was ugly and all the problems I saw in the mirror were the only things that other people could see. These thoughts would rule my day, my mood, and how I viewed my worth. They dictated what I would say and think, whether I would speak up in class or if I would volunteer for something where people had to look at me. It was rough and I never thought much of myself. I just wanted to fade in the background and for the most part, I did.

With a lot of time and work, I have pushed past that younger version of myself. No one gets to determine my worth based on my looks, not even myself. I understand so much more about my body and know that just because I see something in the mirror doesn’t mean it’s true in real life.

But there are still days when the struggle is real. Days when I want to go back to hiding in my shell. Days when no matter what, the reflection I see does not match what is actually there. I’m sure every once in awhile, you have those days too. Days when you doubt whether you are beautiful, capable, or even worthy. What you do on those days can make you stronger or keep tearing you down. So here are five things I do when I struggle with bad body image. Hopefully, these can help you or give you some motivation to find ways to move past the lies you might be telling yourself about your own body.

1. I realize they are lies

Most often, the reason I have a “bad body” day is that I feel like I have gained a ridiculous amount of weight. The logical part of my brain knows this isn’t true. There is no way that one meal can make you gain 10 pounds and you don’t wake up one day suddenly overweight. But the logical part of my brain doesn’t always rule my day. While I might feel overweight and insecure, I tell myself that it is a lie. What I see in the mirror isn’t true. My habits are overall healthy and I won’t suddenly just backslide. I might not believe this at first, but actually physically telling myself that it is a lie helps to get me back on track.

2. I try something new

This might sound weird, but trying something new really helps me get out of my funk. Usually, I try a new yoga pose that I haven’t been able to do before or an exercise that I struggle with. By doing something new, I get my mind off the woe is me/I’m ugly mentality. Many times I end up surprising myself by doing something that I didn’t think I could do. Even if I can’t get into a new pose or still struggle with that tough exercise, the fact that I tried and tried to improve myself helps me feel more confident with my body.

3. Look at where I started

I have come a long way from Jr. high/high school Katie. Looking back at that time, I realize that I am a completely different and better person. On the days when it feels like I am right back where I started, just taking out pictures from that time proves me completely wrong. I know I have done a lot of work to get to this point and reminding myself of that helps me see how strong and capable I have become.

4. I talk about it

I am a private person and I tend to keep things bottled up inside. I let my negative thoughts eat away at me and they never fail to bring me down. While it’s still hard for me to open up and share, talking about it helps let that negativity out. Sharing things with someone you trust gets things off your chest and shows you that some of those things just aren’t true. Even writing this post helps me push past my doubt and uncertainty and stops negative talk in it’s tracks.

5. I understand it will pass

I won’t let my negative thoughts persist anymore. They might have ruled my life before, but I refuse to let that happen again. I know that this bad day is one day and it will pass. There will be good days again, days where I see how strong I am, how capable I have become, and how beautiful I truly am. I can’t dwell on these insecure thoughts or else they will take over. I acknowledge that I have had a bad day and now it is over and I will do my best to move on. It isn’t always easy, but I know I can do it.

Next time you are faced with body image issues, try a few of these things. Or find something that works for you. The most important advice I can give you is to not let these issues consume you. Don’t let them take over. You are better and stronger than they are and you can and will get to a place where you see your beauty and worth!

Ode To My Body

May 18, 2015May 18, 2015 / ktbuchs87

Thank you for allowing me to run as many miles as you have. They have made me realize I can endure anything both on the trail and in life.

Thank you for allowing me to try new poses in yoga. They have made me realize I am flexible, both on the mat and in my day to day routine.

Thank you for allowing me to lift heavy weights. They have made me realize I am strong, both under the bar and under pressure.

Thank you for allowing me to walk everywhere. They have made me realize I can use my own to feet to go anywhere, both in my neighborhood and with my goals.

I’m sorry for all the harsh things I have said to you over the years. You were doing the best you could in each situation and I couldn’t see that at the time.

I’m sorry for comparing you to other bodies out there. You aren’t meant to be like any other bodies and to compare made you feel unworthy of all the unique talents you have.

I’m sorry for punishing you when you did nothing wrong. It was my insecurities and skewed views that thought I should fix things that weren’t even wrong.

I’m sorry for the years of hating you and wishing you would change just to fit what I thought was perfect. I missed so much of what was good by focusing only on the bad.

I can’t say that I will always be good to you. There will probably be some times that I struggle to be kind but know that I’m working on it. I’m trying to change my stubborn ways because you deserve that.

I promise to praise you for all that you can do, encourage you to work towards what you are trying to do, and not criticize you for what you can’t do.

You’ve carried me through a lot of tough times and I promise that I will reward you for all the hard work you’ve accomplished.

Thank you.

Advice… With A Grain Of Salt

March 9, 2015March 9, 2015 / ktbuchs87

Like many people, I spend a good amount of time on the internet. One of my favorite sites is Pinterest. I like scrolling through all the recipes, memes, workouts, and numerous other things that people pin. The other day I ran across this written on a pin under the Health and Fitness section: “Honey and cinnamon cleanse every morning, on an empty stomach, half an hour before breakfast, and again at night before sleeping, drink honey and cinnamon powder boiled in one cup water. If taken regularly it reduces the weight of even the most obese person. Also drinking of this mixture regularly does not allow the fat to accumulate in the body, even though the person may eat a high calorie diet.”

Yeah, right.

Just not true

Most people who read that would probably disregard this “helpful” hint and move on to other things. But there are others out there who are looking for any way to lose weight and might cling to this bit of advice as a magic bullet. Everyday I see one thing or another out there in internet land that is just plain wrong, but sounds just good enough to maybe work. There are lists of negative calorie foods (these do NOT exist people!), exercises that will burn 500 calories (maybe if a person is a certain weight/height/body type), and numerous cleanses that promise everything from weight loss to higher test scores (did you know that your body does a fairly good job of cleansing itself every day?).

All good foods, but they do NOT have negative calories

I’m not going to sit here and debunk every single crazy bit of advice that is out there because that would take way too long and you would get bored. I just want to caution you to take any health advice you read on the internet with a grain of salt. Even things that I write aren’t meant to be taken as the hard and fast truth. I am not an expert, I just relate my experiences with you in hopes to help you find your own way. I want you to be careful because I know what it’s like to be desperate when it comes to my weight and body.

I like eating way too much to drink these things for my meals

I was once the impressionable consumer who saw numerous commercials promising that I could lose weight quickly with just one pill! It was like a miracle. All I had to do was take a pill and all my weight problems would be solved. I would finally be happy and look amazing. I bought into the lie. Thankfully my mom found my hidden stash of weight loss pills, essentially just caffeine in pill form, before I seriously hurt myself.

I think I’ll do this instead of that other workout…

Don’t let your desperation cloud your good judgement. I knew deep down that one pill a day wasn’t going to make me lose weight, but I wanted to believe it badly enough to try it. I know better now and I always do my research with any health advice I read or hear. Ultimately you have to do what is best for you and your body. If you’re confused or something sounds too good to be true, dig deeper. Talk with medical and health professionals and make sure that you are helping instead of hurting yourself.

The internet can be a great thing, I mean where else can you spend all day looking at cat photos? But make sure that it isn’t your one and only source for health information. Take any advice you get from the internet with a grain of salt. And a funny meme.

Try not to laugh at this

Have a great Monday everyone!

Your Body Isn’t A Mannequin

February 9, 2015 / ktbuchs87

I have spent a lot of my life not liking the way I look. Many of my younger years were full of low self-esteem and poor body image. Like many girls, and boys for that matter, I felt that I didn’t measure up to the standard of beauty.

As I’ve gotten older I have gotten better but I still have my days/weeks where I feel like I don’t look like I want. My stomach is too flabby, my thighs have seemingly gotten bigger overnight, and my arms aren’t as strong as last week. What I see in the mirror doesn’t match up to the image in my head. I’ve had one of those weeks this past week and I’ve learned something.

My body does change from day to day and week to week.

My body is not going to stay exactly the same every minute of every day.

My body isn’t meant to be like a robot or mannequin and never change.

And this is ok.

There are so many factors that go into how our bodies look from day to day. What we eat or drink, what workout we have done, what the weather is like, what clothes we wear. With so many variables there is no way that we can keep our bodies exactly the same.

For someone who has struggled with body image issues, this can be a tough lesson to deal with. I sometimes get into the horrible habit of looking at pictures of models/athletes and longing to have their perfect bodies. What I often forget is that the image I look at is just picture of one point in time. That is how they looked at that minute, it isn’t how they look every single day. I shouldn’t compare myself to those moments in time, especially since they have been styled and edited to look perfect at those particular moments in time.

Don’t get frustrated if it seems like your body isn’t consistent with what you think it should look like.

Are you eating real and whole foods that give you energy and nourish you?

Are you moving your body in some way each day?

Are you working to improve other areas of your life not just your body?

Then you should be proud of your body for allowing you to do all those things.

I’ll leave you with this thought. A few months back I was at my parents house for some family event I was in the kitchen with my mom, dad, and husband. Somehow we got onto the topic of body image and I said that girls sometimes just have “bad-body days”, days where we just aren’t happy with what we see. My mom nodded in agreement, but my dad and Adam kind of just looked at me confused. I asked my dad, “Don’t you ever have a day where you look in the mirror and you don’t like your body?” He answered with, “Sure, but I don’t let it control my day. I just move on and work to improve it.” I asked Adam the same thing and he agreed with my dad.

I had never realized it could be as simple as that. Yes, there is a big difference between men and women when it comes to body image but I think we can all benefit from adopting my dad’s mindset.

Don’t let your body control your day. Work to improve it and move on.