Fit2BeMyself: Diary of a Woman Seeking Wellness

There's no set schedule for this. My plan is to be 40lbs lighter by the end of 2021. I have done it before and I know the steps I need to take to do it again. It isn't easy. It wasn't easy losing it the first time. Sometimes I wish I could turn back the clock to 2018 when I was doing fairly well financially and I was in the best shape I had been in for quite a while. However, time has to pass and life has to happen. Admittedly, it was easier to stay consistent when I had a trainer, but that whole quip about life proved true and I don't have a trainer anymore. Let me backtrack to 2019 though. You can skim past this to the actual plan below if you're not interested in reading my entire spiel or you could try my workouts. I have an entire program including videos that I created in Google Classroom called Fit2BeMyself Masterminds. Join my class here . Sign up using your Google account. A little background... In late 2018, my personal trainer thought I had the potential ...

Here's my pandemic/over-the-road driver body that I acquired in 2020. A lot happened last year for everybody, but I had my share of personal victories. Unfortunately, the pandemic and the time I spent on the road took away a lot of time that I would've spent dancing and strength training.  The past few weeks I've been reacquainting myself with my yoga mat (I have a cuter one now) and I'm not quite as graceful as I once was. Anything that requires me to "ground" or "root" myself throws off my balance, which, I think, is one of the reasons such asanas exist. A reminder to steady yourself. It'll all come back together soon enough, my weight and athleticism, I have the gift of muscle memory on my side, but I must say that this is the best I have felt in a long time.

At the time of this post, Covid-19 is still rampant and I'm trying to social distance as much as I can. I still go out for walks 2-3 times per week, but if you've read my other posts, then you know that yoga is my thing. Try this stretch with me. I'm in a shoebox-sized space with a five-year-old sleeping just a few feet away from me, but I told myself there would be no excuses. There's always room for a good stretch! View this post on Instagram It has been a while since I posted a video of myself. I'm currently in a shoebox-sized space, but I still make room to stretch as much as I can and keep my yoga muscles in shape. It also helps me sleep better. No excuses. #yoga #yogaeverydamnday #plussizefitness #plussizeyoga #stretching #stretch #treepose #warriorpose A post shared by LeTara Moore (@fit2bemyself) on May 5, 2020 at 7:19pm PDT

I recently published a new blog post on my other blog Life in a Few Words . I normally post poetry and book reviews there, but the topic of self-care is very important and it is worthy to be shared everywhere. Here's a link to the post. I hope you find it useful. Also, if you're into poetry and books, check out the rest of the blog. Staying Motivated When Life Gets Tough - https://letarawrites.wordpress.com/2019/08/25/staying-motivated-when-life-gets-tough/ If you enjoy this website and want to support, you can either  buy me coffee ,  buy my book , or  shop in my eBay store .

Some days I eat ice cream for breakfast. It is definitely not the healthiest habit that I have, but I have so much love for ice cream. The entire purpose of this blog is to be real with myself about my health, fitness, and spiritual/mental well-being and my ice cream habits are related to all of  those.  How so?   I genuinely enjoy ice cream. The coldness, the creaminess, the sweetness. I like desserts, period. It is hard not to. I love them so much that I’d even consider myself a sugar addict who has been battling the habit for years. I have gone on sugar fasts for several days in the past to see how I’d respond and if I could detox myself. Doing that drove me crazy. It would overwhelm my thoughts, trying to decide whether I’d make that trip to the grocery stores for a pint of ice cream or to Starbucks for a  Frappuc cino .    There are times when I feel I have a good handle over my habit. For instance, last year, after learning from so...

It doesn’t have to cost a fortune to start building your home gym or to start working out. My go-to store is Target, but there are certainly places where you can find cheaper workout equipment. Five Below The first time I visited Five Below, I was very impressed by how much fitness equipment they have. They have light dumbbells, light kettlebells, sandbags, foam rollers, and more. I was even more impressed that they have cute yoga mats for $5 and slightly saddened that I paid around $30 for my starter kit, although the mat that I have has alignment markers on it and the kit came with a yoga block and a strap, which I personally find very helpful as someone who is still somewhat early in my yoga practice. I also saw some fitness apparel and t-shirts, but none of them appeared to fit plus-sizes, so I just took mental note of those. I’m in the market for a new yoga mat and a deep tissue foam roller, so I’ll be going back there soon to collect those. If you have a Five...

It isn’t easy to stay motivated doing anything, much less sticking to a workout routine. In the spirit of keeping this short and simple today, I’ll just say that in order to keep going you must be committed, not necessarily motivated. Motivation is fleeting the same way that feelings of love and infatuation are. It is the same as any other type of relationship. If you want a really good relationship with another person, romantic or platonic, to last, you’ll have to be willing to humble yourself at times and do things you don’t necessarily want to do. You’ll have plenty of fun times, but there will also be times when you simply don’t want to be bothered. It takes effective communication. There’s some nurturing involved and ultimately you have to decide if a relationship with the other person is really what you want. The same applies to your health. Effective communication with yourself could be journaling, meditating, using a fitness or period tracking app—paying attention to yours...

Today I just wanted to share one of my workout videos. I'm not the most animated personality, but I have heard from my group that my workouts are effective. Try it for yourself, leave a comment, and if you like it, sign up for my free group using the form below! Join my FREE online fitness group! * indicates required Email Address * First Name

March 1 was the grand re-opening of Ride Or Die Spin studio in Charlotte, NC and I was fortunate enough to be part of the first class. It was also my first time on a spin bike in about three months. Thankfully, I lived through the ride despite my fears that I would not. I didn’t get my obligatory photo in front of the sign this time around, but I’ll be back. I was just so happy to finally be back on my favorite bike in the back row by the door. My workouts are usually meditative and despite whatever instructions the instructor may give, I’m in my own world back there. But what has kept me from going to spin elsewhere? I suppose the greater focus concerning this post is mental blocks regarding working out. Ride or Die recently came under new ownership, but there was a period of several months when classes would be canceled due to low attendance. I’m not sure why the previous owner couldn’t make it work, but that’s part of the risk of running any business. All I kno...

It doesn't take much to start a yoga practice. All you really need is yourself and a good instructor or a good set of instructions. Don't worry about not being fit or flexible enough to give it a try. If you can breathe, you can practice. How I began yoga I had been wanting to try yoga since I was a teenager. On a few occasions I had checked out yoga DVDs from the library and I had even bought one.  It was difficult for me to stay dedicated to it. Looking back on it now, I think it was because it was difficult for me to relate to the instructor on the video. If I remember correctly, in one of the videos the instructor was Rodney Yee and in some of the others, it was thin women who looked nothing like me. Not saying that any of them are bad teachers. They were all obviously very well-versed in yoga and had been practicing for years, but as a beginner looking at these people, I don’t think I ever felt like I could move my body the way that they did when even at my smalles...