Fit2BeMyself: Diary of a Woman Seeking Wellness

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 have seen many memes and jokes over the past several weeks about how 2020 has been a terrible year so far. I agree. This year began with my mother passing away from heart failure and a laundry list of other ailments on January 9, 2020. I wasn’t expecting the death of Kobe Bryant to affect me as much as it did considering I wasn’t a basketball fan, but just knowing that he and the others who died with him had families, dreams, and lives to live, and the fact that it happened the same month that I lost my mother, made it an extremely emotional event for me. Now, as of the writing of this post, we are amid the global pandemic COVID-19. Finding any type of normalcy since my mom was first hospitalized in July 2019 has been a task I have been failing at. My workouts fell by the wayside. My suffering finances suffered even more. My mental struggles almost got the best of me on a few different occasions. Now, as you may have heard from numerous sources, is a time to...

I have lost count of the number of times that I've pressed the reset button on my life. It used to something that I'd beat myself up about, but I've realized that if I want to continue living that I'd have to start over as many times as necessary.  Life isn't always the way we would like for it to be. I think almost anyone who has ever lived would agree with that statement. I started this blog with great expectations but things happened. I haven't even been to the dance studio in months because of those things. Between being a caregiver for my sick mother, being a mother myself, trying and failing to pay all my bills on time, and having my own brief stint in the hospital, this past year has not been worth bragging about. However, I'm still here. I hope that despite whatever struggles you have had, you will continue pressing forward, too.  Many grand ideas have crossed my mind over the years, but executing has always been an issue. I thought...

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...