It’s no secret that the fitness industry is quickly taking the world wide web by storm.  Our social media accounts are flooded with images & videos of fitness models, bodybuilders, and of course your Crossfit junkies with #thinspiration hashtags everywhere we look.

Fitness is meant to enhance both your physical and psychological well-being.  And while many of us use social media as a motivational or inspirational tool, I wish I had the ability to plaster caution tape over every account that uses the #thinspiration hashtag.   Young minds are being molded to believe that if you’re not a size 00 with 10K followers, you’re not pretty enough. If you’re not spending 3 hours in the gym every day that you don’t have enough self control. And if you come home from Crossfit without a broken bone… well, darling, you’re just not tough enough.

Ladies, I’m here to tell you that YOU ARE ENOUGH.

Contrary to popular belief, our bodies are constantly changing. What I looked like 5 years ago is not what I look like today, and is not what I’ll look like in 5 years from now.  Skinny, muscular, soft, bloated, pregnant, postpartum… the best part of fitness is that it doesn’t discriminate.  Fitness goes so much deeper than what social media leads us to believe and the benefits go far beyond the “perfect physique” we’re all killing ourselves to achieve.

There was a time in my life where being a size 00 was more important than anything else in the world.  00 meant I was in control. 00 meant I was beautiful. 00 meant I was tough.  Dangerous weight loss pills overflowed my cabinets, hundreds of quick fix diet tricks downloaded to my desktop, and “thinspiration” magazine covers taped to my refrigerator & cupboard doors to keep me “motivated”.  It was at this time, at the age of 19, I was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa & exercise bulimia — a disease which nearly took my life in May, 2010.  After months in the hospital, and years in & out of treatment centers, I can honestly say that the only thing that kept me alive was the love and support of my family.  External motivation was the only thing that held me together.

Now, for the record, I do not consider myself fully recovered, so you might be wondering why I’m writing this in the first place….

It’s because I have discovered that life that is greater than 00.

Fitness transformed from a negative compulsive obsession into to a positive outlet for growth & self development.

I’ve learned how important it was to train my body because I loved it, not because I hated it.

I’ve found strength when I was hopeless.

I’ve found love when I deemed myself unlovable.

And most importantly, I’ve found the person who God created me to be.

Fitness should forever be a platform to empower women to be the absolute best versions of themselves — not one that tears them down when they don’t look like the Photoshopped fitness models on our Instagram newsfeeds.

Ladies, please be careful who you let inspire you – this could be the reason you never feel enough.