Love Your Body: High Heels & Flip-Flops {Part 2}

 I haven't been around much since last week, sorry about the lack of posts and engagement. I'm still here. Well, actually today my friend Heather from High Heels & Flip-Flops is back with her second Love Your Body post, take it away Heather...

Love Your Body: Jumping Into Fitness

I still remember it as if it were yesterday – all of the tall, athletic kids zipping right past me in slick new sneaks as I huffed and puffed my way around the middle school track in beat-up Kmart kicks, struggling to complete a three-mile run in the Southern California heat. Then, and for years afterward, I considered myself a fitness failure, assuming that if I couldn’t be as fast and fabulous as the other kids, I might as well not work out at all.

That unhealthy mindset stayed with me well into my mid-20s, when a slowing metabolism finally compelled me to start running and attending cardio classes, something I should have done much sooner – not out of vanity, but in an effort to keep my heart healthy and prevent disease. Still, try as I might, I never truly loved any of the workouts I attempted, and over time, I would lapse out of them and straight back into my old, unhealthy ways.

All of that changed, however, this time for good, when my husband and I discovered an hour-long Flight Fit class at a local Northern Virginia trampoline park last August, just one month ahead of my 31st birthday. I’d recently gotten back from a food- and drink-filled trip to my California hometown, felt tired and overweight, and was certainly not loving my body or doing all that I could to take care of it. Plus, jumping was something I’d done with my friends for fun as a teenager, so how hard could it be?

As it turned out, very. That first workout, and the ones that immediately followed, knocked me flat on my back, leaving me sore for days afterward. Slowly and surely, though, I started getting better over time and realizing that I’d finally found something I actually enjoyed and would happily stick with week after week, month after month.  

Today, I attend Flight Fit most Wednesdays and Saturdays, and try to do Jillian Michaels DVDs in between sessions to keep my strength up. I’ll never be the most athletic person in my class, or the most flexible. But rather than comparing myself to others, I now focus on my own abilities and accomplishments, celebrating just how strong my muscles are becoming, that I’m able to jump longer without getting winded, and that I’m actually having fun while doing something good for my body. 

At long last, I understand what I never grasped back in the middle school – that exercise isn’t about having the fastest time or wearing the trendiest sneakers. Instead, it’s about loving your body and valuing your health, embracing your imperfections and challenging yourself to be the very best you can be.

So, even if you don’t currently consider yourself an exerciser, or think you’ll never find the right workout, I encourage you to keep trying. Find something – anything – you enjoy, and stick with it. Listen to your body, knowing when to push harder and when to rest. Love yourself enough to value your health, but at the same time, don’t beat yourself up for having a rough day or skipping a workout. Be kind to yourself, and to your body, and cherish every day that you are here to live and love your life.


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Wow, I feel like Heather is reading my thoughts right now! I am learning to not beat myself up for having an off day, but I'm also realizing that I need to push myself a little harder. 

Whatever your health goals are for this year; eating more fruits and veggies, taking a walk every day, being more positive, make sure one of them is to love your body. 

Thanks for sharing your story with us Heather, you are an inspiration and I know someone reading will be motivated by your words. 

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