Healthy With Kelsey

How to be a runner (when you suck at running) . . I’m not a great runner. When I started, all that I could think about was my butt slapping the back of my thighs with every stride and every jiggly bit of my body doing the wave.... I’d had a poor relationship with running ever since it was used as punishment growing up in sports (forced laps and sprints etc). Despite the hurdles I’ve managed to complete hundreds of 10km runs, a half marathon and actually rebuilt a much healthier relationship with running over the years. It’s become a therapeutic form of exercise that I never believed would ever be possible. I’m no running guru but I’d love to share some tips from as a so-so runner that have helped me along the way! 1 Find your pace Your pace is like your personal running blueprint. It doesn’t matter how fast or slow you go. You can alternate walking and jogging together. Over time your pace will change and evolve with your body. Start slow and build from there. (PS you can never go too slow!) 2 Ditch the self criticism let go of that nagging voice that says you can’t do it. There is no such thing as a runner’s body. If you’ve got running shoes on your feet you’re a runner! 3 Stop comparing yourself to others your running journey is your own. It’s between you and the road, not anybody else. If you’re out there putting one foot in front of the other, you’re doing great. I promise. 4 Find the right motivation I love a good rap playlist when I’m hitting the pavement but everyone is different! Some like audiobooks, others like podcasts. There’s even running encouragement apps and guided runs you can download! They can help you find your groove and take your mind off of the discomfort. 5 Celebrate your wins don’t be scared to post about your non-scale wins or relish in your small victories. It feels good to be cheered on and feel supported, especially when trying something new. Treat yourself with a new water bottle or pair of headphones as rewards for hitting new milestones. It’s important to take pride in yourself and you deserve it. What’s your best tip for someone who might be afraid to try running?

I’m not bending over backwards to fit myself into the box of someone else’s expectations. ______ I don’t know who else needs to hear these words today but I’ve selfishly written these reminders to myself that I need:... I am allowing myself to be both a masterpiece and work in progress all at once. I know the value of hard work and refuse to let anyone tell me that I deserve to be compensated with less. The only limitations I have, are the ones that I accept. I will use every uncomfortable experience to learn something new about myself in preparation for what’s to come. I am letting go of one opportunity to create space for the ones that are aligned and abundant to come through. Someone else’s opinion of me doesn’t not make it a reality and I will not suffer at the expense of it. I do not chase. I attract. What is meant for me will always be for me and what’s not for me will see it’s way out. And that’s okay. I will not abandon myself for someone else’s vision. : @amberhughesphoto

Lounging around but making it hella cute . . . #AerieReal

I used to believe that you had to push yourself to maximum effort every workout and that you always had to lift weights and always strive to lift heavier and heavier. Boy did these unprecedented times ever humble me I haven’t picked up a weight heavier than 25lbs/11kg in over a year.... A YEAR! Yet here I am, still standing and injuries that were constantly acting up have had time to rest and are actually recovering. This year I’ve moved my body in so many new ways that I never would have tried, nor would have considered real exercise in the very limited views I had about how my body should move. The best part was that I learned how much fun I could have moving my body. To me this was a phenomenon because I’d always treated lifting heavy weights like a job (and to be fair, it kind was my job). As if it was something I HAD to do even if I sometimes didn’t feel like it. I’d been doing it this way for so long that I was blind to see any alternatives. If I didn’t go to the gym, then I thought I’d just do nothing. Well let me tell you. This past year I have tried so many different ways to move! Power walks in the city, long slow dog walks (my dogs a senior ), hiking, snowshoeing, jump rope on my patio, dancing, yoga, boxing, playing beat saber on VR, spin cycle, outdoor cycling, and even gettin’ it on ! And wow, it’s really helped me to understand the true meaning of joyful movement. I look forward to going back into the gym soon once things settle down but I have a new found appreciation for all types of movement and it’s reframed my all or nothing attitude when it comes to fitness. What new activity did you try for the first time this past year? @ New Westminster, British Columbia

Homecoming It felt like a full circle moment and it happened quite unexpectedly. For years it felt like I was shooting arrows into the dark and hoping it would land on something that would validate my existence.... But now, without a doubt, I know my purpose and I couldn’t even look the other way if I tried. I think for so many years I believed that I could not help others in an area where I felt that I couldn’t even help myself. So I played small and instead conformed to what society told me that I needed to be in order to get by under the radar. What took me until only recently to realize, is that I actually couldn’t have been better equipped to help others, having gone through my hardships (and continue to still go through). I know that I struggled in this body for so many years, so that I could deeply know and understand the pain and isolation of self-loathing in order to help walk others through their own journey back home. An astrologer once told me that the asteroid Chiron, the wounded healer, is prominent in my birth chart. As the saying goes ‘we teach what we most need to learn in this world’ and so it’s from our greatest wounds our greatest ability to heal comes. This is the lesson of Chiron. I cannot claim to know what it is like to live in any body other than my own but I know the heartache of feeling alone in my suffering. Empathy is intrinsically woven into who I am. It’s my greatest asset and downfall all at the same time. I do not claim that one’s suffering is more or less than another’s. I know that we all just deeply desire to belong. I hope that when you scroll past my page, you feel at home and a sense of belonging. We may not have worked together personally, you may have never done one of my workouts or met me in real life, but I hope by sharing vulnerable parts of my journey, it shines a light on your own. That you can see these challenges not as flaws, but opportunities for your own personal growth and who knows, maybe even turning your own pain into passion. Welcome home : @abbylawson_photography

Double Trouble This week I filmed both of my YouTube workouts in these cute Spring colour outfits! They’re more than just pretty hues! They performed well too! ... I seriously love them both and can’t pick one! You can find my review on these tanks and leggings in my link in bio! Which one is your fave? or

We all smile in the same language

The only detoxes and cleanses I do these days are ones that involve clearing out toxic rhetoric in the media, draining relationships and systems of oppression that pick apart my body, gender and race Deleted a few hundred followers in the last couple weeks. Feels good. What cleanse are you on?

Do you love Christmas music? Do you like working out? No?... Join me anyway Get into the holiday spirit from Dec 2-Dec 23 with four fun, festive themed fitness classes: Dec 2: Santa Claus Sweat Dec 9: Cardio-Ho-Ho-Ho Dec 16: Sleighed HIIT Dec 23: Candy Cane Countdown When: Wednesday’s 6:00-6:45PST Where: via Zoom (you will receive a link upon registration!) Cost: $40 ($10/class) (No one will be turned away due to lack of funds- please just send me a private DM!) Register now via link in bio. Spread a little magic and please share this post with your workout buddies who also love Christmas!

First of all let’s just start by dispelling the myth that snacks and meals are different. They’re not. Food is food. There is no amount, portion or caloric value of food that differentiates it from being a meal or snack. Often I have clients who tell me I feel like my eating is chaotic and I want more balance. These are the same people who also tend to skip meals, sip on coffee all day, plan to have a salad for dinner and then can’t stop snacking on chips or chocolate all e...vening. When I tell them they should include some chips or chocolate in their lunch or mid morning snack they look at me wide eyed like I have two heads. To some, the concept of having a little junk food with their healthy lunch seems preposterous. But for me, it’s what takes the edge off, keeps me feeling satisfied and less likely to rebelliously go hunting for post-dinner treats. You can have both. Try having some of your go-to evening treats a little earlier in the day. What’s the worst that could happen? You eat them twice both at lunch and after dinner? So what? The more frequently you eat something the novelty of it will wear off anyway when we give ourselves the permission to have it. Hell, when you give yourself permission you suddenly might not even want it after all. It may not have ever been about the food in the first place

In 2020, we live in a quick-fix, instant gratification world. When we send a text, we want an instant reply When we post a photo, we want instant likes ... But when it comes to our wellness, there are no magical, overnight miracles. For starters, a lot of us have a misconstrued perception of what wellness is. Wellness is not thinness Wellness is not clean eating Wellness is more than being free of illness. It is a conscious, self-directed and evolving process of achieving full potential. (PEEP the key word EVOLVING!) If you’ve been focusing on the outcome of your wellness in the form of body weight, waist measurements or adherence to food tracking, you are missing the whole point of wellness in the first place. Wellness begins on a mental and spiritual platform that becomes internalized in our belief system and then manifests on a physical plane. This process does not happen overnight, nor is it ever really completed. There will always be new ways to grow and up level our wellness. It is an ever unfolding journey. This is why when you reach your weight goal or end of your diet, you still feel incomplete. You may have set expectations on the outcome that your life would be profoundly changed by altering your body on a physical level without doing the real work in wellness. Instead of pouring all your energy into the end result (outcome), micro-dose your energy towards being a little more well each day.

This perfectly sums up what I think a lot of us are feeling right now. On a global scale, we can all feel it. This election is so much deeper than just two candidates. People are sick and tired of being sick and tired. Of being pushed down and suppressed through centuries of oppression.... This year the veil of the American dream has been pulled back to reveal its ugly truth. The American Dream is and always has been only a reality for a systemically, privileged group of individuals built on the backs of the underprivileged. In order for the American dream to exist for all, the patriarchy must fall. It’s time to restore the voices, rights and freedom to the people who have been suffering for years. And before you say, can’t we do this without fighting? That just shows you’ve never been in the arena of having to fight in the first place. So as @brenebrown would say if you’re not in the arena of getting your ass kicked, I’m not interested in your feedback.

I don’t believe that love is two separate halves that complete one another. I believe it is two whole people who complement one another. Happy birthday to my other half ... I hope to spend today and every birthday from now until the end of our days making you smile. Even if I have to force it @johnbello.ca

So often fitness programs are marketed as challenges or competitions. Especially now, there are apps where you can bet money to lose weight faster than other people to win Aye aye aye. We need to stop comparing ourselves to other people’s wellness journeys .... Exercising more than someone else doesn’t make you better than them. Meditating more than someone doesn’t make you more enlightened than them. Meal prepping more than someone else doesn’t make you healthier than them. Everyone’s resources, energy, priorities, time and mental capacity are different. Protect your mental health by staying in your lane. What someone else can or can’t do is not your concern. Whether you are doing more or less than someone else doesn’t matter. Sure a little competition with a friend can be a motivator from time to time but if you’re finding yourself feeling guilt, shame or disappointment in yourself it’s no longer a healthy competition. Wellness is a journey that ebbs and flows through periods where you are doing more or less in relation to other things going on in your life. It isn’t a competition.