It’s that time of year when you start seeing before and after photos popping up everywhere. And believe me – I am all for including health, fitness, getting strong, eating healthier and wellness into your resolutions.

However I think before/after photos can be very misleading. 

The other day someone posted on social media about the problem with “before/afters.” There really is no such thing. There is no “after” and everything is a “during.”

That resonated so much with me. I’ve always struggled with the idea of an “after” because that would mean there’s an end point – but in reality – we just keep going. We keep going, learning, changing, growing, and developing.

So I decided to make a “during” photo of myself and see what changes I could see.

When I see these two photos -which are 10 years apart – I see so many things. I can see the obvious physical things – the puffy inflamed face, the red cheeks and if it was a full body shot you would see inflammation and bloat on my whole body. And then on the right you can see the changes in skin tone and puffiness.

But what you can’t see is the difference in adventure and spirit. The confidence to try new things. The girl on the right made the decision to leave her job and start her own business. She also competed in 24 hour endurance obstacle course events.

The girl on the right has also learned A LOT about food, what works for her, what doesn’t work (hint-training for marathons was not working!) and she is always looking to improve.

2008 ME was working her way towards becoming 2018 ME which is on my way to becoming 2028 ME and 2038 ME. And so on.

There is only “during.” 

There is SO MUCH MORE to every “during” that you don’t see. 

Along the way there is always:

*learning
*growing
*changing
*maturing
*reverting back to some old habits
*starting again
*eating sugar cookies
*figure out what works and what doesn’t

In 2008 I thought I was doing well – eating healthy – working out.

But the reality was – I was super stressed from starting my job, I didn’t know yet that gluten and dairy really affected me negatively and I was long distance running without a lot of strength training.

Fast forward to 2018 (when I say fast forward I mean spend 11 years learning about my body and trying different things and making changes)….I have:

*Made significant dietary changes that make me feel better and reduce inflammation
*Done more strength training instead of more cardio
*Trained at the ninja gym which has given me new kinds of strength and confidence
*Taken great supplements to aid in recovery and inside health
*Focused more on sleep (always improving here)
*And I have spent a lot of time letting go of the intense focus on what my body looks like and instead – what it can do

I was talking with a client today about how you really have to be open and ready to learn in order to make changes.

Did I know how to cook when I decided to go gluten and dairy free?? NO

But I stayed open to learning and growing. What’s really cool is that I get overly excited now to learn more about food, nutrition, exercise and MY BODY.

My hope for you this year is that you are focusing on learning about yourself and your health and focusing on your “during” instead of trying to create a short term/temporary “after.”

If you’re looking for a partner to help you along your journey – EMAIL ME and let’s talk.

P.S. I’m finally back to podcasting and it feels SO GOOD. Check out the latest episode with Molly King HERE.