Get healthy for your body, mind, and future
Get Healthy Starting Now
Health is the most important thing of all, because we cannot do anything in life without our health, without energy, without a healthy mind, we can’t function at our best.
My pageant journey really took my health to a whole new level. Back in 2015, when I really got serious on my “why,” my mindset, and confidence, I was in the winner’s circle.
I like to credit winning to my journey toward health. I made the conscious decision that if I had to, if I wanted to win this title of miss Missouri USA, I needed to be the role model for other women and girls who are wanting to do the exact same thing.
For me, growing up as an athlete, health was never one of those things where I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I need to be very strict on what I eat.’ I was playing sports so I was always very active.
When I began my health journey, I wasn’t really that knowledgeable about proteins, carbs, sugars, and fats. I had no clue how they affected my body. So when I got into pageantry, I knew I had to get really focused. The years where I had been eating just chicken and broccoli and doing about two meals a day – because I thought I need to lose weight so I could be in the best shape of my life to be on that miss Missouri stage – clearly weren’t working for me.
Lifestyle over Diet
When I got serious about my health, I hired a nutritionist and a personal trainer. I became extremely knowledgeable on what the proteins, the fats, the, the carbs, the sugars, all of that was doing to my body. And I started to change my mindset from looking at food as just food. I started looking at it as fueling my body.
If we need to run a machine, we’re not going to give it the worst fuel for the machine to work. We have to fuel it with the proper diesel, with the proper gas, whatever that machine takes in order for it to function at its highest level.
It’s the same thing with our bodies. We need to fuel them with the vegetables, with the proteins, with the healthy carbs, with the healthy fats…the things that are going to nourish and bless our bodies. Those are going to, in turn, increase our energy. Our sleep will be better. We will look better. We will feel better. We will lose the unhealthy weight and then we will be able to perform our best.
Of course, I didn’t just wake up one day and say, ‘from now on, I’m going to view all food as fuel.’ It was definitely a struggle.
I’m a foodie. I love going out to eat. I love having a glass of wine. And so for me, I needed to figure out how I could find balance and make it a lifestyle…not a diet. A lifestyle because I knew this pageant journey was not going to be an overnight success.
So I made the decision that I was going to make a conscious effort to make this a lifestyle and not just a fad or a diet.
Change Your Mindset About Food with Education
I had to figure out a few different ways of how I could change my mindset to viewing food as fuel for my body that blesses my body. I’m not saying I didn’t have a few pizzas here and there, cheeseburgers, or ice cream or whatever. I did. But I came right back to the program.
The first step that I did in order to start viewing food as fuel is I had to educate myself. There are so many resources out there. You don’t even have to hire a nutritionist or a personal trainer. You can go on YouTube. You can research what proteins are doing to your body, what are the best ways to consume proteins, what time of day is the best to have carbs sugar and higher fats, lower fats, all these different things.
Knowledge is power, and when you have the knowledge, it changes your mindset on how you view things. You’ll have ‘aha moments’ like I’m not sleeping because I’m eating sugar at 10 o’clock at night, and then going right to bed.
That could be one of the reasons. You could also look at what you’re eating first in the morning. Whatever you have first is what you’ll crave more of throughout the day.
Gratitude
When it comes to health, gratitude really changed my outlook on health. I started being grateful for the body and the health that I already have. If we want more, we have to currently appreciate what we have in this moment before we have something better.
A lot of people are struggling with their health right now because these are very trying times. It’s very stressful as well. And everybody’s at home. We have access to our refrigerator 24/7, our pantry with all of our snacks and our chips and all that stuff. So if you’re struggling with your body image right now, you feel bad and not like your best self, maybe you’re not sleeping, you lack energy, it might be time to make a change. But it starts with writing down a gratitude every single day.
Our bodies are a blessing from God.
Have you ever sat back and thought about how many tasks your body is performing in a day? Think about the inside of your body, all that it takes to operate, to have your heart pump and everything that your body does on a daily basis. It is a gift. You send that energy, that appreciation, that abundance, that gratefulness out into the universe, and you’ll receive it back.
Confidence from Health
How do we get more confidence? When I asked myself that, the first thing that came to mind is when I am doing everything possible to be my best. So what am I doing when I’m being my best? Am I eating cheeseburgers and French fries and milkshakes? No. I’m fueling my body with the proper foods, the proper nutrition, the proper external circumstances for my mind allowing it to perform.
When I’m lacking confidence, I take a step back. And when I’m getting discouraged, I feel extra emotional. At that point, I ask myself, am I fueling my body with the best possible foods that I possibly can? Am I surrounding myself with the best possible people and surroundings that are helping my mind grow and for my mindset to be healthy? If I’m feeling down, if I’m lacking confidence in myself, I almost guarantee you, I have not been exercising. I have not been eating the best.
Finding Your ‘Why’
Maybe right now you’re interested in being in the best shape of your life for your pageant, and then you’re going to take it to nationals. But after that you’ll go on to your real life, your career, and you’re going to already have this lifestyle created because you have created the habits.
You’ve trained your mind that you are fueling your body with the proper food. Your mind will be functioning at the highest level so you can operate as your best self every single day.
Just like any other goal that you may have right now, when it comes to your health, you still have to start out by creating that ‘Why’ behind it, because that’s your motivating factor. That is what totally leads you to success. Your ‘why’ will really drive you on those days where you don’t feel like eating the vegetables or eating the protein, and instead you just want to have a big old bowl of popcorn for dinner and call it a night. The strong ‘why’ will keep your eyes on the prize.
The next time you go to grab something out of your refrigerator, think about these points. There’s somebody out there that is watching you and looking up to you, whether you know it or not. So show up as your best self every day. We weren’t given this day because we needed another one, we need this day because somebody needs us.
You are an inspiration to somebody, never forget that, so choose your health.
Be Unstoppable!
– Tori
