The Pageant Series | Part One
In the words of the incredible Rachel Hollis – “It’s not about the goal, or the dream you have. Its about the person you become on your way to that goal.”
Ya’ll, I am floored!! I have SO many people sending me messages regarding my why behind running for Mrs. North Carolina, wishing me luck, and cheering me on from AROUND THE WORLD. I cannot say thank you to each and everyone one of you enough. You have no idea how much your words of encouragement mean to me! It is for that reason and that reason alone that I am putting the world’s most embarrassing photos out there. I cringe looking at these.
When I first started my journey back on July 21, 2018, I had every intention of blogging and documenting it each step of the way for all of my loyal tribe members – but then summer and life happened and well now it’s September and I’m just getting to it. Better late than never? With that being said, I introduce to you ‘The Pageant Series.’
This series of blog posts will take you along on my journey to becoming not only Mrs. North Carolina, but hopefully Mrs. America as well. My hope is to inspire other women to follow those crazy, audacious goals they have set for themselves. The goals you rarely tell anyone. The goals that keep you up at night dreaming, and praying and wishing to accomplish. I’m here to cheer YOU on, and tell you to go for it…because at the end of the day your ONLY regret will be letting that dream pass you by.
When I started this journey in July, I was overweight, lacking in the self confidence area, and certainly wasn’t ready to take on the world. Fast forward 8 weeks, and man do I feel different. Not only physically, but mentally. My confidence levels have soared compared to where they were this summer. Am I where I would like to be come November – not even close, but am I a billion times closer – you better believe it. You see, I was the girl that has literally tried every.single.diet. I have been a serial yo-yo dieter for the majority of my adult life. I’ve starved myself, I’ve ate an absurd amount of calories, I regularly ate a diet the equivalent of a four year old, I’ve done Slimfast, and, and, and – you get the point. Until these last 8 weeks, I have NEVER had so much success. And it was S.I.M.P.L.E. I am eating more now than I ever have, and am never hungry. So what am I eating??
I eat whole, unprocessed foods. I eat things that nourish your body. I eat steak, and chicken and turkey. I have cheese and wine. I eat out as if its my job. And the best part? I very rarely feel I am missing out – and when I do, and I indulge in whatever I am craving – I feel like shit. Once your body rids itself of all the processed foods, you truly do not crave them. The headaches go away. The restless sleep disappears. The afternoon lull vanishes.
While I would confidently say eating is way more important than how much you exercise in the grand scheme of things – I do believe exercise to be important. I work out 6 days a week. For some, that seems like an impossible task…but let me put this into perspective. I run a business, manage a household, take care of my four year old son, and photograph gorgeous couples throughout the week and weekends. We have sports and Kumon and date nights…Time is something I am fiercely aware of. It is my most valuable asset. But we ALL are given 24 hours a day. Each and every one of us. And if I can do it – so can you. Wake up early, work out first thing when you drop your child off at preschool, workout in your HOUSE after dinner – when there is a will there is a way. I’ll breakdown my workouts in another post, but in a nutshell they can all be done at home within 30-45 minutes. The best part – once you get in the habit of doing it, you will CRAVE it.
Let’s end post number one with a few tangible takeaways:
Give yourself grace. It takes time to change. You WILL skip a workout and eat bad things.
Do the thing you least want to do first thing in the morning. The sooner you get it done with, the less likely an excuse can be made.
Shop the outer perimeter of the grocery store and DO NOT BUY the junk. If it is there, you will eat it.
Stock your fridge and pantry with quick healthy options you can grab. I ALWAYS have almonds, apples, bottled water, cheese sticks and fresh veggies in my house. I ALWAYS have almonds in my purse in the event that I get craving for something while I’m out. Remember – no excuses.
Try eating clean and working out for 7 days straight. On the 8th day – see how you feel.
Until next week – XOXO,
Katy
