Life, Fitness, and General Sillyness

Being a proud Minnesotan, I can tell you that we are some of the most accommodating and generous people you'll ever meet. I can't think of a single person here that won't go out of their way to do something nice or help someone else out in times of need. Being selfless is good for everyone involved. It's the right thing to do and it's always a positive to help make someone else's life a little easier. There is a detriment to this though (and I particularly notice it in Midwestern people): A total lack of boundaries. I had this discussion with a friend yesterday and I decided it would be a good thing to address in a blog. When I talk about boundaries, I'm not talking about personal space. Most people are excellent and not treading into someone's personal bubble of comfort. I have yet to be a coffee shop and have a weirdo come up and sit in my lap and stare at me.  Emotionally, however, boundaries don't exist with many people and it's a real pr

This is going to go down a different avenue than my blogs normally pursue. In general I stick to fitness and life on the whole, but I'm going to hit a different path today and talk about relationships (friendships or dating). I have always been an extremely nice, outgoing, trusting person. Ask my parents. As a little kid I would wander up to any stranger and talk to them, and I had no qualms going up to any strange dog and offering it my face with the pure, blind trust of the innocent little kid I was. While I got wiser with age in terms of realizing talking to strangers isn't always a great plan and some dogs WOULD happily eat me for dinner, I continued carrying the naivete of "Because I operate this way, everyone must operate this way" well into my adulthood. The golden rule is something I have always intrinsically and instinctively lived by. I don't think this is a bad thing for the mostpart, but that is not to say that it hasn't hindered me numerous

I get emails and texts from all kinds of people going through different life things. They're usually not fun life things, either. They can range from dealing with breakups to being frustrated with life in general. Hey, it happens to everyone. These things happen to me too! As you get older (and hopefully wiser), you notice patterns and seasons in your life that are as regular as the changing leaves. For me, I know I tend to fall into a bit of a depression this time of year. I tend to curb it with goal setting and striving for something larger in my life to get me through the winter. I've learned this about myself. It took some time but I have solved the problem on my own. Many people haven't learned this skill yet. It takes some serious self-reflection and dealing with parts of yourself that you don't care to admit out loud. Avoiding these things, however, is detrimental to your growth and your overall health. What results is generally a life of chaos and low expect

Being a writer is weird. At least, what inspires me to write is usually weird, random, and I never know what's coming. Most of the time I'll be in the middle of something, in the shower, and it's like something stirs inside of me and says HEY GO WRITE THIS RIGHT NOW. So I will. It's rare that I just come up with an idea or something to say; usually something in me just churns inside of me and just has to get out on paper or on a computer screen. That being said, this is one of those times. I quit my job about three weeks ago. People were congratulating me all over the place and super excited for me. It's not that I wasn't, but if you think for two seconds that my knees weren't wobbling when I went into my boss' office and handed in my resignation with an awkward "Erm.... you're not going to like this... I'm sorry, it's time for me to do something new with my life", you're delusional. I went back to my desk and sat with my

To the Junior High to College Age Kids Don't worry about the bullies. As someone who was bullied and picked on constantly growing up, I'm writing this to assure you that these experiences will bring you wisdom later down the road and this won't be the rest of your life. Whoever cares the most loses in these situations. In this case, you reacting to the bully gives them the power that they want. This will carry into adulthood in relationships, friendships and dating situations if you ever find you have someone trying to rile you up. Love you. You come first. The only people whose opinions matters are those who know, value, and love you the most. Anyone else can jump off a bridge. :) These people will grow up and many will apologize. And if they don't, I doubt you'll care by the time you're an adult anymore anyways. Don't worry about love right now. Stop worrying about getting a b

"Abby, did you know that you're the 4th person in Google images if you search for 'fitness model'?!" a friend of mine asked in an email. Me: "Whaaaaaat..... No way. That's absurdity you're speaking." And sure enough... This is phenomenon is absolutely bizarre to me. I've never won a show. I haven't done anything. That picture is from 2012. How does this even happen? I don't have a clue. "Modeling" is the most misleading word ever. Anyone can be a model . Every single person of all ages, shapes, and sizes that you see in commercials and print ads are models or talent through an agency. It's a complete misnomer. People hear "model" and assume perfection. I can tell you right now, nobody is perfect. Besides that, it's an illusion and makes people think you're way more interesting than you are. Don't get me wrong. Doing shoots and everything is really fun, but I cringe if people introd

I woke up to a text message around 8:15 this morning from a guy who had pushed out our first date for the second time in less than 24 hours. I found myself absolutely livid. I was superhero levels of angry. Unable to fall back asleep in my rage stage, I peeled myself out of bed and drove to Starbuck's to console myself with a hot latte and be angry on my porch for awhile. I always tell people that as happy of a person I am, I too fall into traps of finding myself in victim mode. And in truth, today was one of those days. At least that's how it started. I went in my room and starting digging for a journal to write in when a book over my head came off my shelf and whapped me square in the back of the head.  I looked down it was a book called Spirit Junkie from Gabrielle Berstein. I had purchased this book earlier in the year and I realized I'd only gotten about 40 pages into it the last time I sat to read it. I'd finished my other favorite book on the planet, "

I get emails and IMs every day from people saying that they aren't losing weight. They're trying to make healthier choices and they work out every day, but they aren't losing weight. My first question is, "What's your diet like right now?" "Oh, it's pretty good." Annnnnnnnnnnnnd pause scene. That right there = I know that your diet is probably crap and you don't even know it. And look, it's not your fault. Not entirely, anyways. There are so many misconceptions out there about what's healthy and what's not, it's ridiculous. I know because I was someone who struggled with weight and myths ALL THE TIME. So I'm just going to make a quick demonstration based on things I see daily in downtown Minneapolis and corporate America in general. Calorie counting is probably the most common obsession that people fall prey to and it drives me bananas. Yes, calories matter to a certain degree but your macros are where you'

So... what are you afraid of? Are you brave enough to admit it out loud? I don't mean logical things, like being murdered by a serial killer or being mugged in a dark alley. Those are things that can scare anyone. I definitely know what mine is. The question is, do you? My life is fabulous. So much of it has turned around in a short order, it's astonishing to me. I often find myself sitting on my balcony and thinking how different things are from a year ago. Even two years ago! It's insane. I'm so grateful. I have so much momentum going for me at the moment that it's difficult to keep my ducks in a row when I wake up. I've grown much as a person and, frankly, as a soul. My purpose is definite and my source of joy is obvious to me now. I'm proud of the person I've become, come to terms with the decisions and parts of my past that I may not like so much, and helped some people along the way. That's pretty cool. Still, there is one aspect of