Life, Fitness, and General Sillyness

"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...