I am going to be perfectly honest and I know this is something that many girls and women struggle with and it is so great to talk about. Since growing up, I think I have been self-conscious about my body and what I look like. Do you remember all the beauty magazines that were out there promoting what beauty should look like. I think that truly gave the wrong perception of women and what they should look like. I often found myself wanting to work out for long periods of time to try to stay as skinny and fit as possible. I was guilty of reading all the magazines and buying into what I thought beautiful was. That has lead into my adult life and perceptions and beliefs that I ultimately needed to throw out the window. I truly love the most recent movement of showing how strong women really are and how we are capable of doing anything we put our minds to. I was talking about this very subject the other day at physical therapy. My physical therapist and I were discussing how years ago it was always believed that women had to be stick thin, weigh a certain amount, watch how much you ate, and doing so much cardio. Strength training and lifting was never believed to be important for women (I always thought my muscles would get too big) and was only looked at as something for men to be doing for weight lifting. In the last several years, we have seen a complete transformation with the promotion of women and we are capable of anything we put our mind to. I love how it is transitioning to promotion of strong women’s bodies and It it so refreshing to see women cheering for other women. I know I feel empowered being strong (both by running and strength training) and I love showing my two boys how strong and capable I am. We have been watching the Olympics over the last couple of weeks and it is so refreshing seeing the athletes cheering for each other. Watching these strong women has truly inspired me to want to work at my fitness to be the best that I can be, both for myself and my family. As I am entering my last year in my 30’s (which is so hard for me to admit because I love y 30’s), I am truly going to embrace what my body can do, allow myself grace (I know it is so hard to do), and just know that I am capable of anything I put my mind to.