10 Things I Wish I'd Known about Fitness when I Started

134a0824.JPG
134a0819.JPG

I think it’s safe to say that everyone makes rookie mistakes whenever they get started on something. It’s just how the cookie crumbles. However, sometime those mistakes can haunt you years later. In my case, it's still haunting me. The way I damaged my hormones from years of fad dieting, cardio loving and body shaming myself; I am still paying for it. It only took about 10 years for me to finally start fixing what was broken.

I have regrets, unfortunately, I can’t go back in time. What I can do, is help you ladies so that you don’t go through the same crap I did. Learn from my mistakes. Don’t be a dumb ass like me and listen to advice from someone who has been in your shoes.

There’s a lot of things I wish I knew back when I started but I am going to list my Top 10 in hopes of helping you! Yes you, the one reading this right now.

  1. Eat more. Boy oh boy. The years of near starvation that I put my body through. I wish I knew that eating more nutrient dense foods is where it's at. Always being in a caloric deficit just made my metabolism adapt and before I knew it I would’ve had to be on 500 calories in order to lose weight. NOT THE POINT! You wanna be able to eat more calories so when you go on a deficit you don’t have to starve your body.

  2. Don’t be afraid of carbs. Years in the pageant and modeling world had me fearing the thought of a carb. Ugh if only I knew better. Wanna know the funniest part? My body actually does really well with carbs and not with fats! Go figure! I’ve been depriving it all these years.

  3. Fad diets are not the way to lose weight. Anything that sounds too good to be true, IS to good to be true.  Ladies, there no magic diet out there.

  4. Flexible dieting. You can fit all the crappy food into your macros but what is it doing for you internally? Yes, you may lose weight but at what cost? Where are the micronutrients? Your vitamins, minerals, fiber, etc.

  5. Salt is not evil (unless you have a medical condition). if you only knew the number of years I spend avoiding salt like it was the plague. Only later to find out it's actually hindering my goals. Salt is good for you, sea salt to be exact. Your body needs it and actually the more you avoid it the more water you will retain. As opposed to having it daily and it does what it needs to: electrolyte balance and regulates blood volume and pressure (pump).

  6. No days off is not good. You need to rest. Contrary to the #nodaysoff rule, your body needs recovery in order to grow and progress. not allowing your body to recover is actually detrimental to your overall progress. So take those rest days. By rest, I mean….NO spinning, Zumba, or hot yoga! Stay away from the gym!

  7. Warm-Ups/ Cool downs / Stretching are all super duper important. I actually learned this one pretty recently, unfortunately. However, lactic acid build-up is basically waste in your body. So if you don’t cool down properly, your just gonna be having all that waste there. Also warming up is vital for your muscles in order to avoid injury. this is now something I do daily.

  8. Supplements are just that. They supplement your diet and nutrition. They are NOT going to make you lose 10 pounds in a week or burn more fat. They are just used to aid in your program. You will grow/ lose weight at the gym! No amount of supplement will make you get there faster.

  9. Just because it says “Protein” does not mean its healthy so don’t go and eat the whole box thinking the calories won’t add up. Ha! I’ve done this one a couple times in my past. Especially during my competition days…oops.

  10. Being a cardio bunny will not get you the body you want. You see those nice tight abs and butt all over instagram? Well it ain’t because of cardio girl, its by lifting the heavy s**t  that you’ll get there.

I’d love for you to share any things that you wish you would’ve known when you started your fitness journey. Comment below.


monika+3.jpg