ms. health and fitness 2020

Contest Update

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I am still in the running to WIN Hers Magazine Ms. Health & Fitness 2020!!

This contest is a marathon, not a sprint. There are several rounds where contestants are cut and the groups get smaller and smaller.

At the time of writing we are in the TOP 15 Round. The top 15 in each (arbitrary) group goes on the the TOP 10, followed by TOP 5, then things get shaken up a bit, there’s a wildcard round and some second place prizes, I’ll fill you in WHEN we get that far (September). 🙂

The place (currently 5th) I am in my group carries on from round to round so it’s crucial that I hold steady and even move towards #1 every single day.

Each voter has one free vote within a 24 hour period. So many of you have been voting daily and even asking others to vote for me and my heart bursts every time I see this. Truly, the outpouring of support has filled my cup to the brim and made me grapple with feeling “not worthy” over and over again.

I’m not worthy…(an insight into my self-doubt)

I don’t train people through “workouts” anymore. My approach is more function and less fat loss.

Speaking of fat; I have body fat! Look at the other women in the contest, they are very lean ladies so that must be what this thing is about, low body fat…

I don’t really push myself anymore. No pain, no gain? Ha, any pain and you’ll find me on the porch with a cocktail. I don’t have the “train hardcore” mindset that my insecurity is telling one needs to win this contest.

You, dear ones, have helped remind me that I am worthy of my 5th place standing.

I practice what I preach.

And preach I do, I will jump on my soapbox and wax poetic about posture and alignment and efficiency of movement at the faintest hint that someone wants to listen.

When a friend needs an ear to listen about how she’s gained some weight and is not as comfortable in her skin, I listen and provide a life raft out of that sinking ship rather than jumping in with “oh me too, I ate this, I gained this, blah, blah, blah”. Our body listens to everything we say and feel about it, treat with kid gloves and life will be sweeter, full stop.

I am movement motivator. It may not be marathon training (anymore) but I am the one that gets us out of the house after dinner for a stroll around the block.

I cannot deny the numerous times (a year?) I have heard that I am “the healthiest person” someone knows. Well shit, if that’s not grounds for Ms. Health & Fitness, I don’t know what is.

Thank you in advance for your daily support, in all ways.

CLICK HERE to VOTE

Feel free to follow me on Facebook or Instagram @gracefulfitness for a daily reminder to vote.

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Ms. Health and Fitness

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I am doing a thing.

It’s silly and a long shot and scary but here it is; I am competing to be Muscle and Fitness Hers magazine’s Ms. Health and Fitness 2020.

First, the facts and logistics.

Hers magazine is hosting this online contest that is a based off of public voting through FaceBook and a panel of judges.

The grand prize is $20,000 and a magazine cover/spread.

The first round of voting opened Monday and closes next Thursday, July 30th.

At this moment, I am 14th in my group.

After weeks of consideration, self-doubt, and hestiation, I have decided to go for it and I would absolutely love your support.

The Considerations:

The fitness industry tends to focus on stats (weight, BMI, calorie counts, macro nutrients, reps, minutes of cardio, heart rate, and on and on and on) over wholistic health and welness, over graceful fitness.

Can I, in good conscious, feed this overfed beast?

In my heart, I keep coming back to yes.

I can be the nurishing whole food infusion into the plathora of fast food.

I can retain my ethos of food and exercise as pleasure and life-force over reward/punishment.

I can enter a physical “fitness” competition and stay grounded in the mission to de-emphasize appearance and emphasize connection with our internal sense of whole-self and welness.

The Self-Doubt and Hesitation:

I won’t win. It’s embarressing to think I possibly could. What am I thinking trying to compete with these ‘other women’ who live in the gym and eat/drink/sleep to be fit and look like it?

This type of thought process is exactly why I am going for it, I want to face that self-doubt, comparison, and insecurity, along with the scariness of telling people that I am competing in a fitness competition (omg, what will people think? how big will they roll their eyes? how conceited will they think I am?).

Screw it. I am almost 40 years old. I do eat/drink/sleep to be fit and look like it, I do it through gardening, riding my mountain bike, meditating, continuing to learn what intuitive eating means to me each day, by living gracefulfitness.

If you’d like to help support me in this journey,

VOTE HERE

  • You will have to connect to a valid FaceBook page to vote.
  • Voting is free and you can vote ONCE A DAY.
  • Voting ends July 30th for round one.
  • If inclined, I would be so grateful for ‘shares’ of this post or my profile page for the contest.

Ultimately, my mission is to create a community of support and to provide knowledge on living a life of gracefulfitness. This body of ours may just be a ‘meat suit’ as Kathryn Budig so lovingly refers to it, but it’s also our home and don’t we all want to be happy, safe, healthy, and cozy in that home?