I've never shared this publicly before... || #FelizFriday 8/10/18

#FelizFriday!

I’m writing to you this week and sharing a very vulnerable part of my life...my battle with my self-image and weight. It's something that I've only talked about with a couple people in my life, and something I've never shared publicly...until last week. (You may have seen my Instagram post about it. )

Side-note: if this type of email this week is not your thing, I totally understand...scroll on down to see one heck of a gorgeous sunset capture from this past week and I'll see ya next week -- no hard feelings!

I want to share this with you because this post is not just about me -- it's about all of us. It's about us all loving ourselves no matter what. Because through this long journey of self-love, I saw that more often than not, other people were internally fighting the same self-image battles as I was. No matter a number on the scale, relationship status, job title. or what someone says or thinks about you, we all are enough AND we all will always be a work in progress...because that's the beauty of life!

--> BUY "Paint the Sky" <--

So no matter what, whether you may be going through a tough patch or you're rocking life right now, you will ALWAYS be enough. As I like to say, the grass is greener where you water it! I'm sending you the biggest hug and a whole lot of Pura Vida vibes from Costa Rica!

AND..... P.S. if you'd like to learn more about my transition + journey of trading my NYC corporate heels for a surfboard and camera in Costa Rica, head on over to the Living Out Loud podcast and listen to this week's episode -- pinch me now, I'm this week's guest!!!

Dear Surfing,

Thank you. Muchas gracias for giving me such a beautiful gift. A gift that I never really saw coming and one that I oh-so-desperately needed. The gift of learning to love my body and to really take care of it.

You see, before it was head over heels at first wipeout with you, I struggled with my weight and body issues. A struggle that started when I was little kid and lasted all the way into my mid-20s. That’s roughly 20 years of negative thoughts and not properly taking care of my body. And you’d think that being a college athlete, with all the working out and competing at a high level, I would have been in the best shape of my life. But I was at an all time low and battled an eating disorder.

Then you and yoga came along, and you both helped me find my inner strength and power from within — because let’s be honest, you can’t force a yoga pose and you for sure can’t muscle your way on a wave. You have to go with the flow and listen. And with all that yoga and surfing, my body slowly started to transform. My family and friends started to notice, commenting that I’d lost weight.

But the funny thing was that according to the scale, the number was relatively the same — because I was building muscle and losing fat. And for the first time in my life, I didn’t care how much I weighed on the scale because my body was becoming leaner, more flexible, and stronger — most importantly, I started to feel great in my own skin and LOVE my body for all it's capabilities AND "imperfections."

Goodness knows that it’s taken me a long time to transform my relationship with food and I never thought the day would come where I’d be proud to share a photo like this in my bathing suit. From the bottom of my heart, muchisimas gracias.

XOXO,
Kristen