Hello Beauties Elisha here today with a topic I’ve wanted to write on for a while now. I feel like I’ve hit on the subject a couple of times but never a blog post to just let it all out. Flex it Pink even designed a tank top on the subject but today we are going to dig deeper into the meaning of RESPECT THE SWEAT! For those of you that do not know my story I have been overweight my entire life. Not until 5 years ago did I make a change, drop 80lbs, and completely change my lifestyle. Having struggled with my weight at a very young age I was sold many times on the “lose weight fast” products. I tried the shakes, the pills, the no carb diets, even went to a weight loss clinic and injected my body with only God knows what?! I can’t believe that there are clinics that take desperate people’s money and hand them medication and inject their bodies with chemicals. After that I became very sick and actually had to go to the urgent care because I thought I was dying. It really scared the crap out of me and I stopped going at that moment, I was about 20 at that time. You think that would have opened my eyes to taking care of my body the right way but it only left me searching for more “get skinny quick” products. That’s a whole other topic so we’ll move on for now….

Fast forward to the 28 year old Elisha standing at 220lbs staring at my two young baby boys knowing that in that moment I had to make a change that would change my entire families health, not just mine. I needed to make a change that my children could learn from and follow in my lead. So I took some healthy eating tips from my mom and sister who were at the time doing weight watchers. I downloaded the My Fitness Pal app and started logging everything I put into my body. That is what made me more aware of the amount of food I was actually putting into my body. It was a real eye opening tool. Now we will get into the Respect the Sweat topic. I knew I needed to add exercise into my lifestyle. So I joined the YMCA. I stared attending group fitness classes with a friend. We did every class they offered body pump, spin, yoga, step aerobics, Zumba, kick boxing, if you name it I have tried it. I loved them all and at the time it was perfect for my level of fitness, I had to quit the gym for few years and during that time I did at home workout DVD’s, Jillian Michaels became my best friend. A couple years later I now run and lift, I have done Crossfit, bootcamps, hiking, cycling, swimming. I enjoy the ability to move my body and work every day towards a healthier stronger version of me. My point is pretty much you name the type of fitness exercise I have done it, and you know what it all gets my heart pumping, the drops of sweat don’t know the difference of what type of activity I’m doing. My body is just happy I’m working it, instead of sitting it on the couch killing brain cells with reality TV and eating Cheetos. It's really sad to me the amount of negativity I see from others on social media putting down a certain type of fitness. Why the bashing? If you lift why do you put down Crossfit, if you do Bootcamps, why put down lifting, if you do martial arts why do you put down Zumba? How does bashing another sport make yours better? If everyone was lifting the gyms would be pretty crowded, then you would be complaining about too many people lifting. If everyone did Zumba then the classes would be full and not enough room for your moves. You all get my point? We should be praising each other for respecting our bodies enough to do something good for it no matter what the fitness of choice it is. If someone is out there working up a sweat, then praise him or her for taking care of their bodies. It’s really sad to hear when someone puts down another when they are doing something positive with their health. It took me many years and a lot of trying different fitness classes and levels to find what I love. I do what I do because that is what keeps me motivated and I enjoy doing it. News flash world we are all different, we all enjoy different things. So let’s stop the bashing and work on praising each other for their hard work and dedication to living a healthy life. It’s about time we start to RESPECT THE SWEAT!!!!