Embarrassed and proud to admit ⬇️ I used to think that the number of calories you burned during a workout determined how good of a workout it was. Most of my workouts were focused on hiit and cardio in my twenties and early thirties. I still love cardio, but I prioritize strength and am leaner now as a result. Early on in my career in my twenties, I struggled with body image. Many of us who were pioneers in the YouTube fitness space faced a lot of body shaming. This led to unhealthy habits that I shared on tumblr and YouTube that I would NEVER dish out today such as “if you’re hungry at night, just paint your nails.” When I first started creating content I wanted to be a broadcast journalist. Influencers weren’t yet a thing and people didn’t understand how I made money. Nearly everything I wore on my YouTube channel in my twenties and early thirties was gifted. I’m weary of everything creators hawk because I’m curious if they bought it, tested it or were gifted it. I’d also like to admit that I didn’t know how to turn down a sponsorship during the height of my YouTube channel. I wish I could go back and be more selective. Be more consistent and put out content I was excited to film and share. I used to love juice cleanses and low calorie foods. Stevia ricotta cheese was considered dessert. I now just eat real dessert. Real ice cream. I once thought fluoride was bad but now make sure we have it in all our toothpastes. I didn’t expect to reverse my earthy crunchy behaviors in my forties but here I am eating conventionally grown dirty dozen produce. I once avoided politics for fear for losing followers. Now I talk about it because if I have a platform, I feel obligated to use it for good Wellness influencers hawking supplements are more than likely making money off their recommendations. I do make some $$ off product recommendations but I take everything myself that I suggest. I only promote brands with high standards as I learned from my early YouTube days and am super selective and rarely do sponsored posts these days. Did I surprise you with anything? fitat40 fitathome newenglandmom fasterwaycoach 40andfit fwtflcoach fitnessyoutuber