4 Things We Learned From Demi Lovato About Fitness & Wellness
I'll be 25 in two weeks and couldn't be more confused. As we age, women go through a metamorphosis of identity, mostly centered around society's standards of beauty and success. After a certain age, we stop being excited about birthdays and more concerned about life's more pressing philosophical questions:
Are these apples organic? Should I go vegan? Have I accomplished enough in my life? Am I happy with the state of my overall physical and mental health?
Coming of age soon seems to feel more like a death sentence than a milestone to be celebrated, and trailblazers like Demi Lovato are among the women of color seeking to change that. She recently opened up about how growing up for her meant finding balance between the spiritual, emotional, and physical aspects of her life.
Growing up a child star, Demi has had a sordid past in the media, but that didn't stop her quest to living her best life. Her history of bulimia and bipolar disorder led her to self-medicate and spiral into a dark hole of addiction. Now, after winning a battle with depression and substance abuse, the 25-year-old superstar is her own #LifeGoals. Demi is now 6 years sober and devoted to sharing her story in hopes that it will encourage others to live healthier lifestyles.
The actress and singer recently shared secrets about how she stays fully aligned and ready to slay despite her chaotic entertainment career and tumultuous history in the media. True wellness, according to Demi, is rooted in unconditional self-love.
Today, Demi has been successful on her road to recovery with 6 years sober under her belt, and a lifetime of wellness to pursue.
In an interview with Coveteur, Demi had a few words of advice for anyone seeking to live a healthier lifestyle, physically or mentally. Here are a few gems we got from Demi about keeping your body and mind in perfect shape:
Get a Hobby
"I love training [mixed martial arts]. A part of that is learning jujitsu. You can throw people and take people down. [It's] really cool. It just feels powerful when you do it.
"Because I've started training MMA and because now I feel like I'm able to protect myself, it's given me a confidence that I didn't have before and I didn't realize I was missing. I just feel safe and proud of myself that I know these skills. And that I might be able to take care of myself if something happens and, God forbid, security wasn't around. It also helps with my mental clarity—taking care of my body helps my mind."
Pick a hobby that gets you active and makes you feel good, and you'll look good in no time. If you're not a runner, you don't have to run to get your blood pumping. Try swimming or bicycling if you feel like they'll be a better fit to the skills you have, as long as you get that booty moving.
Break a Sweat
"Get in the gym. I think that breaking a sweat can make you feel so much better and release stress. Eating healthier helps a lot, too. What we're putting in our bodies affects our minds and our bodies. It's important that if we want to feel good, we treat ourselves good.
There's a direct correlation between exercise and mood, so if you want to get out of a funk, get in the gym! If there's a Planet Fitness in your area, you can get a membership for as low as $11 a month. If a membership isn't in your budget, just get outside! I have to remind myself how important it is to take care of my body, I mean, it is the only place I have to live.
Chill Out, Girl
When asked how she likes to relax, Demi said:
"I like to put on my sweats, take off my makeup, and watch some crime shows like 'Forensic Files', 'Dateline', and '48 Hours.'"
Are you taking time the unwind? Make sure you're not working at full power on a low battery because you'll certainly crash soon! Sometimes I'm so goal-focused that I forget to eat, or catch up on my favorite shows, or… breathe. Name the things that you like to do or make you feel alive and use your downtime to actually do those things and not feel guilty about it.
Lighten Up, Buttercup
"I don't put any rules for my diet [on] myself. When you start doing that, you start craving those things more. That's how it is for me. I say, 'I'm not going to eat carbs.' Well, I'm just going to crave carbs tomorrow, and then when I get carbs, I'm just going to eat a lot of them. I don't put rules on my food anymore."
Am I keto? Or paleo? Or vegan? Or just thicker than a snicker?
I have no clue what I'm doing, I just know I have to make sure that it feels good to me. Demi admitted to taking a dip in the candy bowl, as chocolate is her vice of choice, and that's what makes her so dope.
None of us are perfect, but Demi proves that it's up to us as women to seek and nurture our own perceptions of beauty and wellness so that they won't be defined for us.
Read her Coveteur feature in full by clicking here.
- 30-Minute Full-Body Toning Workout With Demi Lovato's Trainer ... ›
- Demi Lovato Fitness Routine and Workout Tips | Shape Magazine ›
- What I Eat In A Week By Demi Lovato - Women's Health ›
- I Tried Demi Lovato's Workout Routine And Here's How It Went ... ›
- Why Demi Lovato Doesn't Look to Instagram for Fitness Inspiration ... ›
- Demi Lovato Workout | Fitness Magazine ›
- Demi Lovato's Diet and Exercise | POPSUGAR Fitness ›
- How Demi Lovato Got Healthy - Fighting Bulimia and Bipolar ... ›
Taylor "Pretty" Honore is a spiritually centered and equally provocative rapper from Baton Rouge, Louisiana with a love for people and storytelling. You can probably find me planting herbs in your local community garden, blasting "Back That Thang Up" from my mini speaker. Let's get to know each other: @prettyhonore.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Another season of Love Is Blind has come to a close, and almost two months later we’re still unpacking the drama that is Clay and AD. The finale, reunion, and post-interviews with Clay and AD after season six of Love Is Blind left millions of people wondering - why couldn’t AD see the signs? Clay told her he had a fear of marriage, his parents experienced infidelity, and he seemed to have many doubts about saying, "I do."
After changing his mind at the altar and hearing AD question why she feels like she’s never enough, I was finished watching. I didn’t need to hear anything else because, at that moment, I realized this wasn’t about Clay; this was about AD feeling inadequate before she ever met Clay.
If I’m honest, I don’t watch much dating television. TikTok keeps me updated with the clips that I need to see in order to be kept in the loop, but it’s difficult for me to watch an entire season of dating TV because seeing Black women settle for less and questioning their beauty is a trigger for me. In many ways, there were points in my life where I was AD, settling and ignoring red flags because I wanted to be loved.
Now, on the other side, it doesn’t feel good to see Black women lower their standards on national television. There have been many hot takes on this couple and who was in the wrong. Did Clay play in AD’s face or did she not listen to the truth of what he told her from day one? Was his reason for joining the show to promote his business and not to find the one?
We’ll never know the truth, but what we can do is learn tactics to better our self-worth. Founder and CEO of The Self Love Organization Denise Francis shared her expertise with xoNecole on what tangible steps to take to improve feelings of worthiness. “Self-love blooms in a garden where self-worth is planted, nourished, and whole. However, when your self-worth is challenged, displaced, or broken, it could be difficult to rebuild," Denise explains.
How To Rebuild Self-Worth
During her self-love coaching sessions, Denise likes to walk her clients through the cornerstones of rebuilding self-worth: grace and self-compassion. To her, self-worth is never lost, it's only displaced, so practicing self-compassion and giving yourself grace is a must. "We tend to place our self-worth in entities and people of ourselves such as relationship status, physical appearance, material possessions, social media followings, what others think of us, and more. Self-worth is not something to be measured by anyone or anything outside of ourselves because we all innately hold value and worth.
"Self-worth is not something to be measured by anyone or anything outside of ourselves because we all innately hold value and worth."
"When we place our value into people or things, we tend to feel that we are not enough, worth it, special, or important when relationship status, job titles, friendships, and physical appearances are lost or changed. We then tend to feel lost within ourselves because we’ve placed our value outside of ourselves. Using grace and compassion, you can rebuild your self-worth by returning home to who you are at your core," she concludes.
How To Return Home To Yourself
Denise advises taking a step back and using self-reflection through journaling by answering the following journaling prompts:
First, ask yourself, "What do you tend to attach your self-worth to and why?"
Is it your relationships, your job title, your finances, your appearance, etc.? Why do you think you place so much emphasis on external status? How does it make you feel when you are defining yourself through these entities and/or people outside of yourself?
Then, ask yourself, "Without these things, who am I?"
Once you have your answers, show yourself kindness, remove the shame, and, as Denise says, "Redefine yourself by detaching your value from the things and people you have no control over and no longer serve you. Challenge yourself to define yourself outside of titles and societal values."
"By returning home to your core, you find value in who you are as a person. You begin to find value in the way you love instead of your relationship status, your compassion instead of your popularity, your drive instead of your income/job title, and your heart instead of your physical appearance," she adds.
"By returning home to your core, you find value in who you are as a person."
"Be intentional with healing your self-worth by leaning into the people and things that nourish your core values. Surround yourself with the people who love and cherish you, they will always remind you just how valuable you truly are."
It all goes back to self-compassion and grace. As Denise explains, leading with those two things as you heal and rebuild your self-worth allows you to reduce negative self-talk that might come up for you. "This weakens thoughts like, 'I am not enough... why am I never enough?'" she shares, "And 'I don't deserve this while strengthening thoughts like 'I deserve better,' 'I am enough,' and 'I am worth it.'"
Denise continues, "Once you return home and remember the irreplaceable person you are, you can rebuild your self-worth by placing it back where it belongs. It belongs to you."
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