Detoxing Friends.
Winner Winner Grilled Chicken Dinner.
Last September, I won a Transformation Makeover, courtesy of a Boston-based trainer and his fitness studio: burninbyray.com. One lucky winner (me) won a Life Changing Experience that consisted of 16 weeks of unlimited LIIT classes, 16 weeks of prepared meals, full access to personal trainers and the support of a wellness coach… all for free. I felt like I won the Makeover Lottery! I endured 16 hard weeks of daily double work-outs, sore muscles, fatigue, tears, no alcohol & carbs and more tears like a champ, because I knew by January, my newly-toned body would thank me for giving up Chardonnay and other bad food choices.
THE DETOX
While the workouts and clean eating were doing good things for my body, I also realized I needed to do something good for my head and heart. What that meant, was that I needed to give up my “toxic” friends. These were people I actually had in my life who are incredibly judgmental, critical, and definitely threatened by my wanting to improve my health and wellness. I know it may sound ridiculous, but I’ll bet there are many readers out there who have that certain someone who tries to coax you out of a workout by suggesting meeting for drinks or interrogates you about why you’re committing to the gym instead of them. Sound familiar?
It was a pretty hard decision for me to make because they were my “friends” and we had spent a lot of great times together. Sure, we had a lot of fun and there are crazy stories of wild antics… but I realized all those shenanigans were fueled by drinking and bad choices—things I didn’t want in my life anymore now that my health and transformation were my biggest priority. So when invites came to grab drinks after work, I simply declined enough times that they got fed up and stopped inviting me. Others I simply ghosted. I did what I had to to protect my energy and focus on me.
Luckily, I discovered Hey! VINA through Instagram and it came at the most perfect time in my life. Now that I had lost about 30 pounds and a handful of Mean Girl friends, I was looking for some new vinas I could hang with to complement my new healthy lifestyle. I matched with my vina, Erin, in January and we were instant buds I was lucky enough to find someone who I could enjoy doing healthy things with, like getting coffee or going to a yoga class. More importantly, I found a new friend who really “gets” me, is all about positive energy, is supportive and understanding and enjoys being the best version of ourselves.
So vinas, I’m here to tell you it’s not worth keeping friends who make you feel like bad. Surround yourself with a new tribe of Wonder Women who support and believe in you, especially when you don’t. It’s that simple! Protect your positive energy and self-worth. Your new bestie is out there and might be waiting to connect with you.
Download Hey! VINA and start swiping!
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