July City Life VLOG 2022: Sun & Fun! | Trader Joe's Finds | Designer Heel Haul | Collaborations, Hauls, Fitness, & Gluten Free Home Cooked Meals

FITNESS UPDATES: I have been pretty motivated to keep up with my yoga schedule all Summer which is great. Fitness is like 80% what goes down in the kitchen and part of that for me is also what I eat and order on vacation and date nights. Eating out can have a lot of negative ramifications on your overall gut health as well as constant travel.

We have had a lot of vacations this Summer, things I haven't even gotten to on my blog yet like these location photos for example. Since I have been off of birth control for over 2 years now my body has gone back to how it was before I ever took anything in most ways.

The one way that I am taking about here is that I have a super high metabolism naturally. I don't (never have) worked out a lot or dieted outside of the one time I gained 60 pounds 12 years ago and that also had a lot to do with birth control and my autoimmune diseases.

I always work out 1 day a week for 15 minutes and any other exercise I get is from cleaning and walking up and down stairs etc. I get a lot of exercise also from travel and walking and I do have a home gym, sometimes I lift kettle bells, but yoga and pilates is my go to.

I don't in particularly have any type of diet at all I just eat really clean food that is usually gluten free and high on grains and fats that are good for you. I have never liked much sweets and I don't eat a a lot of carbs, I also stopped drinking wine as often as I was, it has been years since I really sat at home w a bottle of wine, but I will have mimosas every once in a while.

I should be taking iron pills, but I was advised not to unless I started feeling like my iron was low, but I have them if I need them (vegetarian iron pills). Anyway, I have had a few people make negative comments about the fact that I lost weight during the pandemic. I feel like it is very easy for someone to judge and say "well, you looked better like this, or I preferred you like that"..."you don't eat", and now my newest "Did you do this to yourself on purpose , you were always big".

First off, people should really keep their comments to their selves, but we are living in a day and age where everyone thinks they can say anything to anyone via the internet . Secondly, this myth that all Black women should be or are "thick or large or curvy needs to stop. I wasn't always big. I have always been 117 to 120 pounds. If I gained weight it usually was 10 pounds due to birth control causing bloating and water retention and autoimmune reactions.

My immediate family, all of them are lean and on the skinny side. I take after them. Some people need to realize that some people are just lean, skinny, petite etc and stop trying to push this myth onto others especially when the "myth" you are pushing is unhealthy. I am at a healthy weight. My clothes all fit better for my petite frame, my blood pressure is good, I feel good.

Skinny shaming people is not good. With that being said, I ate well all Summer long and enjoyed myself so much I gained a few pounds that I have kept on because no, I am not trying to loose anymore weight, I hive fitness updates because I am always keeping up with my fitness and same with healthy eating. My last weight-loss update was 5-6 months ago when I hit my goal weight which is my normal weight!

Anyway, when I take yoga shots that actually is a harder workout and it is usually more like 35 to 40 minutes or more which is why some months I skip taking photos because it is tedious and it isn't like I am getting paid for it anymore like when I was with Fabletics.

I am definitely not giving out medical advise or even commenting on anyone else, but it just needs to be said. There is nothing wrong with living a healthy active life and getting multiple forms of exercise as well as not being curvy as much as another person.

This month's Trader Joes finds: