Invest Your Best With Ali Kay
I am a boy mom, wife, small business owner, podcast host of the “Invest Your Best” show, & I have lost over 70 lbs. A few years ago, my life, mentality and physical health looked a lot different than it does today. After the birth of my second son, I found myself continuously gaining weight postpartum after an unhealthy pregnancy lifestyle. The maternity clothes I once wore during pregnancy no longer fit me after the birth of my second son and I was topping the scale around 200 lbs. I was feeling less and less like myself and doing less with my kids and family. I felt unmotivated, defeated, unhappy, and deep down I knew I had to change rather than continue down the path I was on.
The day I decided to make a mental shift was just like any typical day. My oldest son, who was four at the time, asked me to go swimming with him at the neighborhood pool. I declined his offer and watched my husband take my two kids to make timeless memories without me. And that was the day I took the first action towards changing my entire life. I looked at myself in the mirror and for the first time, I gave myself some grace.
The first step to my entire journey was understanding that my current inner self talk was toxic. I was against myself. That day, I shifted my inner self talk with one that had empathy, love, and encouragement for myself. That was the day I started to transform, not just physically, but mentally too. From that day on, I started a journey towards being the best version of myself mentally and physically, which also resulted in me losing over 70 lbs. And because I selfishly needed the accountability to do so, I openly and authentically have shared my journey on my social media channels from the first day to today because the journey is never over.
Little by little, I started making slow changes and prioritizing my mental and physical health. When you make the decision to prioritize anything in life, you’d be surprised how quickly you drop the excuses and make it happen no matter how “busy” you are. I started moving my body 30 minutes every day, which started off as just walking and pushing my son in the stroller. I quickly became addicted to the feeling I got after working out.
Those 30 minutes of movement and working out became my sanity and walking became jogging to running, cycling, weightlifting etc. I found myself becoming more patient, motivated, resilient to stress, and all around happier. To this day, movement is my medicine. I started making small but steady changes to what I ate and focused on the whole and nutrient dense foods that fueled me rather than the foods that left me feeling sluggish.
My weight loss was slow as I built small habits that created more of a sustainable lifestyle for me rather than overnight weight loss. All good things take time and consistency, especially when starting a healthy lifestyle.
It has been a couple of years since I started my journey towards being the best version of myself and I cannot believe how much my life continues to transform. I took the leap towards starting a local home staging business, Lakeland Staging & I launched my podcast “Invest Your Best With Ali Kay”, which casually explores what it takes to live your best life mentally, physically & spiritually by focusing on things you can control; your thinking and actions, which has reached the top #19 spot on Apple’s Health and Fitness Charts. I continue to share the highs, lows, and less than perfect self and life on my social media platforms, which have a combined following of 582,000, because it is important for me to build a supportive community for others that doesn’t involve striving for unrealistic standards or goals but just having the goal to be a better you than yesterday. Anything is possible once you choose to make it a priority in your life.