The Happy Fitcamper

Do you ever notice the choices you make when options like this are presented? Do you choose the ramp, or the stairs? When you park your car, do you opt for the close or far away spot? At work, a hospital, or hotel, do you seek out the nearest elevator or do you look for the stairwell?

When we’re focused on getting from point A to point B, we tend to ignore the implications for our bodies. When we are short on time, as many of us are right now, we may miss little moments of possibility.

The opportunity to move in beneficial ways exists everywhere. In the hustle, bustle, stress, and fatigue of all you do in the upcoming month, you may feel like you “can’t” make the yoga class or fit in your preferred workout. You may be right. Opting to skip your class because your time, energy, or money budget doesn’t have space is nothing to be ashamed of. Just know that there are other ways you can take care and take your body to task while you’re in the holiday sprint. Bodies, minds, and moods all do better with movement. And movement is available no matter where you are. You need only notice and get playful with your choices. Mix it up! And hang in there.

I correspond about health a lot. I answer a lot of questions. I hear a lot of confusion from folks who are rightfully confused by the messages they get around what they “should” do to look and feel healthy.

I’ve been doing this—answering questions and unpacking mixed messages in the fitness and nutrition industries—since 1998.

For 25 years, it’s always come back to the same basics. Yes, there are scientific ways to breakthrough thresholds, alter metabolism and hack your form, but the things that withstand the test of time and keep health a sustainable practice almost always fall back to the basics. Eat and move well. Hydrate enough. Rest.

And most importantly, be there for yourself. Through the good, the bad, and the ugly. That’s the secret sauce y’all.

And for all you folks chatting about those dopamine hits, know this: it’s the struggle in the pursuit of success that is giving you that boost.

Tina update! It’s been a minute since I’ve put a post up. The first year at has proven quite the challenge. Fortunately, challenge is nothing new in this line of work.
g of challenge, you may require our friend, Tina, set a personal challenge to run our hometown stadiums for her 50th birthday. I helped her adjust that goal reasonably to run, walk, crawl, or “slug” up and down those steps and to KEEP GOING no matter how ugly it got (aka “swamp thing”). In an effort to cheer her on, we formed a local group that met several weekdays at 5am, and on Saturday morning. Thanks to her hard effort, she achieved that goal on August 23rd.

Then what? Was that it? No, friends. As it turns out, that finish line was just the starting line toward a life of badassery to come. She’s still at it, with a current goal to keep up good movement habits and to focus in on eating, which is a HARD task for any family woman approaching the holiday season. If you know her, cheer her on. If you want to join her, hop over to and get into a class. If you want to check her progress, swipe through. Most recent pic is first. Congratulations, Tina! I hope you are proud of yourself. ❤️🙌

Not all trainers are coaches and not all coaches are trainers.
And not all coaches/trainers have the same credentials, experience, or approach. Personal training is…personal.

When I train, I let people know I’m holistic. That means so don’t do body parts or spot fixes. I do whole person-whole life stuff, which is why you’ll so often hear me say “eating,moving,other.”

Here’s a glimpse of one weekly homework text I’m sending out this morning with guidance for eating, moving, and other behaviors that will help this person reach their goal.

If you’re curious about personal training, be sure to check in for the Wednesday Wellness topic. And look at last week’s for part one. Have a great week!

About yesterday. If you didn’t watch the Wednesday wellness video, give it a look for context. Do you intentionally focus on positive self talk and feedback?

Friday Salute!

“Don’t tell me who I am!”

These words came out of my mouth yesterday, and they felt RIGHT. They came out to a trusted friend while I was recapping a difficult interaction I’d had that day. When I said them, we both got wide eyed for a moment and sat quiet while we reviewed the relevancy and meaning of what aid just said.

One thing I’ve started to tell my daughter and her friends lately is “never let anyone else tell you who you are.” That’s not their job. That’s no one’s job but yours and, if you think like me, God’s. It’s an exclusive membership to get that role. No guest list.

And yet, we allow outsiders to constantly shape us and take us away from our true selves. Some key signs I’ve allowed someone else to define me are feelings of discontent, powerlessness, and resentment. Fortunately, we can lessen the likelihood of experiencing those by showing judgement and unhelpful criticism of people who don’t know us well the door.

Are you letting other folks define you? Is it making you angry or frustrated? Then I invite you to join me in giving the ol’ one fingered send-off to the labels that don’t fit. Buh-BYE!

Truthfully though. Identity can be hard. Failures and feedback can be uncomfortable. Let’s make sure we are tuning in to the channels that matter when it comes down to our authentic selves. Be bold. Stay with your ship. You got this. 😘

https://www.happyfitcamper.com/

This site needs quite the overhaul, but in the meantime, here are some fun new in-person offerings at Fit City!

Happy Fit Camper Virtual, On location at Fit City, or Special locations

Get ready for some new opportunities at Fit City!
Currently, individual training and sunrise yoga are underway as well as monthly full moon belly dance and sound bath experiences.

New classes (including the artsy kind) and training opportunities are coming in June and July. Save your coffee money and get ready to take advantage of some deals. Links and more info coming soon!

Friday salute returns!

I can think of no better reason to bring back the Friday salute than the month of MAY(hem), replete with end of school, aggressive southern humidity, political campaign upticks and the end of the school year. MAY is A LOT. It’s also mental health awareness. One of the key practices in a healthy mental state is practicing honesty with yourself and finding ways to communicate your truth to safe people who can make you feel heard. Tina has had quite the life upset lately, and today I could see it in her shoulders worse than ever. And life for me? Well I’ve come to terms the the idea that my first born graduating high school and moving out of our house to attend college in another city borders on the same kind of life-shattering that having a baby brings. It literally shatters your old ways to forge the new one. That means I’m walking around every day with really big feelings just beneath my surface.

Fortunately, there are people in the world who can take the true version of you. Moreover, there are people in the world who NEED the true version.

So- when someone asks “how are you,” read the room first, check for the safe people, and then speak your truth. It can be as simple as saying “I’m not okay.”

It’s OKAY to be not okay. It’s okay to struggle and have big feelings due to big stress. And it’s okay to talk about. Great in fact. If the world learned to be a little more transparent and vulnerable maybe we could get a little less angry or hurtful. Maybe we could get a little more connected and supported.

So, in honor of MAYhem and mental health and just dealing with the challenges of being human, Tina and I invite you to give the Friday salute to pretending like everything is okay when it’s not. Send that unhelpful lie on its way and take a chance on sharing what’s really happening. And get yourself a good therapist. If you can’t afford it, start talking to that safe friend or find that safe online space and try honest vulnerability. You may just inspire someone else to do the same, and the more we realize we are not alone, the mentally and emotionally healthier we become. 💛

If you look for the data to refute this, you will looking for quite a while. Even when pills and procedures are helpful, your wellness plan is incomplete without including healthy behaviors around eating and moving. And to get healthy behaviors, you need healthy thoughts.

Let me clarify. When I say “healthy” I mean beneficial. For YOU. While there are certainly benchmarks and standards to consider, your wellness journey is yours. Your balance of these categories is yours, too, because you are you and others are not. Agree with the irrefutable science behind risk factors, but don’t buy into the idea that you can check out of your own wellness responsibility by using a drug or having a procedure done.

You still need to build beneficial habits that center on your original divine design (as a thinker, eater, mover and so much more).

Movement is medicine. Food is medicine. And learning how to think beneficial thoughts is some of the best medicine around.

Take the pill. Get the procedure. You do you, boo. But do the work, too, if you really want to feel satisfied with the outcome. 💛

Shout out to the parents getting surprise “feel free to check out your student” proposals while your child stares directly at you waiting for you to make the “right” choice.

Happy humpday. How’s your MAYhem going?

tomorrow!

Class name For the next three weeks, join me Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 6am Central for sunrise yoga at FIT CITY Movement and Arts. That's three days a week, three weeks straight, and just the thing to get you through the month of MAY(hem).

Look at the great way to stay on top of mental health courtesy of The Greater Good Science Center I’ll be posting a Wellness Wednesday video on my IG soon, and today’s task goes hand in hand with the tip of the week. Are you taking steps to take care of your mental well being?

Your Happiness Calendar for May 2023 This month, find ways to address your stress.

Wellness Wednesday

I shot a video for today. Several times. Every time, something happened that interfered with a clean take. That left me two options for posting:
1) reshoot the video message and hope for the best
2) edit the other videos and make it work

Both of those options would’ve taken me time and energy. Some days, I have that. Today was not that day, so I put a boundary on it, accepted defeat, and came to peace with having priorities in different places.

Working for yourself can require a significant amount of hustle, and it comes with immense pressure to constantly reach out into the world. It’s always been faster than I like, and it’s only getting faster. My social presence, my marketing game, and my drive for packing my work schedule are not the consumer world like, and I’m experimenting with ways to be okay with that.

The truth is, I don’t want to push products or find ways to “hook” people and keep them. I want to help people think, feel, and do things in ways that keep them and the people they come into contact with well. In the process, I want to prioritize the same for my self.

We all have multiple facets to who we are, and we all have limitations on our time and energy. How we choose to show up and how we choose to spend our time and energy impacts the quality of our experience.

Today, I chose to abandon a video post so I could meet the bus. Tonight, I choose this. To some, that may look like the wrong choice.

I prefer to be able say “I remember.” I hope to live a long life, and if I do, I hope to be able to say I can remember the way my child looked when she slept, and how her small body could find home in her mama’s arms knowing she was completely safe and loved.

Knowing that matters to me enough to be able to shift course in the midst of a chaotic life is part of my personal practice in being well.

The Fit City monthly sound bath with .apothecary is one week from today!

Did you know that sound can have healing effects? This sound bath won’t include tracks of music you can hum along to, but instead, expect to hear different tones made with a variety of “singing bowls.” You may have enjoyed making sound with the rim of your water glass when you got your finger to contact it just right. That same principle is what makes sound with different bowls. The tones create different vibrations with each other, some pleasant, some less pleasant, that cause your mind and body to make little changes in beneficial ways. The great news is that this type of work is accessible to all kinds of bodies with all kinds of capabilities. And no, there’s not an actual bath. You wear all your clothes and keep them on (please). You are provided with comfortable props to help you relax and a really safe and soothing environment.

Want to try it? Click the link in my story today, or visit www.resourcedapothecary.com and scroll to the bottom.

Good Friday.

I found these nails outside my studio when I was cleaning up the lot. I noticed they made a heart shape as I was picking them up, so I decided to keep them that way, and paint them red, of course.

I recently hung them up on the door frame, and today when I looked up and saw them, it felt like I’d made an accidental homage to Good Friday.

Wherever you are and whatever you believe, I hope you find depth of spirit, opportunities to be reverent, and the ability to put down your burdens. And in your darkest hours, may you have hope and grace to pull you through. ❤️

Day 39!
Who knew would make so many appearances in this challenge? 😂

Since it’s inception last year, my own beneficial self challenge has always had God at the core.

I believe in God, because, even with the amazing and vast science humans have managed to establish, and even with the enormous negative impact we’ve managed to create in the way of war and mistreatment of our planet (and pretty much every living thing on it), I haven’t seen the evidence to dispute that God is real. And y’all, when I say that, I need you to know that I’m a science nerd and a questioner. In my experience so far, God holds up.

Neuroscientists and physicists can try to track the magic of prayer…how it impacts the entire body system all at once, instantaneously. They can try to measure and explain how the unseen infinitesimal inertia of an quiet ask can generate momentum and fruition on a tangible level; but their pursuits tend to end in the form of more questions and awe.

The power of prayer is a humbling and mysterious force and one that has unlocked more healing and growth for me than anything else. The more I pray, the less gets in the way. Prayer cuts through chaos and my irrational ambition. Prayer brings a humble kind of calm I haven’t encountered anywhere else. Prayer gives me courage to move through fear.

Today I know that prayer is one of the most beneficial things I can do for myself. I am thankful to God for the ability to connect in this meaningful way and for the endless benefits the practice yields. I also know it doesn’t have to look a certain way. I can think it, write it, or listen to someone else guide me through it. It’s ALL beneficial.

How has prayer helped you?

Bonus question:
Be honest. Did you sing that hammer song, cause I know I’ll be singing it the rest of the day. 😆

Day 37

We can do things we like. But what about the things we love?

This week I’ve noticed how much attention I give to what I think is right, to what I worry is expected of me, and to what I feel others deem worthy. I’ve also noticed how instantly I shift into ease when I’m doing what I love and loving what I do. When that ease hits and I can let go of the rest, my exchanges and experience become more loving. With that in mind, I hope to insert more of what I love into my days ahead and to reap the benefits of trusting that choice. 💛

It’s day 35, and my family and I are on spring break.

Breaks can be hard for me, and now I know that’s due to the momentum of my days.

There’s a law in physics you’ve probably heard of before called the law of inertia. It was identified as law by a fella name Newton who noticed, after much observation, that unless something weird happens, an object that is still tends to stay still. On the same token, an object in motion tends to stay in motion. It takes things like gravity or an outside stimulus or force to change the way an object is behaving.

But humans aren’t objects.

We are living and thinking beings capable of working against gravity and pushing back against outside forces.

The inertia in our lives is strong. The rhythms of work, school, personal ambitions, social interactions and more can easily pull us into a momentum that doesn’t offer access to slowing down or stopping. Our minds can be powerful agents in perpetuating or overcoming that type of momentum.

Because of the BS challenge, I’m giving more attention to the importance of pressing pause. When little bursts of worry come up over what I’m not accomplishing, I’m asking myself how that worry is beneficial. And I’m allowing myself to see the pause as a sort of sabbath. Something to give reverence to.

How often do you pause and give reverence in your own life? As odd as it sounds, do you struggle to find the attention, time, or energy needed to press pause?

Day 32
Friday salute + Beneficial Self Challenge

Today we give our favorite Friday send-off to a lack of boundaries.

The beneficial self understands the value of boundaries and lays them with intention and kindness.

A lack of boundaries can create confusion and depletion of important attention, time, or energy stores. That’s detrimental.

This week, I’ll be reflecting on how boundaries or lack of them impact my access to agency, authenticity, and happiness.

Day 28
What are your hardship beliefs?

Have you ever heard a friend say something like “I’ll never be able to get ahead” or “bad things always happen to me?”

If so, you may have felt the sting of sadness that comes not knowing how to convince them otherwise. Strong beliefs are hard to change, even when they’re harmful.

Beliefs come from experience and exposure to situations and influences, and while they are deeply tied to how we exist and operate, they are not always true.

Sometimes, beliefs are formed out of necessity to cope with circumstances out of our control, particularly during childhood. For example, up until the second half of the 20th century, child-rearing may have included the popular ideology that children are “meant to be seen, not heard.” Imagine a child living their formative years under this repeated mantra, and experiencing harsh criticism or punishment when they made too much noise or spoke their truth. Understandably, that child may have adopted the belief they are meant to keep their expressions to themself as a mechanism for better surviving their childhood. When that belief gets carried into adulthood, however, it can enable unnecessary hardship. Believing you are not meant to be heard can create detriments in relationships, professional opportunities and more, robbing you of opportunity, growth, and fulfillment.

That is just one example of how a hardship belief can form and stay with a person throughout their lives without even being true.

One example in the fitness world is “no pain no gain.” While in some contexts this can border on true, you do not have to experience pain to be fit. The popular adage is simply unhelpful and false, yet millions (or billions) of people ascribe to this belief to the degree they are caused unnecessary injury or fearful to approach fitness at all.

This week, I’ll be giving attention to the limiting beliefs I hold for myself around personal hardship. What are your hardship beliefs? Are they true?

Day 26

The beneficial self understands the importance of reality checks.

Today my reality was that I have two kids so far apart in age that being there for them can sometimes create a very different set of demands. For example, I took my 5 year old to a parade today. Before we left home (lunchtime), we went through multiple meltdowns, wardrobe changes, struggles with meals and other requests, and various other patience challenges typical for this age. As typical as it is, the experience can be so energy demanding, that I’m often ready to wave the white flag before I even begin.

That, in and of itself, is a lot for a parent. But wait…there’s more.

What I also did today, in addition to the above, was help my 17-year-old get prepped for his senior prom. This looked like pressing a shirt, sewing two buttons, helping with argumentative hair (that he inherited from me), and posting reminder notes like “remember to get the flowers” and “get the charger for the camera.”

It also meant having a LOT of feelings. This is my first born I’m talking about. Every day closer to graduation is a day closer to the end of one of my life’s most important chapters. Things of this magnitude require extra emotional energy and attention.

After the parade, my husband, daughter, and I met our son, his friends, and their parents for photos. We then hurried home just in time for me to make dinner, say goodbye to my husband, and start bedtime procedures with the youngest.

Tonight my husband will work. My son will celebrate with his friends. My daughter will sleep. Most likely, my to-dos such as relationship maintenance, work, and most everything else will not get done. Tonight I will not make bold moves as an independent business woman or artist or put forth amazing acts of friendship or tidying, or luxurious self care. But hopefully I will allow myself to close my day feeling happy about my choices, content with what’s been done and left undone, and afford myself grace and space to accept and care for who I am today, because that is the beneficial way to be. 💛

Day 24

Julie Watters - Happy Fitcamper on Instagram: "Late today, due to the celebration of life for a family member. First things first. 💛 This week, I wanted to expound a little bit on one of my favorite topics, balance. Better balance is an access... 6 Likes, 0 Comments - Julie Watters - Happy Fitcamper () on Instagram: "Late today, due to the celebration of life for a family member. First things first. 💛 This we..."

Howdy. Some of my posts are not crossing over from Instagram, so I want to drop a link here for those who may benefit from this week’s BS challenge.

Day 23

Julie Watters - Happy Fitcamper on Instagram: "Day 23! Wellness Wednesday tips for eating, moving, and “other.”" 11 Likes, 1 Comments - Julie Watters - Happy Fitcamper () on Instagram: "Day 23! Wellness Wednesday tips for eating, moving, and “other.”"

Great 5k opportunity!

Just A Call Away 2023 registration is now open! Race on August 19th!

Only $20 if you register in the next two weeks!!! Register here: https://runsignup.com/Race/AL/Homewood/ACallAway5K

We're back at Patriot Park in West Homewood and looking forward to continuing to build a community of support and empowerment with you!

Day 21.

The beneficial self understands the value of “no.”

Attention and energy may be renewable, but they require finesse in how you use them. They also require a pause in their use that allows them to replenish.

Time is a nonrenewable resource. While those of us fortunate enough to wake up get a new day, we don’t get yesterday back.

If you’re unhappy with how your days are spent or with your balance at day’s end, you may need to recalibrate. If life hasn’t afforded you the margin to do that, it’s time to take emergency measures with a spending freeze. One of the fastest and most direct ways to do this is to place a moratorium on saying “yes.” This week, I’m doing just that.

As I look at my schedule ahead and try to course-correct some overspending of my attention/time/energy accounts, I’ll be defaulting to “no” as my answer. Saying “no” can be uncomfortable for both the speaker and the recipient. But saying it to situations or people who deplete focus, effort, or time is saying “yes” to a healthy reserve and a beneficial self.

Day 19.

You may have heard of emotional regulation. How well we can regulate our feelings and our reactions or responses to those directly impacts our beneficial self.

Traumatic experiences, childhood environment and cultural influence can change our relationship with our emotions in unhelpful ways (maladaptive). Learning how to perceive, analyze, and respond to them can have extremely beneficial impacts on the self and relationships.

Working on ourselves in this way can be daunting if we try to implement change prematurely.

What can help tremendously is to follow today’s action steps. When a hard feeling hits:
1- give attention to your thoughts (self talk)
2- take time to consider the truth of these statements to yourself. Are they fact? Or are they some default style of self talk that isn’t serving you?
3) Use your torch to shed light on what’s really going on, or use mine: “How is this beneficial?

Use your preferred tracking method to make notes about what you discover.

This is BIG work towards becoming your beneficial self.

P.S. tomorrow is my Sabbath. Have you claimed yours? Take time to reflect and revisit the prompts so far. Spend some time writing, making, or speaking about what you’ve experienced and learned along the way. Remember to stay with it. ❤️

Day 18.

Did you help meet your own needs today?

pre.clude
(verb)
prevent from happening; make impossible

It’s beneficial to consider others. The trick is in doing so without detriment to self. If the demands of the world have priority above your own physical, mental, and emotional needs, things are out of balance in a detrimental way.

We are more than what we eat or produce. We are more than how we appear. We are also more than physical organisms that need certain increments of nutrients, light, activity, and rest to stay alive. We are intellectual, emotional, and social creatures.

Your inner voice is aware of your intellectual, emotional, and social needs.
TURN IT UP.
Make sure you can hear it.