TAKING ACTION: ✅Drop a sweaty Steptember Challenge selfie in the comments!! Earlier in the week, we discussed why it’s beneficial to eat foods that are in season, particularly produce that’s in season. I promised we’d talk about this more, so let’s dig into it a little more today! ⬇️ 🍎Higher Nutrient Content: Seasonal produce is typically harvested at peak ripeness, when nutrient levels, like vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, are highest. Non-seasonal produce, often harvested early for transport, may lose nutrients during storage or ripening off the plant. 🍎Better Flavor and Quality: In-season foods are fresher and tastier because they’re harvested at their optimal time and often travel shorter distances to market. 🍎Fewer Pesticides and Preservatives: Seasonal produce, especially from local sources, often requires fewer chemical interventions to grow or preserve, reducing your exposure to potential toxins. 🍎Supports Gut Health: Seasonal eating aligns with dietary diversity, which promotes a healthy gut microbiome. 🍎Environmental and Hormonal Alignment: Eating seasonally may align with your body’s needs based on environmental cues, like cooler fall weather increasing demand for calorie-dense, warming foods (e.g., sweet potatoes, squash). 🍎Cost-Effectiveness Encourages Healthy Choices: Seasonal produce is often cheaper and more abundant, making it easier to incorporate nutrient-rich foods into your diet. Refer back to Tuesday’s post for an extensive list of Fall seasonal produce to incorporate into your diet in September! 💗 __________________________________________________ ‼️ Just added and off topic: I have a dear friend who is currently walking through something very similar to what I once experienced. She is trying to safely leave an abusive marriage, and she and her daughter are facing very real concerns for their physical safety. Having lived through a similar situation, I understand the fear, uncertainty, and overwhelming emotional weight that comes with trying to start over. I also know what it feels like to leave without the financial resources you need. In my own experience, the financial burden and debt accumulated quickly while I was simply trying to survive and rebuild my life.

TAKING ACTION: ✅Share your weekly win below! Did you get more steps in? Crush your nutrition? Whatever you did well, tell me about it below! 🎉 It’s Friday, and not only that, it’s the first Friday of our STEPtember Challenge! Celebrating our wins is always fun, but there’s something special about the celebrations that come in when everyone is excited about a new challenge. 🎉 By now, you all should know just how important it is to celebrate your small wins. If it weren’t for your small ones, the big wins wouldn’t happen. If you really think about it, the small wins are the real MVPs, which means we should be thankful for each one—and celebrate each of them, as well! I encourage you to take a few minutes and think about what you’ve done well this week. Nothing is too small, friends. Every win counts. You don’t have to believe me. Believe the science. ⬇️ “Every small win gives your brain a spritz of dopamine, the feel-good neurochemical in your brain. Better yet, when we string together a continual series of small wins, you can increase the regular amount of dopamine being released into your brain for more constant joy and pleasure in your work, family, and hobbies.” —Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

TAKING ACTION: ✅To wrap up our mindset week, what belief do you carry around that’s no longer serving you? Let’s share today. 🫶 ✅Crush your leg day workout today - workout in the comments! Did you know your brain will lie to you? Do you know why? It’s not because it’s trying to sabotage you. It isn’t trying to make you fail. It’s because 95% of your thoughts and actions stem from your subconscious mind. Things you learned when you were very young (between the ages of 4-7) are quite literally controlling you today—and you don’t even realize it. Even scarier, you don’t even REMEMBER most of the things you heard or learned during this timeframe, yet the memories are stored in your subconscious. 🤯 I know—it’s wild. But it’s true. 💯 Let’s look at a few examples of things that could be affecting your thoughts and actions today: 🧠 Your mom was always on a diet when you were young. You may not even remember this, but if she was, you’re likely affected by it today. 🧠 You heard things like, “Too much of that candy will make you fat.” 🧠 Or, “You’re not fat. You just have big bones.” 🧠 Or, “Oh, don’t worry. That’s just baby fat. You’ll grow out of it.” 🧠 Or, “If you lost just 5 lbs., that dress would fit perfectly.” Do any of these resonate with you? Again, it’s important to remember that you may not even recall moments like this, but if they occurred, your subconscious mind might be holding onto them. This is how your brain lies to you. You still believe these things even though they aren’t serving you anymore! The first step to overcoming negative thoughts is to realize they’re coming from your subconscious mind, and likely aren’t true—and when something isn’t true, it certainly doesn’t need to dictate your life. 💯

TAKING ACTION: ✅Tell me how you’re doing with our STEPtember Challenge! Have you been getting your steps in so far this week? How do you feel overall? I want to hear from you today. 🫶 In case you haven’t guessed, walking is good for you. Obviously, it burns calories and is a great form of exercise, but have you ever considered the health benefits? Yesterday’s article briefly touched on a handful of the benefits, but if you truly knew just how much walking could improve your overall health, you’d make it a point to get your steps in consistently. 💯 Research suggests that walking 8,000-10,000 steps per day improves everything, including heart and brain health, which means it’s also great for your mental health. Walking regularly can help ease symptoms related to chronic mental health conditions like anxiety and depression. The best news, as the article below suggests, is that there’s no “right” way to do it! You can find your own style and still reap the benefits. The article below is a bit lengthy, but I encourage you to take time today to check it out—and most importantly, find your style and get steppin’! 👟 The Science Behind Why Walking Is So Good for You

TAKING ACTION: ✅Comment DONE below after you get your steps in today! 👟See details below!! “Walking is the most ancient exercise and still the best modern exercise.” —Carrie Latet There’s no denying that there are many wonderful ways in which we can move our bodies. The possibilities are endless; however, I want to point out one thing today. Before there were fitness gyms—before there were weight machines and ellipticals—before there were dumbbells, workouts on demand, sports, or anything else, there was one thing—walking. As the quote says, “Walking is the most ancient form of exercise.” And this is exactly why we’re focusing on our steps this month! 👟 We are all aware that walking is a great exercise, but I can almost bet you haven’t considered that it's actually the most ancient form of exercise or movement. That has to stand for something. We are meant to move in this way, and the best part is that for most, it’s a completely natural form of movement. While it's no secret that walking is a great (and simple) form of exercise, its benefits actually extend beyond weight control. If you have time for a little extra learning today, check out the website below for more benefits of walking and getting in your steps! ⬇️ 6 surprising health benefits of walking - BHF ________________________________________________________________________________________ 🚶‍♀️ BE WELL STEP CHALLENGE! 🚶‍♀️ Okay, y’all! We’re starting a step challenge, but I want you to understand something before we begin: This is NOT about everybody hitting 10,000 steps a day. We all have different starting points, different schedules, and different bodies. The goal of this challenge is to get you moving MORE than you are right now and start building a habit that you can actually maintain. Here’s how we’re doing it: For the first 2–3 days, pay attention to how many steps you normally get in a day. That’s your baseline.