Doing things that make your soul smile | 40 of 90
Wow, what a day. I am on a high.
First off, the POPFLEX shoot went so incredibly well! We worked with a few new people I scouted online (it’s always a little scary because you never what you’re gonna get), but I am SO happy to report that they were INCREDIBLE HUMANS. Like full of light, full of positivity, and full of joy. Our POPFLEX shoots are always so fun because everyone is just having a blast, laughing, dancing, singing, and CREATING gorgeous things together.
I literally cannot wait for you to meet the models we partnered with for this next collection. Each one – so beautiful inside and out! You’re gonna LOVE them. We’re actually all planning to take a “heels” class together (that’s a dance class where you wear high heels cuz WHY NOT) because we had so much fun today that we needed a reason to hang out soon again!
Now, speaking of dance – I did a thing.
Today after a long day of shooting, I decided to be crazy and take a dance class at 8:30PM. But not just any class…read below:
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Fun fact: when I was in high school, my dream was the be a B-girl. I even took lessons from a breakdancer cuz I was THAT serious!!! I loved how powerful, calm, and in control b-boys and b-girls were of their bodies. I specifically loved popping – the kind of style that makes you look like a gliding robot. 🤖 Anyway, the last lesson I took was in 2003 as a sophomore in high school. I didn’t get very far, but I did learn how to moonwalk! Eventually school and college admissions took priority over my silly dance dreams, so I stopped lessons and didn’t look back…UNTIL TONIGHT. You guys. I found a “Popping” class and I thought, what the heck, let’s do it!!!!???!? 16 years later, this is me popping again for the first time! My dancing is not clean and my moves are soooo far from perfect but you know what? Honestly I DO NOT CARE!!!! Because I AM SO HAPPY TO BE DANCING!!!! Music and movement make me so happy because it’s the magic elixir that washes away my worries. I don’t know what it is, but anything that was previously stressing me out prior to class immediately becomes non-existent when I dance. 💃 I hope you enjoy this lil video I shot in class…I’m proud of myself for doing something that brings me joy and has nothing to do with things we’re all often so concerned with…like how we look, how much money we make, how many followers we have, if people like us, if people hate us, if this is a good use of time, if we’re being productive enough etc. Literally guys, I urge you to do more things that make you genuinely smile from your soul. #blogilates
I feel so happy right now. So alive and so light!
All those negative feelings I was experiencing just a few days ago from the comments are gone. All it takes is surrounding yourself with good people and doing things that bring you honest, genuine joy.
I had a conversation with a good friend of mine the other day who was going through something tough, and she said something that really struck me. She said, you can choose to focus on the light – on the people who are here with you now – or you can choose to focus on the dark – on the people who are not here with you.
Yes.
I choose to focus on you. My POPsters who are here with me, inspired with me, and on the journey with me. Why do I give so much energy to negativity? I shouldn’t. It doesn’t deserve my worry. I feel so much better today and I hope this feeling stays with be for a good while 🙂
Yesterday’s Recap:
Here is my Fit Journal entry of what I ate the day before my photoshoot.
Let’s see what happened that day because my stomach twisted in knots and I went to sleep in fetal position. My bed time did not help either. I ended up sleeping around 12:30AM.
After taking a weight lifting class, we went to work and when I got there I had 2 hard boiled eggs with umami mushroom seasoning from Trader Joes. So good.
Then for lunch, I had mahi mahi with green beans, cauli rice, and chanterelle mushrooms (OMG SO GOOD) drizzled with sriracha! I made the same for Sam and he said it was DELISH.
I snacked on some cashews and almonds. I know, I know. I really like my nuts! I’m gonna have to start measuring these out soon because I seriously can eat them by the truckloads.
For dinner, I made salad with chicken skewers and 1 egg white cup. DELISH. That’s Tessamae’s habanero ranch on top. LOVE.
Okay, so all was good until after this meal. My stomach started hurting like crazy. I had to lay down in fetal position and sip tea. I don’t know what happened.
I tried drinking kombucha. Maybe the bad bacteria was acting up. No clue. But thought it’d be a good idea to add some good bacteria in there.
It actually added even more gas to my stomach…and added more pressure to my belly…soooooo NOT the best idea!!!
I was staying up late to finish the shot list for the POPFLEX shoot and ended up getting the night time munchies. I really wanted more chili roasted pistachios. So, I had some chili roasted pistachios.
Because it was getting so late and I was STILL working, I started getting hungry for no reason! So I had some pumpkin pie dessert hummus. OMG, so good. But also, I know I ate that NOT because I was hungry. I ate it because it was late and I felt like it.
I went to bed, with my stomach still hurting like crazy (like I had to walk to bed hunched over). But when I woke up, the pain was gone. And the bloat traveled from my upper ab area to my lower ab area!
Anyway, it is 1:06AM right now. I am SO FAILING at this “go to sleep at 10:30PM” thing. If I have no progress this week, I WILL KNOW WHY!!!!
25 thoughts on “Doing things that make your soul smile | 40 of 90”
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That dance looks pretty cool! I like what your friend said, it’s very true and we always need to remember to focus on the light. Some people choose to not be there with/for us and they probably don’t give a sh*t so we should not let them dim our light.
The mahi mahi meal kinda sounds good, although I’m not too sure what it tastes like. Your bloating is weird, maybe it’s because of the nut ratio?
Dance always uomifts my spirits too. I had no idea you were such a taleneted popper!
Blogilates is literally the best weight loss community anywhere,i read it everyday and im so greatful i found https://amzn.to/2mSATEn …it helped me not only lose weight but keep it off,hope it help some others!
Cassey!! Love following your journey always 🙂 And so happy that you’re doing something that fills your cup and choosing to focus on the good. That’s what life is all about!! 🙂
About the sleeping goal, I so relate with how tough it can be to stick to a significantly earlier bed time then you’re used to. I find what works for me when I’m trying to make that shift, and it feels impossible and daunting, is I tell myself to just go to bed 30 minutes earlier for a full week, and then next week 30 minutes earlier again. I also set several alarms an hour and 30 minutes before that set bedtime so that I know when it’s time to get ready for bed. Hope that helps! 🙂
Hi Cassey! Could you share your thoughts on snacking/5-6 mini meals a day vs. the (new-ish?) idea of no snacking/wait 4-5 hours between meals/intermittent fasting? Thanks, and I’ve just caught up on your 90-day journey!
The Sous Vide Egg Bites from Starbucks wreck my stomach. I don’t know the ingredients in that Egg White Cup, but the ones from Starbucks have carrageenan, which can cause intestinal distress. Maybe? Have a great day and keep doing the things that make you happy!
Wow…. *Facepalm*
I sincerely apologize for the misspelling of your name. I’m super embarrassed and hope you believe it was an innocent typo!
Again, thanks for all you do, Cassey
<3
Hey Casey!
First, I want you to know how much I have been enjoying reading your blog and following your journey! Reading your progress every day keeps me inspired and motivated on my own. I genuinely look forward to reading your posts every night, and have even started journaling myself! Thank you so much for sharing yourself with us. I know it can be really hard to be vulnerable sometimes. In fact, I recently read a whole book about Shame and Vulnerability by a women named Bréne Brown. You should Google her! She has a really great Ted Talk that I think you might find value in watching.
Anyway, the real reason I wanted to post is to ask if you’ve looked into how much fiber you’re eating. I know anytime I’ve upped my fiber it has been PAINFUL. I noticed you’ve been eating some veggies that can be a little hard to digest. Cauliflower is a major culprit with a lot of folks!
Hope you’re feeling better by the time you read this!
Those stomach aches sound a lot like mine, I have IBS and sometimes I literally can’t stand up or even sit down. Doing the low FODMAP diet really helped me figure out which foods I can and cannot eat. It’s a pretty strict diet, but it has helped soo many people, might be worth a try…
Anyways, I love reading your post everyday! Thanks for keeping me inspired as well
For the bloat, start taking Gas-X before bed and after eating. How much coffee do you drink? Coffee worked fine with my body until up about a month ago, where I started having the same bloat and pain you’re experiencing. Have only had a sip of cold brew since last week, and haven’t had any symptoms. The cauliflower or amount of soy (though it looks like you haven’t been eating too much of either) can definitely be the culprits, or the nuts!
After watching what you’re doing to change your habits and become the healthy person that you WANT to, I’ve decided to go on my own journey and even though this is the first week where I really feel like I’m sticking to it, I am so incredibly happy and I’m feeling pretty good!! Thank you for being an inspiration for me for so many years now and for being sunshine personified!
awwww sunshine personified!
Mushrooms are an issue for me…as much as I love them and eat them anyway, I usually regret it.
Super cool video 💃🏻👁
Kombucha cauliflower hummus and pistachios are high foodmap food so they could aggravate IBS symptoms.
Maybe try low food map for a little while: https://www.ibsdiets.org/fodmap-diet/fodmap-food-list/
Get better soon !
Try weighing the nuts and putting into a container or bag for on the go. I WAS Shook when I weighed pistachios for the serving size for the first time. I hope you can go to bed earlier tonight 🙂
Love your dance video! Dance is full body vulnerability!
Was there dairy in your habanero ranch dressing??? That would do it if it were me.
I love reading your journey stories 🤗. I also start a 90 Day Journey Programm and the first week was very hard. I felt sooo tired with no energie. Now is the second week and my body feels very good and happy at the moment. 😀
Not sure if you already ate the cauliflower rice before you started but that kills my stomach. Just one meal on one day and my stomach is killing me!
Sorry you’re still not feeling well. I hope you figure out what is causing all of this discomfort and pain and do whatever it takes to heal and start to feel better. I have been there before and in some ways still am. On another note, you looked great in your Instagram video. You should do more choreographed videos on Blogilates because I love those. Dancing is so fun and dancers have the best bodies IMO.
I noticed that after I made a few changes to my regular diet that my stomach could not take certain sauces anymore. Maybe it was the habanero ranch along with the sriracha in one day?
That happens to me sometimes too! Just the other day I felt like I swallowed a cactus for hours after I ate a burger with Brie and onions. I think the burger had too much oil in it. But what works the best for me is peppermint tea! It works even when tums can’t take it all the pinchy cramping sensation away.
Have you ever tried ginger and baking soda in warm water? That really helps me when my stomach hurts. It’s just 1 tsp of each in 1 cup of water.
I love reading your posts every day! My stomach hurts like this almost every night and I haven’t been able to figure out what causes it. I think it must be stress and lack of sleep.
Cassey, girl… go easy on the kombucha. I drink it a few times a week, and I have for years… but I notice if I ever stop for a few weeks because I just wasn’t feeling it or was using foods like yogurt and kimchi for probiotics… the cramping is real! I usually get Health Ade, and the recommended serving is a half bottle… those stomach cramps usually come followed with some… urgent… bathroom matters a few hours later or the next day. I wish I had a pro-tip to get rid of the kombucha cramping, but for me, it usually sorts itself out. This, too, shall pass.
So happy to see you dancing again. Wayyyyy back in the day you used to blog/talk about your love of dance in videos. So amazing seeing you get back into it! You did great!
Nothing is more important than sleep. Not even a damn post on the internet girl. 😞 Your health first!
Your friend has so much right with positive toughts. 🌞