I love myself by giving my time and energy to things and people I love.
Hello Love, I am so glad you chose to take some time to get loved up with me today.
We’re going to be talking about something very close to my heart — spirituality, and fitness.
Most people do not think of the spirit when they think about exercise, but the two are intrinsically linked. The way you feel physically impacts your energy tremendously. When your body and soul move together in harmony, you reach a genuine point of optimum health.
I know everyone doesn’t look at exercise the same way. Still, when you can open your mind to the idea of fitness encompassing your mental, physical, and spiritual self, you will gain access to a new concept of being physically fit. Lita Lewis is an expert on total body fitness and has been a good friend of mine for years. I am so happy she came on the show to share her wisdom with us.
In this interview, we talk about truly loving your body and how to create good habits to boost your physical and spiritual health. I loved being a part of this conversation and I know it will lift your consciousness as you read along.
Who is Lita Lewis?
Lita Lewis is a trainer, speaker, and life coach who focuses on breaking the mold of what it means to be “fit” or “beautiful” by today’s standards. The personal training videos on her website and her clothing line, Thick Athletics Apparel, hold to the idea that fitness encompasses the spirit and the body.
Lita’s personal fitness journey is the inspiration for her message today. Even though body positivity and spirituality are her messages today, it wasn’t always so. Her fitness career began in the world of competitive bodybuilding.
“My background started in competitive bodybuilding. I trained as a women’s figure competitor in the MPC, and anybody familiar with the sport knows it’s a very extreme sport. I was doing things and following a ridiculous diet [while] living in the space of health and fitness, but I knew what I was doing to my body wasn’t healthy.” – Lita Lewis
While bodybuilding, Lita realized her desire to compete came from a negative place. Her time in the gym was feeding an addiction to exercise, and bodybuilding provided a way to feed that addiction:
“I didn’t want to compete simply because it was something that I always aspired to do. I did it because I had this kind of addiction going and figured, ‘Why not put a goal towards it?’ So that’s what it became. … I knew that if I wanted to set a finish line, it had to be bodybuilding. When I got there, I learned so much about myself. I learned about my body and my resilience.” – Lita Lewis
Once she completed her time in the world of competitive bodybuilding, Lita realized she needed to take a spiritual journey to find out the true meaning of being healthy. Her new journey of self-exploration would open her eyes to a better view of herself and how she should approach her health.
During her journey, Lita traveled and read to find meaning outside of society’s definition of physically fit. After searching, she came to the point where she realized she needed to stop fighting to become happy with her reflection.
“It came to a point where I literally stopped fighting what I saw in the mirror and I just said, ‘This is who I am, and I should be proud of my training and proud of what I am putting through my body.’ Most importantly, what I was telling myself became important. I started to practice everything that I was feeding and pouring into myself.” – Lita Lewis
I am so impressed by Lita’s ability to take a step back and journey towards self-discovery. Taking the time to make herself more aware of who she was internally made it possible for Lita to appreciate who she saw when looking into the mirror.
When I first met Lita on a fitness retreat, we connected instantly. When we sat down and talked about the holistic aspect of fitness and being self-aware, I felt a sister-like connection with her. I am beyond thrilled to finally have her on the Get Loved Up podcast to share her wisdom with us.
Love Your Body and Redefine ‘Beauty’
I know that problems with body image plague many women today, myself included. It is so easy to let society’s negative image of the women who don’t fit into what has been deemed “ideal” or “beautiful” creep into our minds and make us doubt our self-worth. After struggling with it herself, Lita realized that the journey to peace comes from a place of self-love.
“I came to this idea that we need to stop focusing on wanting to be like the next person or wanting to be what someone is telling us is supposed to be the picture-perfect ideal of what a woman should look like. It’s really about ownership of self and finding peace in that.” – Lita Lewis
The mantra of loving yourself is Lita’s ultimate tool to success when becoming fit inside and out. When you move from a place of self-love, everything else starts to fall into place. You may not see it at first, but after taking small steps for a while, you can look back on how much you have accomplished.
Lita’s brand, Thick Athletics Apparel, was born from her freshly created views about body positivity after her time in competitive bodybuilding. Thick Athletics focuses on the fact that “being thick” is a great thing, and it can be a reflection of your strength physically and mentally.
“I began sharing [what I found about self-love] on social media and what it meant to me and began finding a community of women that were like, ‘Me too. Me too.’ That is how the whole idea of ‘Loving thigh self’ came about. [It is] just really owning who you are because loving yourself is the foundation of so many beautiful things in your life.” – Lita Lewis
I love the idea behind the phrase, “Love thigh self.” It is so important that we realize our shape does not define who we are. It doesn’t matter whether you are thick or thin. What matters is your mindset and who you are inside. Taking the time to look in the mirror and tell yourself, “I am strong.” makes it possible for you to become stronger physically, mentally, and spiritually.
Self-Reflection and Discovery
While talking with Lita, I was intrigued to find out more about how she went about creating a personal brand for herself. The advice she had for me transcended beyond branding and into self-discovery.
“I think first and foremost; people need to sit with themselves. A question I asked a lot is, ‘Who are you? Who are you outside of being someone’s daughter or someone’s wife?’ I think that gets difficult for some women to answer, which is okay because a lot of people label themselves. All these [labels] are always external. A lot of my own personal inner-work has been to sit with myself and be like, ‘Who am I?’ Now I have a very clear idea of what that is.” – Lita Lewis
By asking more profound questions like, “Who am I?” you become open to the opportunity of self-reflection. Taking the time to meditate on your character and find out what makes you important beyond your external labels allows for true self-discovery. Discovering more about yourself will enable you to grow into your best possible version.
It may seem weird at first to push your outer thoughts aside and focus on your inner thoughts, but self-reflection can produce life-changing transformations. Ultimately, this practice all stems from self-care. When trying to figure out how to make that move towards self-care, Lita says to do this:
“My answer to that is simple. Who I am is deeply connected to happiness. It is that simple. I don’t like to complicate things too much. Ask, ‘What makes you happy?’ Answering that question can help you get to the right answer for you, and it’s going to be different for all of us.” – Lita Lewis
Love, remember that your happiness stems from things that make you unique. It won’t be the same for a friend or family member — it comes from your personal experience. When you find out what makes you happy and invest your time and energy into those things, you will discover who you truly are.
Get Loved Up with Lita Lewis
Before I finished her interview, I had to ask Lita the question, “How do you get loved up?” I couldn’t let you go without sharing her response with you:
“I think I love myself in many ways. One of them I’m doing right now is to give my time and energy to things that I care about. I love connecting with people that I care about. I honor myself and give myself time to be patient and still. [That way] I can go out in the world and love others.” – Lita Lewis
This interview with Lita Lewis was inspiring, and I was blessed to have her on the show with me. We covered much more information than what I could cover in this post, so definitely check out the entire interview here to learn more about Lita’s personal life and how she trains others to be better spiritually and physically.
If you are interested in becoming stronger spiritually, mentally, and physically, check out Lita’s website. She has a ton of workout opportunities to help you become the best version of yourself. You can also connect with her on Instagram and Facebook.
It was such a treat to have Lita on the show with me. Her wisdom inspired me, and she is a blessing to the world around her. If this interview inspired you, let us know. Tag Lita, @followthelita, and me, @koyawebb, on Instagram with a screenshot of this episode and your most significant takeaways. We would love to hear what you learned.
Until next time, Love, keep yourself open to the opportunities for growth and self-care. I love you.
Show Notes
- Why health and wellness is more than what we see in the mirror (2:01)
- How body comparison feels for women (5:55)
- Lita’s advice for transitioning from body building to self-love (7:54)
- How Lita healed from a corporate job and heartbreak (11:55)
- What she is learning from her current relationship and becoming a bonus mom (14:14)
- Lita’s advice for becoming a successful personal trainer (21:01)
- Questions to ask yourself when creating a personal brand (22:43)
- How to define your spirituality (25:25)
- How Lita gets loved up (26:53)
- Lita’s thoughts on the women empowerment movement (30:40)
- What needs to change in the leadership of the wellness community (34:57)
Links mentioned in this episode
- Wayne Dyer
- Pre-order Koya’s new book Let Your Fears Make You Fierce
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