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How are we doing? What’s been working? What has not? What are we doing to take care of ourselves and our needs?

In today’s blog I want to talk about self check-ins. How are we doing? What’s been working? What has not? What are we doing to take care of ourselves and our needs?

I’m Mia The Diva, Founder and Creator of the flybyjuly campaign. It’s a 12-week online body confidence, health, and fitness challenge.

I am here documenting my journey as I “Get it together” in midlife. I aim to lower my A1C through nutrition and lifestyle. Follow @flybyjuly on most socials or fly along and subscribe here on the blog for weekly updates!

(Disclaimer) First and foremost, I am not a medical professional. Any information I share is based on my personal experience for educational purposes. I will not accept responsibility for the actions taken by any reader/viewer of this content. I am also not responsible for any consequential results of those actions. Please consult a physician or qualified health professional about your health, weight management or any opinions expressed here.  

Let’s get Fly by July Divas!!!!

Hey Divas! ✨

Hello and welcoming Flying back into Fall! It’s officially Fall Ya’ll! Our Season in which we thrive here at FBJ! As promised, I will stand by my commitment to blog here weekly now that we are officially in Autumn. We’ve got places to go, people to see and things to do this Fall Season!

The next couple of weeks are going to be hectic lots going on and of course I will keep my divas looped in as things unfold. So here we are it’s Fall and although summer has come to an end it’s officially time to lock in and close out the year strong to set ourselves up for a successful 2026!

We are officially in the last 3 months well, almost two months of the year. I cannot even believe we are mouthing 2026 but we are here. We are here!

The most common cause that alot of us say that cause us to gain weight or find it difficult to manage it is our Emotional Eating.

I’ve always been a big girl during my entire adult hood. It started after High School, when I was younger a child I was ” skinny ” and was picky about what I ate and like most kids did not like vegetables, water, you know the things that sustain life.

As I got older, went through puberty, life happened, the good and bad. I didn’t use food as an emotional crutch. I wasn’t eating into oblivion. So that’s what I told myself to make it ” Ok. ” However, I did not make the most nutritious choices. I made my choices based off of convenience.

I had alot of shame around it because as I got older the weight just continued to pack on. I was confused because what I was eating did not, in my mind, justify the size of my changing body.

I lost my mother shortly after turning 25. I gained “grief weight.” About two years later, I got involved in my first “real” long-term relationship. I gained “relationship weight” during this time. I was in a pivotal point in my life and did not truly grieve her death until many years later.

Unprocessed grief and the excitement of a new relationship manifested in keeping busy. It also appeared in distractions, eating comfort food, and not showing up for myself or my relationship in ways I desired.

Over the years, any upset that I had in my life led me to use food as a reward. Whether it was issues at work, relationships, family, or grief, I used food as comfort and a companion.

Food in my opinion really is not the problem we need it to sustain our lives. It’s more about our relationship with food. It’s about tracking how often we are eating be it too much or not enough.

I’ve learned over the years that unhealthy eating and not getting in enough movement not only leads to weight gain but can also lead to self loathing and going into a downward spiral of anxiety that is really hard to get out of on our own. Not a good look for a diva!

It wasn’t until now that I am getting older and being grown in general doing the adult things, having doctor appointments, and navigating health scares. I realize that I do not want to grow old in pain and not being able to take care of myself.

I want to have quality of life and be capable of keeping my independence as long as possible. It really is not about the cute outfits anymore or even being desired to a great extent. I honestly just want to enjoy my life and be healthy anything else extra or if a balcony is involved 😜 is a blessing and a bonus!

I have lived enough life to know that there will never be a stress free time in life. To be honest, as long as we are here, life will continue to life and that’s a good thing. What challenges us ultimately grows us and makes for a better life experience, because when ish hits the fan as we grow we just get better and better at navigating life’s curve balls.

The important thing is to identify emotional triggers is to do a self check in. I’ve been doing this for about two years now and has been a game changer in managing my emotions.

I’m not perfect I will still have a good crash out session here and there but I no longer spiral and stay there. I have my moment or moments as they come and honor how I am feeling. I tell myself that my now is not my forever.

Facing our fears and staring at it dead in the face is the most empowering thing I have been able to do. It’s scary and uncomfortable. Journaling by far has been a game changer for me.

When life gets to be a bit more demanding and overwhelming, I journal more often. Once I started treating it as a personal meeting with myself, it became something that I look forward to each week.

It helps me get out of my head and clear my emotional bandwidth. For me, I’m old school, so it’s a real pen to real paper. Something about writing it down in real life adds the physical element of processing my emotions.

Self Check-In Check List

I’ve put together a self check in check list that can be used as often as you like or you need to check in with yourself dear diva.

How am I feeling?

What am I going to do about it?

Why do I feel this way?

How do I want to feel?

Asking myself these questions have helped me stay grounded and understand myself better and what I am feeling so that I can lean into how I want to feel.

We’re in the last 2 months of the year divas, let’s Lock-In and start wrapping up 2025!

You can subscribe here at the blog, our Hub. Get the latest Team FBJ news before it hits the streets! I will share my weekly goals & check-in with you here on Sundays and Wednesdays.

I will also share updates and lifestyle content on the fly throughout the week. This will all happen as I get back into the swing of things. As I get it together, I will gradually get back into these socials.

I’ll be well, sociable. 

If this is your vibe, click & subscribe!

Be Healthy Be Fabulous Be You!

Mia The Diva