faith + female athletes
Did you know that women won the majority of Team USA’s medals in the Paris Olympics?
Yup! 57% of the 126 medals won this year were brought home by female athletes. This year’s Olympics was also the first to achieve gender equality, coming in with 50% female and 50% male athletes across the globe.
Here are some awesome 2024 female athletes to celebrate!
Cindy Ngamba, the Cameroonian boxing champion who won the first medal for the Refugee Olympic Team (bronze in women’s 75kg boxing)
Simone Biles, who won 3 gold medals and 1 silver medal after taking two years off competing to focus on her mental health
Katie Ledecky, who has appeared in 4 consecutive Olympic games, this year setting the record for the 1500m freestyle. Oh, and she’ll be back in 2028!
Recognizing the achievements and legacy of female athletes has huge effects on young women. When we share stories of strong, dedicated women who break glass ceilings, we create a generation of girls who do the same.
High school girls who play sports are less likely to be involved in an unintended pregnancy, more likely to get better grades in school, and more likely to graduate than girls who do not play sports.
As little as four hours of exercise a week may reduce a teenage girl’s risk of breast cancer by up to 60%.
Girls and women who play sports have higher levels of confidence and self-esteem and lower levels of depression.
In 1900, Paris hosted the Olympics for the first time… That was also the first year that women were allowed to compete. 124 years later in Paris, we finally see gender equality in the games and a genuine respect for women doing amazing things, which sets the stage to empower young female athletes everywhere. Go run like a girl!
“Discipline is choosing between what you want now and what you want most.” -Abraham Lincoln
This is a hard pill to swallow- that we can only make our dreams come true by making them come true! Our daily habits and routines compound on themselves to create our reality, and we are fully in charge of what that looks like.
When we set big-picture goals for ourselves, it becomes easy to trade in the “later” for the “now.” Big things don’t happen overnight, and it gets discouraging when we don’t see the fruits of our labor… so we slack off.
Discipline is an act of faith; even when we don’t know if we’ll succeed, we try anyway. We still put our goals first, we still keep our dreams in sight, and we still trust that the work will not go to waste.
This week, think about what you want most, and put that above what you want now. Act on faith, and see what happens!
[Hey, I’m lydia - a year ago, I founded hungry hippie wellness to provide a lasting weight loss solution. I am a weight loss nutrition coach and a personal trainer who emphasizes the holistic nature of wellness- you are only as successful as your mindset! If you’re looking for a partner on your fitness journey, I pride myself on being an affordable, online trainer.
This is my newsletter, the monday message, and it goes out (you guessed it!) every monday. It’s a space for me to share knowledge and encouragement with my community. Also, it’s a great example of my coaching philosophy… If you want all this good stuff directly in your inbox, hit the link to sign up below! Welcome to the hungry hippie family. i am so happy you’re here]
