Sophrosyne (σωφροσύνη) – noun

Merriam-Webster: “Temperance, self-control, prudence”

Wikipedia: “An ancient Greek concept of an ideal of excellence of character and soundness of mind, which when combined in one well-balanced individual leads to other qualities, such as temperance, moderation, prudence, purity, and self-control.”

To me, sophrosyne is something we all want but few of us have the discipline to achieve.

YES… this is another fitness blog, written by another dreamer. My purpose here is to try things, write reviews, debunk common myths and overall try to help women in their journey to a healthier lifestyle (to achieve sophrosyne.) Every single woman on the planet has scrutinized their body in comparison to another woman’s body at least once in their lives, including me. This girl-on-girl hate has spread viciously throughout the world and I’m hoping that this blog, my perspective, and hope touches at least a small percentage of you.

Personally, my journey started in college on a rainy afternoon with a bad break-up, a failed final and a jar of Nutella. Since then, I’ve tried a lot of diets and fitness routines. None of which allow me to eat an entire jar of Nutella in one sitting, but my view of my body and comfort in my own skin had grown exponentially.

I would like to start off this introduction with a disclaimer:

I am not a fitness expert and I am not perfect.

I am, however, an aspiring expert on efficiency. I have a degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering and currently am a Lean Engineer for one of the many tech companies in Silicon Valley. For those of you who have no idea what that is, a Lean Engineer identifies and minimizes waste in processes and essentially strives for 100% efficiency in those processes (this is one of the many reasons that sophrosyne is an ideal that I highly regard.) Fortunately, my job has become more of a lifestyle and the way I’ve been trained to think allows me to view fitness programs and nutrition in a very methodological way. I scientifically research health and fitness routines and I like to make the most of the 30 minutes to an hour that I get in the gym. I also meal prep and try to make my life during the week as simple as possible.

Efficiency, efficiency, efficiency!

Unfortunately, my full-time engineering job means that I work – A LOT. And as a working woman, I have very limited time during the day to think about my health and fitness. Aside from having a smartwatch that tells me to stand up once an hour or an app that guides me through my workouts, I’m working with the same limited materials as many of you! I constantly struggle with motivation, emotional eating, laziness, procrastination, etc. So, as a way to keep myself accountable, I’m going to track my weight and BMI every four weeks right here (below). I will also post progress pictures and reviews of any programs that I try. Together, we will figure out which programs work and why!

Another disclaimer:

What works or does not work for me may or may not necessarily work for you!

It’s clear that diet and exercise works for everyone, but many people have bodies that react better to a high-fat diet or a high protein diet, etc. Please keep that in mind during our experiment.

Thank you for your support!

Warmly,

Francesca Nicole