“How I Feel Matters”
Meet Liz Eldridge. She’s a 30-year-old writer, musician, actor, stand-up comic, social media manager, and teacher. She lives in Los Angeles with her boyfriend, two cats, and two dogs. She’s learning to make working out a part of her everyday life, even with a busy, ever-changing schedule. She’s doing it for herself so she can feel her best.
We talk more with Liz about her life plus:
- How life is complicated and it’s okay when things don’t meet your ideal outcome.
- Why it’s important to healthy choices for yourself, not someone else.
- What it’s like to fit healthy habits into an unpredictable schedule.
Liz was interviewed by her friend and DTGS Founder, Elizabeth “Lizzy” Villa. Let’s get started!
#1— Life is complicated so it’s okay when things don’t meet your expectations.
E: This is one of my favorite questions. What’s something you learned recently?
L: This year has been a rough one, but also the best one — hey, life is complicated. But I think I’ve learned that most times, you have to believe people when they show you who they are, even when YOU are that person.
At the same time, I’m trying to live in a way that I can respect, putting my energy and attention toward what I really care about, and just leaving the rest behind. Easier said than done on both counts.
E: Are there any labels you’ve pursued, found, or shed during your life?
L: I lost 80 lbs in my early 20s and people were SOOOO proud of me, which actually really weirded me out. I was too thin for a little while because I was becoming a bit obsessive about food, and other people just LOVED it.
I know many people who’ve struggled with eating disorders, and I don’t want to belittle how enormous that struggle is and can be, but in my case I just got a lot positive reinforcement for being thinner and took it a bit too far.
I’m lucky, I had a support system that caught me before things got at all serious, and I evened out to a healthy weight for me and felt really good. I wish now that people had been proud of me for pulling myself out of a deep depression instead of losing (then gaining) weight.
#2— Making healthy choices for your own life, not for anyone else.
E: It’s January of a New Year, so what are your thoughts on resolutions?
L: Resolutions stress me out. For me, these kinds of promises to make BIG CHANGES can feel sort of empty. Resolutions feel like a homework assignment. Like, who am I reporting to?! I just want to keep carving out space for myself. The more I do that for myself, the better I get at doing it, and the better I feel about myself and “in” my own body.
E: I love that! You’ve talk about this a little already, but what’s your motivation or as we say your “why”?
L: When I work out regularly, I feel better. I just do. And not only in my body- in my head as well. I have to remind myself that how I FEEL matters and is actually important, and then I somehow find the time to work out. Forcing myself to see my physical health as a priority is not easy! I’m sure other people have opinions about my body — dudes like to tell me them on the street all the time, how very charming — but I’m so SO over doing this for anybody except for me.
This year I gained 20 pounds. Honestly, it snuck up on me and I don’t feel awesome about it. There are reasons it happened: I was busy, I was dealing with a lot emotionally, and, yeah, I’m 30 now and my metabolism is slower. I understand why it happened. I also know taking time for myself, taking better care of myself will make me feel better. Depression and anxiety are really tricky, though! They can be seductive, in their weird way, and make you avoid what you know will help.
At the same time, when it comes to the weight gain, I also…don’t care as much as I know a lot of folks think I should? I care way less than I used to. I care now about being strong and healthy and I care a lot less about a number on a scale than I used to. Focusing on the weight part of all that seems kind of silly and really ineffective for me.
#3— Fitting healthy habits into an unpredictable schedule.
Elizabeth: I get to see you a little bit throughout the week and talk to you a lot on Slack, but I have to know… What does a day in your life actually look like?
Liz: It varies a lot! I probably wake up around 6:30 and start working right away — checking in on the various accounts I manage, responding to e-mails, digging for sourced content. I try to take my dogs for a run by the LA River a little after 8 on most mornings — I also try to take a break from looking at my phone and working while I do this, but I rarely do, if I’m being honest. From 9–2 I’m usually writing for one of my jobs. Lunch happens…somewhere in there, usually while I’m doing something else. In the afternoons I might have a workshop to teach or an audition to go to, or I try to meet with one of my writing partners or practice an instrument. Or I do more work!
So much of what I do is deadline based, so it changes week to week. In the evenings I’ll try to go to a class — there are a couple yoga studios and barre classes in the neighborhood I like, though I sometimes have a hard time getting there instead of getting on my couch to watch Law & Order. Then many nights a week it’s an open mic, or seeing a band play, or dinner with friends. I spend a lot of my days alone, and it’s important to me as something of an extrovert to have time around other people.
E: Yes to Law & Order! I’m obsessed. Now, switching gears. How do you feel about health and fitness in general?
L: When I’m not active, I don’t feel connected to my body, and that can lead to feeling really bummed out about myself. I really like taking long hikes and yoga and barre classes, but I just do not have time for that some weeks. Getting into HIIT has been cool — I really can find space for a workout, even if I don’t have an extra 2 hours in my day. If I have 20 minutes, that can be enough. I just have to do it, and sometimes even that isn’t easy.
E: Quick! Are you more of a Scheduler or Spontaneous?
L: I’m spontaneous because I get bored really quickly with a schedule. Spontaneous isn’t working out very well for me, though, so I’m working on being more disciplined about scheduling time for my health.
In the past I’ve gotten really into one studio or class and then burnt out on it, so I’m trying to mix it up a bit more with ClassPass.
E: People Pleaser or Self-Driven?
L: A little of both? Mostly Self-Driven. It’s almost impossible to get me to do anything if I don’t really want to, I’m pretty stubborn. But I like classes because I am very motivated by trying to get the teacher to praise me — I work a lot harder than I do on my own or with a friend. That’s super embarrassing but it’s totally true! I’m like Lisa.
BONUS — Fave Workouts, Inspiring Mom, & Self-Talk
E: Do you have any favorite workouts or activities right now?
There’s a class at Namaste Yoga (SCULPT) in Highland Park that kind of combines yoga with Crossfit/HIIT — I love it. It’s fun and silly and there’s no time to feel self-conscious.
E: Who is an influential person in your life?
L: I really admire my mom. She started a successful business while being an awesome single mom — she always breaks all the rules and has been such an inspiration.
E: What self-talk have you developed to help you on this journey?
L: I definitely Smalley myself. My anxiety can be a really cruel voice in my head, and I have to stop myself and say nice things to myself out loud. Yes, OUT LOUD. No cheating. It’s a little goofy, but it works.
That’s it for this for now… You can keep in touch with Liz by following her @nolizzie. If you like this story make sure to recommend it. If you have thoughts or questions, add them in the comments below.
