On Vulnerability And How It’s Changed My Life (+ Bloodys and Bouldering Event Recap!)
Published 3/19/2018 • Updated 12/30/2021
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Vulnerability is a beautiful thing that allows you to live your best life possible. We recently hosted an event with Lorissa’s Kitchen called Bloodys and Bouldering, where it brought our community together to step outside of their comfort zone and get vulnerable!
Lorissa’s Kitchen has been a Fit Foodie Finds partner for almost 3 years now. We value them as a partner because we share a similar outlook –> living a balanced and healthy lifestyle. I love that Lorissa’s Kitchen cares about how their animals are treated and that they partner with farmers for the best quality meat possible. For example, Lorissa’s Kitchen uses 100% grass-fed beef (woo!) where the cattle are raised responsibly and without any antibiotics. And, the best part is, it tastes SO GOOD.
Over the years, we’ve partnered with Lorissa’s Kitchen to bring you guys some amazing workouts and have incorporated their premium protein snacks into our holiday charcuterie boards and into pre-and-post workout snacks. Though I have loved every project we’ve worked on with Lorissa’s Kitchen, our Bloodys and Bouldering event we hosted with them this month has been my absolute favorite.
Our Favorite Lorissa’s Kitchen Posts
- Ultimate Killer Cardio Strength Workout + Our Favorite High Protein Snack
- Low Impact Strength Workout
- The Ultimate Holiday Charcuterie Board
- What I Eat Pre-and-Post Workout!
I’ve put together a recap of our whole event for those of you that weren’t able to make it. Yes, it was a blast! Now, let’s relive the day! PS: if you keep scrolling, you can read more of my thoughts on being vulnerable and how it’s helped shape my life today!
Bloodys and Bouldering came about because we wanted to create an event that brought our people together to do something DIFFERENT. Sometimes when we are vulnerable, we discover things about ourselves that we may have never known. We wanted to do exactly that. We wanted our community to get vulnerable to prove to themselves that being vulnerable only makes us stronger. Let me explain. 5 months ago, I was mortified to go bouldering because I had never done it before. Linley asked me about 10 times to climb with her before I agreed and I’m so glad I did because now I’m addicted. It’s now one of my favorite after work activities and I love how much it challenges me to get outside my comfort zone. The more I climbed and posted about it on Instagram, the more questions I got about bouldering in general. So many FFF Instagram friends had never bouldered because of the intimidation factor (which, for the record, I totally understand). So, it was a no-brainer to get our people together at our favorite bouldering gym.
We hosted Bloodys and Bouldering at the Minneapolis Bouldering Project. I started bouldering in November when I heard about MBP through Linley. MBP is a bouldering gym, yoga studio, fitness studio, and coworking space all in one located in the North Loop of Minneapolis, MN. However, our favorite part of MBP is the community it creates. There is NO judgment and the staff is amazing!
Itinerary
We started the event with the with a short climbing 101 class session led by some of MBP‘s most amazing instructors. This allowed people to slowly come out of their comfort zones by learning how to climb safely. Then, there was about an hour free climb. There were people at this event of all climbing levels. Some experts and some newbies. I was just happy people were trying something new and having fun at the same time! Post-climb, everyone headed to the co-working space where the Bloodys part of the event took place.
It wouldn’t be a Fit Foodie event without delicious food + drinks! We had charcuterie boards full of Lorissa’s Kitchen, cheese, fruit, nuts, and lots of chocolate! We had Glam Doll donuts that spelled out Bloodys + Bouldering for those with a sweet tooth at the event because who doesn’t love a good donut? The main attraction of the event was of course, the Bloody Mary Bar. We had thisFem pint glass stocked full of Lorissa’s Kitchen 100% grass-fed beef sticks, cheese skewers, celery, and organic Bloody Mary Mix! People had the option to go with or without liquor and we had a mighty fine time. There wasn’t a drip of Bloody Mary mix left after the event #winning. The new 100% grass-fed beef sticks from Lorissa’s Kitchen come in Original, Smokey Sweet and Jalapeno and are available on Amazon and at select convenience stores.
Swag Bags
We had AH-mazing swag bags for this event with some of our most favorite Minnesota brands. Obviously, we stocked our swag bags with lots of Lorissa’s Kitchen (which is also a MN brand..woo!), but we added all of our favorite things. The first 40 lucky people were able to bring home a bag full of goodies!
- Lorissa’s Kitchen
- Bizzy Coffee Shots
- Momentum Motivate Wraps
- Wholeme clusters
- Whole Foods gift card
- Minneapolis Bouldering Project Day Pass
We also had a few giveaways including a Lorissa’s Kitchen prize pack, massage from our friends at Well Adjusted, and a free month of bouldering at MBP. It was an amazing day and we had over 60 people show up.
On Vulnerability And Why It’s Changed My Life
Way back in 2012, I wrote a post about vulnerability. I was a senior at the University of Minnesota, in a new relationship, and recovering from an eating disorder (that I didn’t accept as an eating disorder). This was the first time I had ever thought about what the word vulnerability really meant and how it applied to my life and all life in general.
Here’s a little passage from that post in 2012:
“However, she (referring to the Ted Talk: Power of Vulnerability, by Brene Brown) describes vulnerability as the way of life. Everyone is vulnerable. Risk taking is vulnerable. Relationship is vulnerable. Letting yourself be wanted and loved is vulnerable. You need vulnerability in order to live.”
I wanted to bring up the notion of vulnerability again today (6 years later) because, since then, it has really helped shape my life in all aspects. Vulnerability helped me get my first job out of school and then a short year and a half later, quit that job to run Fit Foodie Finds full-time. Vulnerability helped me recognize that I had a horrible relationship with food and fitness and to actually do something about this mental illness. Vulnerability allowed me to understand I was in an unhealthy relationship and that I was worth more than having a boyfriend. This list really goes on and on, but the point I’m trying to make is…
When you are vulnerable, you allow the best things in life to happen.
And, in my opinion, you need this vulnerability in order to live your best life. This all sounds kind of philosophical, but if you think about it in simpler terms, you will understand where I’m coming from. For example, if I would never have gotten vulnerable and went to an eating disorder support group and started on an antidepressant, I would likely still be suffering from eating and exercise obsession. If I would never have gotten vulnerable and quit my full-time job, Fit Foodie Finds likely wouldn’t be here today. If I would never have gotten vulnerable and broken up with my ex-boyfriend, I wouldn’t currently be in a relationship with the love of my life. You see? Taking big risks and getting outside your comfort zone might scare you shitless, but it’s what makes life the good life.
So? Why are we talking about vulnerability and Bloodys and Bouldering in the same post? Because, for me, bouldering was something I had never done and I had to get vulnerable in order to fall in love with this new form of exercise that I now do multiple times per week.
Thanks for reading! This post is sponsored by Lorissa’s Kitchen. I was compensated and all opinions are my own.
This is a very meaningful post for me. Thank you.
The Psychology Behind The Dreams
I watch the vulnerability Ted Talks video over and over again to help myself remember that allowing yourself to sense and acknowledge your fears and emotions in their strongest and purest form is healthy and NECESSARY. I really disregarded a lot of pain that I experienced just a few months ago and am in the process of finding positive outlets to channel my negative energy into something productive. Seeing friends and my boyfriend helps immensely, but writing and being alone with my thoughts also do wonders. Thank you so much for sharing how important it is to be vulnerable. It really heals more than you think!
Such perfect timing for this post! I was struggling last week in my relationship…things just kind of felt off between my boyfriend and I. I went to church yesterday and the message was all about not being afraid of love, breaking down walls, and being vulnerable. I realized as I listened to the priest, that I was in love, but terrified of being vulnerable- I was putting up walls. I saw my boyfriend last night and told him I loved him- it feels so much better to take that risk than to hide behind walls of fear!
This post though. I am SO GLAD you got vulnerable. Love is such a wonderful feeling and allowing yourself to do that isn’t easy sometimes <3
I love this so much, Lee. This is actually so relatable to me right now, as I just returned from my last retreat of the year (I led a freshman retreat in my college in the Shenandoah valley all about reflection and self-care), and it just showed me how much I’ve grown over this past year, and how my vulnerability has allowed me to make connections and get opportunities I never would have otherwise had.
I would love to go on a retreat like that <3
Rock wall climbing. I need to try that!
Brene Brown’s Ted Talk in Vulnerability is the best. I listen to it at least 2 times a year! Great post Lee. Wish I lived closer to take part in your fun events!
It is SOOOOO good. <3 Brene Brown.