{"id":2699,"date":"2025-11-12T15:08:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T16:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/?p=2699"},"modified":"2025-11-14T14:57:29","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T14:57:29","slug":"my-it-girl-tumbler-blender-is-my-emotional-support-object","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/index.php\/2025\/11\/12\/my-it-girl-tumbler-blender-is-my-emotional-support-object\/","title":{"rendered":"My It-Girl Tumbler Blender Is My Emotional Support Object"},"content":{"rendered":"

Refinery29 is proud to partner with SharkNinja<\/a>, purveyor of high-quality products and appliances designed to make your life easier \u2014 like the Ninja BlendBOSS\u2122<\/a>, a powerful tumbler blender for when you\u2019re on the go. One fan of the Ninja BlendBOSS\u2122 is Samantha Feher<\/a>, a 28-year-old New York City-based podcaster, entrepreneur, and content creator. Here, in this personal essay, as told to Andrea Cheng, she opens up and gets vulnerable about her wellness journey, her new approach to health and fitness, and how the Ninja BlendBOSS\u2122 seamlessly fits into her everyday routine.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Two years ago, I was in a pretty bad place. I cried, like, every day. Not that you\u2019d know it \u2014 I appeared on millions of Americans\u2019 TV screens every Monday night with a smile plastered on my face, reminding everyone that summer should be fun. I was thrust into the national spotlight after being cast in a reality show. There, I met (and started dating) a man who was just\u2026not very nice to me. But sometimes really<\/em> nice. And then really not<\/em> nice again. I think the kids call it a \u201ctoxic relationship.\u201d So I was navigating that, which left me in a spiral of insecurity and depression and anxiety, and simultaneously dealing with snarky commentary from the millions of people watching it play out.<\/p>\n

I felt like I was under a magnifying glass, with everyone on earth seeing the worst parts of my life up close. All I could think about was how I was perceived, so I started living my life according to what I thought these people thought of me. In short, I was living two lives: one of red carpets and toothy grins, which mostly felt disingenuous \u2014 and one that was more honest, but totally miserable. It was only when my relationship ended that I realized how much of a toll it had taken on me, both physically and mentally. There wasn\u2019t anything wrong with me<\/em>, I realized \u2014 there was something wrong with\u2026well, that<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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So I decided to embark on a healing journey (insert sparkle emojis here). In November 2023, I overhauled my life, determined to \u201cdo the work.\u201d Signs of trauma had already shown up in my body: I was inflamed, I was bloated, and my skin was breaking out. I researched anti-inflammatory nutrition and changed my workout routine accordingly. I took care of my inner self: I went to therapy, I journaled, I unpacked some hard stuff, I took breaks from social media, I spent quality time with friends and family.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Throughout this two-year journey, I learned to prioritize my mental and physical health. But the biggest takeaway was learning about health in a whole new light \u2014 one that\u2019s not entirely accessible nor intuitive. There\u2019s a dearth of health information written by women, for women, and about women. For example: the importance of lifting weights. I\u2019m on a body recomposition journey (sounds intimidating, I know, but hear me out) that\u2019s basically an effort to eat more protein, carbohydrates, and fats. All it really means is that I\u2019m trying to gain muscle, because skeletal muscle mass is directly correlated to how long we live. Simply put: I want to be strong. I want to build muscle so that I can live longer, so that I can pick things up, so that I don\u2019t get injured when I work out. So that even if my heart gets broken, my mind and body remain in one piece.<\/p>\n

And to be completely honest, I can\u2019t do it without my Ninja BlendBOSS\u2122<\/a>. I\u2019ve always been a smoothie girly, but my protein shakes have become an integral part of my daily routine, especially once I discovered that I needed to drastically up my protein intake. Now I can hardly make it out the door without my stomach growling if I don\u2019t start my morning by blending up a protein shake (mine tastes like dessert, I swear), and I can\u2019t recover afterwards without my 100 ounces of water, powdered supplements, or my homemade electrolyte concoction.<\/p>\n

The Ninja BlendBOSS\u2122 is kind of like an everything-in-one product \u2014 it\u2019s a blender, a tumbler, a bottle, conveniently housed in an easy-to-use (and super chic) vessel. It\u2019s for the busy mom on the go, for the hydration queen whose emotional support object is her water bottle (me), for the fitness It girl who doesn\u2019t like stray from her routine (also me).\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve never fueled with a goal in mind, it\u2019s hard to even understand what kind of a lifesaver this is. I always do a big existential sigh when women say they avoid lifting weights because they\u2019re \u201cafraid of getting bulky.\u201d If only they knew how much food they\u2019d have to eat to achieve such a thing. Since I\u2019m trying to hit 125g of protein, 225g of carbs, and 50g of fat, adding protein powder, peanut butter, bananas, and Greek yogurt into a shake allows me to consume at least<\/em> 30g of protein before I\u2019m even out the door in the morning. Thanks to the Ninja BlendBOSS\u2122, I\u2019m hitting my numbers in a way that\u2019s healthy and<\/em> enjoyable. <\/p>\n

For almost all my life, the driving force when it came to my physical appearance was to look a certain way for other people, to fit what I thought was the beauty standard\u2026which, to be blunt, was skinny. As a kid, with my blonde hair and blue eyes, I grew up hearing that I looked like a doll, and I spent my whole life feeling like I was supposed to look the part. That meant being a size double zero, having visible abs, and making sure my hair, makeup, and nails were always done.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I should mention that I was a ballerina growing up, with the plan to go pro (I lost out to a career-ending injury at 16). Anyone who\u2019s ever done ballet will know that many studios are breeding grounds for body image issues. Clad in light pink leotards and tights, dancers almost invariably hear \u201cI can see your lunch,\u201d (as in\u2026they can see your stomach) more times than they hear \u201cgreat work\u201d before the age of 13.<\/p>\n

Historically, women are trained to think that getting in shape means losing weight \u2014 and losing weight means more cardio and less food. For so long, that was my<\/em> mindset, too. I used to frequent HIIT classes, which are optimized for higher heart rates and dropping pounds. But two of my trainers over the years \u2014 Taylor Rae Roman and Madison Feeney \u2014 both of whom I now consider friends, reshaped my thinking. Through them, I learned to prioritize strong over skinny.<\/p>\n

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I\u2019ll confess: When I first set out to build muscle, I was terrified. As a dancer, creator, and public figure, I\u2019ve always been hyper-aware of what my body looked and felt like. I thought: What if I look in the mirror and don\u2019t recognize myself? <\/em>I already know that there will be times I pick myself apart \u2014 pinching parts of me, second-guessing, and worrying what other people think. Those are habits you don\u2019t unlearn in a day.<\/p>\n

But the motivation to do this is for myself \u2014 not for other people. And it\u2019s not easy, but if I\u2019ve learned anything on this journey, it\u2019s that everything<\/em> worth doing is hard. Already, I\u2019m seeing a difference. Just this morning, I noticed that my body looked a little bigger. But I also noticed something more important, more exciting: the voice inside my head that shouted out my wins drowned out the voice that whispered my fears. I picked up a 45-pound weight instead of a 40-pound one. I climbed the five flights of stairs to my apartment without feeling out of breath. I felt hungry for every meal, because, finally, I\u2019m supporting my body with nutrients in a way that actually makes my metabolism go faster. It all feels so rewarding and encouraging, because it\u2019s how your body is supposed<\/em> to operate. To the untrained eye, these changes are too subtle to notice, but they\u2019re a big deal to me.<\/p>\n

You know the saying, \u201cYou have to love yourself before someone else can love you\u201d? I really used to think it was BS. But I must say: I\u2019m not sure it\u2019s a coincidence that the first time I started to love myself \u2014 six-ish months into my healing journey \u2014 is also when my boyfriend and I started dating. And I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a coincidence that this is the healthiest, happiest relationship I\u2019ve ever known. Every single thing that\u2019s good in your life comes from loving yourself. If you take care of yourself, you can feel strong, powerful. Beautiful. Lovable.<\/p>\n

Anyway, if you\u2019ve made it this far, you must be wondering where I\u2019ve ended up. To answer your question: I\u2019m still in it. Because despite society convincing us that there\u2019s a \u201cbefore\u201d and \u201cafter\u201d for every journey, the truth is: It\u2019s never really over. But I have settled on my destination. After all this soul searching, this healing, I feel like it\u2019s my duty to share this message with other women who are going through the same things. I know how many of them are 30 minutes into their excruciating spin classes, thinking, If I\u2019m just one inch smaller, maybe someone will love me<\/em>. I\u2019ve been there. I know what it\u2019s like to outsource your identity and self-respect to the opinions of others. It sucks. So if I can help even one person change that mindset, or even pursue a goal of being stronger and healthier for themselves<\/em>, and no one else\u2026then I\u2019d go through all the pain again, so we could find ourselves here, together, now. It would all be worth it.<\/p>\n

Follow Sam on Instagram (@samanthafeher<\/a>) or listen to her podcast (CAPS LOCK, @lifeincapslock<\/a>) to learn more about her healing journey.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Refinery29 is proud to partner with SharkNinja, purveyor of high-quality products and appliances designed to make your life easier \u2014 like the Ninja BlendBOSS\u2122, a powerful tumbler blender for when you\u2019re on the go. One fan of the Ninja BlendBOSS\u2122 is Samantha Feher, a 28-year-old New York City-based podcaster, entrepreneur, and content creator. Here, in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2701,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ecotech"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2699"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2699\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2704,"href":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2699\/revisions\/2704"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.cncurc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}