Create With Me:
Meet Joanne Encarnacion of Go Fit Jo

More About Joanne Encarnacion of @GoFitJo

Jo founded her brand, GoFitJo, as a women’s health and lifestyle coach who has dared to lead hundreds of women down a path of radical self-acceptance. Her dedication to this mission has garnered recognition by Arianna Huffington as one of the Top 20 Health + Wellness role models. She has also partnered with some of the most prestigious brands in the world, such as Nike, Adidas, and Puma. Additionally, she has been interviewed and featured in countless publications such as Refinery 29, Glamour Magazine, Teen Vogue, and many more.

Being Real on Social Media

It’s one thing to have an expertly-crafted presence on social media, filled with plandids and #sponsorships. It’s a whole other thing to achieve that by talking openly about deeply personal issues that most people would much rather keep to themselves. Joanne Encarnacion has managed to do just that. For years, she’s been committed to sharing things about her love life, motherhood, mental health, and so much more, and all you need to do is look at her comments to realize how much it means to her fans.

If you don’t already follow @GoFitJo, we’ve collected a couple of her posts from Instagram that exemplify what it means to keep it real on social media. We hope it’ll give you some inspiration to embrace your true self, just like Jo does!

View this post on Instagram

I'm counting the days till I'm off to Hawaii next month and I'm SOO freaking excited. Hawaii is a special place for me. Before my weight loss journey started 6 years ago I remember seeing a group of beautiful Hawaiian women on the beaches of Hawaii enjoying life despite their loose skin and stretch marks. I remember wanting to feel the freedom they exuberated. I wanted to embody that same feeling too. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ When my fitness journey started 6 years ago I got caught up with chasing timelines and goals to look a certain way for my vacations. There was a period during my fitness journey where I would diet down or try to work out more to prep for a trip or some sort of occasion or holiday just so I could consume all the things with less guilt because I had "done the work ahead of time". I would bust out the food scale, turn up the need for fasted cardio, and grind away just to make sure that I looked a certain way that I thought was acceptable. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Today, I'm embracing the belief that I AM ACCEPTABLE no matter what! This doesn’t mean I’m completely abandoning healthy eating or exercise. It just means I’m abandoning the ideas that I have to “get bikini ready”. THIS BODY AND ALL BODIES were made for bikinis, made for Hawaii, and made to enjoy all the simple and greatest pleasures that life has to offer me and what I want to chase. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Reflecting back its funny how I had to go through the journey of ups and downs with my body weight and size just to get back to a place of loving myself in the here and now. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ So today be present with yourself, be grateful for the body that you have no matter what size, shape, or weight. Be grateful for life and all the surprises, twists, and turns that it will take you. Loving yourself is not a journey with a destination, it is the journey. #womaninprogress #hawaiicountdown #getmeonthebeach #iseeyouhawaii #feedmepokeandtellmeimbeautiful

A post shared by JO ENCARNACION || Life Coach (@gofitjo) on Oct 21, 2019 at 12:46pm PDT

All women are aware of stretch marks and many women have them. But are they willing to bare them on Instagram like Jo does? Here, she divulges the moment she realizes that stretch marks shouldn’t be keeping her from embracing her body and all its perfect imperfections. Her proclamation of self-acceptance is a steady theme throughout Jo’s social media accounts, and it means so much to the women who have had a hard time feeling beautiful in their own skin.

View this post on Instagram

“Few things promise us greater happiness than our relationships – yet few things more reliably deliver misery and frustration. Our error is to suppose that we are born knowing how to love and that managing a relationship might therefore be intuitive and easy.” – The School of Life #hellamarriedwtf Over the years we’ve witnessed our love go through its own evolution. Just like every journey it goes through its own set of ups and downs. We’ve had our share of disappointments, mini heart tears, exhilarating surprises, and adventures that we never imagined going on. One of the things I admire about our relationship is its resilience. It ain’t easy and it’s not something we had since day one. It’s a skilled we learned over time. We nurtured our resilience and because of that we have learned to grow into the individuals that we are today. Love is a skill to be learned, rather than a feeling to be felt. It’s a journey that takes you through the intricacies of communication and arguments, sex and forgiveness; an emotional rollercoaster you’re never prepared for. @longanisaburps you excite me and frustrate the shit out of me — both at the same time. I love that I can call you my partner in crime. poolside at @hotelnia #stayinspired

A post shared by JO ENCARNACION || Life Coach (@gofitjo) on Aug 24, 2019 at 6:19pm PDT

Instagram is flooded with lovey-dovey images of couples who can’t seem to get enough of each other — it’s enough to make any single person delete their account entirely. Jo takes a different approach to discussing her relationship with her husband, one that acknowledges the frustrations and struggles of marriage along with the happiness of it. She is steadfast is reminding her followers that love is a journey, not a destination, and that it’s totally okay to talk about the ups and down with your partner (just as long as you’re not calling them names!).

View this post on Instagram

#ONTHEBLOG || Today on the blog I’m sharing some behind the scenes photos of the @adidas FW19 campaign shoot that my girls and I were in. Head over to www.gofitjo.com/blog to see Day 1 on set with @adidaswomen. Day 2 goes live tomorrow. #createdwithadidas ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ TBH, I almost didn’t share these photos despite this being one of my proudest career moments as a wellness blogger/creator. Why?! Because of this little old narrative that started to play in my head about needing to keep your accomplishments to yourself because people might think you’re not being humble. 🧐 You wanna know where this narrative came from? My Filipino upbringing, the older generation who consisted of my parents, my siblings, and my aunts and uncles. I remember growing up feeling accomplished about a photojournalism award I won in this county wide photography competition which was huge for me as sophomore. Most of those competing were juniors and seniors, rarely did freshmen or sophomores compete because of fear of judgement. I get it, it’s really vulnerable to put yourself and work out there to be judged amongst others. But I did it, because at that time in my life photography was the one thing that helped me cope with depression. I came home proud and wanted to share with friends and my family and my mom would say “Anak, don’t be so prideful. If you’re too boastful God won’t bless you anymore.” Catholic guilt runs deep with Filipinos, hella deep. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ This narrative played in my head for a minute and I started to question myself. Would people think I’m showing off by sharing BTS photos from a shoot I was in? I hope no one feels like I’m rubbing my accomplishments in their face. I quieted that narrative quickly and asked myself “What is your truth Jo? What’s your intention of sharing?” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The answer came quickly. I want to share because this is one of my proudest moments. I’m a Filipino American woman who was hired to be on a global campaign for @adidas. A goal or dream I never imagined for myself as a young girl who health and fitness weren’t values or priorities that were instilled in me. (to be continued in comments)

A post shared by JO | Relationship + Life Coach (@gofitjo) on Aug 19, 2019 at 10:05am PDT

Lots of social media influencers have garnered partnerships with big brands, and they are quick to flaunt it. But Jo? In this post, she writes, “TBH, I almost didn’t share these photos despite this being one of my proudest career moments as a wellness blogger/creator.” Jo has been extremely honest about her upbringing in a conservative Filipino family and her mental health odyssey, and both of those elements were on full display here. For many people, it’s just as hard, if not harder, to be proud of their achievements. Thankfully, Jo shows us that it’s alright to give yourself a strong pat on the back when you deserve it!

To join the conversation and follow GoFitJo’s story, check out her social media profiles on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook.