Author: Vibrant Life

Well…it’s 2016! What are you making room for this year?

Posted on January 1, 2016 by - Balanced Living, Fitness

I’m not a resolution girl. I find that I am continually creating new goals throughout the year. However, I think reflecting is something we all do at the New Year, even if we don’t do so purposely. It just happens. It’s natural, as we close one chapter, to sort of evaluate as we enter into a fresh year. That’s how it feels to me, anyway!

Do you ever step back, though, and realize you’ve been stuck on the same goal, perhaps not just this past year, but year after year after year?

Something that kind of smacked me in the face the other day (in a good way) was the idea that I have fallen in love with certain habits in my life and they aren’t hard anymore. I love them so much they have become second nature. I love identifying myself as a fit healthy person and I LOVE how I feel when I pursue things in my life that are in line with those ideals.

I know this stuff doesn’t happen overnight…trust me! What we can do right now though, is shift our perspectives. Rather than dreading letting go of something or dreading the work we know it will take…let’s focus on what we are gaining, what we are making room for in our lives.

Letting go of crappy food in my life makes room for the energizing, health promoting food that will make me feel GOOD. Letting go of laziness and putting forth even 30 minutes of my time every day to move my body will make room for feeling strong and vibrant. Letting go of time wasters in my life will make room for more purposeful things that will bring me closer to my goals, my dreams… letting go of a relationship that is going in the wrong direction or steering me away from what I value in my life might be hard…but as I pry my little fingers off things like this, I will actually have room for something good, that is in line with where I really want my life to go.

See where I’m going with this? It applies to everything; work, worrying, sleep, comfort zones, etc…

I challenge you, as we start #1 of 365 days in 2016, to get in touch with the feeling you are chasing when you make a goal. Hold onto that feeling and run towards it! Don’t think about the cozy things you leave behind (that aren’t helping you move forward anyway….be real about that), or the pain of any effort you might have to put forth…think about how dang AMAZING you will feel as you get closer to embracing that goal and of all the little amazing things that will happen along the way because you are moving in the right direction!

Happy New Year, my friends! I pray God’s abundant love around you every single second of every single day as you step out in faith this year and go for your dreams!

Seeking Balance

Posted on June 11, 2015 by - Balanced Living

According to dictionary.com this is the definition of wellness:

1. the quality or state of being healthy in body and mind, especially as the result of deliberate effort.
ACE Fitness expands on this by stating, “health and wellness does not mean ‘being without illness.’ Rather, health includes wellness — a sense of well-being and having a positive quality of life.”

We are multi-dimensional beings. To want to change one thing impacting my health means changing several things that I might not even be aware of. The opposite is true as well. When one thing suffers in my life, multiple other things are impacted.
So, what is my point? I’m pretty sure most of us are aware of these truths to some degree. The problem is, recognizing something does nothing for us until we put it into practice. Where are you with your stress level? Where are you with your faith? Where are you with your relationships? Are you in pilot mode? Are you numbing out on things so you can’t even answer these questions for yourself?
I encourage you to take a time-out. “But when? I have no time!” It’s about making the time. If we are off kilter with the things that matter most, our foundation is then off kilter and our entire lives are off balance. The problem is, we often don’t take notice until a crisis happens. We are set up, in our modern day society, to go 100 miles an hour, multi-task as much as possible, and “BUSY” seems to be a “value” we strive for. None of this is healthy, nor does it match any definition of health and wellness.

Give yourself permission to take a minute and breathe, regroup, listen and reflect. If not for you, then for those you love. It has a ripple effect!

5 Questions to Ask When You’re Looking for a Diet/Weight Loss Plan

Posted on May 11, 2015 by - Balanced Living, Healthy Eating

I don’t know if working in the health and fitness field makes all the information zooming around about health and fitness less confusing, or more confusing than ever! There’s always a new “plan” of some sort, new “super foods”, new theories, new trends, etc. And then there are new findings about “old news”; eggs used to be off limits, now they’re good; butter was bad, now it’s good; low fat used to be the way to go, now full fat is the answer; soy used to be an ultra healthy choice, now it’s a “no no!”… Anyone else feel like they’re getting whip lash dealing with all the back and forth?!

When I look back over my own “diet history” I get a little dizzy. I started with the Scarsdale Diet in the 7th grade, then joined the low fat bandwagon (jumped on that one with both feet!), went vegetarian for several years (living in Alaska changed that for me!), I tried Atkins…for like a day, Nutrisystem… you get the idea.

I think somewhere along the lines my frustration with all this information, plus my growing relationship with research while working on my masters degree, made me start to look and things much deeper than how it was presented and I started deciding how it may or may not be a fit for me.

Here are 5 questions I’ve learned to ask when I encounter a new health and fitness program:

1. What does research say?

Regardless of whether it’s a new trend in food, exercise, stress management, supplements, etc…I check on what research has found about it and any individual elements involved in the program. What if it is so new there really isn’t any good evidence on either side? Then I hold back or use whatever it might be with caution. For me Stevia is a good current example of this. I’m not convinced that it’s perfectly safe quite yet. When something is new on the market, even if it is a food that is found naturally, I wonder about how it is modified and what that means. Or, if it really shouldn’t be used the way we humans have decided it should be used!

Need help figuring out what research is good and reliable when you do find it? Chris Kresser is one of my favorite functional and integrative medicine practitioners. Click here for an article he recently wrote on just this subject. This guy is a science nerd and I LOVE it! It is so easy to go with something based on face value, but it is CRITICAL to look behind the scenes when making a decision about something that could dramatically affect your health!

2. Does it involve real food?

If a program comes with it’s own prepackaged foods, I would most definitely think twice about it (or don’t think about it at all and move on!). First of all, you will more likely than not have to sell off all of your belongings in order to afford to pay for all the food. Even more importantly, these foods typically are chalked full of artificial junk: preservatives, fillers, fake sweeteners, etc. Not only are you then putting potentially harmful ingredients into your body, but these “ingredients” are taking the place of other nutrients that are necessary for your body to function the way it is designed to. Ever heard the term garbage in, garbage out? If you fill your body with garbage, it will look and feel like garbage. Pretty simple.

3. Is it working for other people?

Ok, this one comes with a caveat. When I set out to try something new or buy something, whether it’s new running shoes, a class I want to take, a campground, new gadget, you name it…I read reviews. I like hearing inside perspectives of what I’m looking into. HOWEVER, just because someone has a certain opinion, doesn’t mean I will go in the same direction they chose. The reasons for their decision as compared to what I value is important and should be considered during the deciding process. If I don’t jive with their way of looking at something, their opinion will hold less weight. Regardless, I like to hear what others have personally experienced!

4. Is it sustainable?

This is huge. Why buy into a program that will get you to your goal and leave you stranded and back at square one shortly after it’s over? A good weight loss plan will teach you new habits, without adding a ginormous amount of stress to your life. It will be something you will want to continue in your life indefinitely. The hard truth is that often times this way of doing things takes longer. However, if you want it to last and forego the endless merry-go-round with new diets, this really is the way to go!

5. What is my style?

This fits well with question #4. I am a busy working mom and know that something that takes a ton of prep and cooking from scratch is something that, although I would like to do, will not be realistic for me at this stage in my life. I am also a creature of habit. If I have a menu to follow that changes every single day, it will overwhelm me. I need streamlined, easy, as convenient as possible while still being very healthy. Others really prefer to have a lot of creative freedom with their nutrition. What works for me, may not work for you and vice versa. You have to find something that helps you make changes without feeling like you are torturing yourself!

In the end, habits will have to change, effort is required and not all of it will be breeze. A good program, however, will be something that makes you feel great and that is why you will stick with it! The hard stuff will feel so worth it!

Is “everything in moderation” a joke?

Posted on April 26, 2015 by - Balanced Living, Healthy Eating

Are you sick and tired of hearing “everything in moderation”? Or maybe you are one who preaches this belief system?
One of my favorite podcasters, Chris Kresser, an expert in functional and integrative medicine, will take most health issues he is presented with and usually comes up with the same answer he has for everything before explaining himself. That answer: “it depends”. I LOVE this. Because, the truth is, it does depend. We are not one dimensional beings. We are complicated, in a good way (usually)!

“Everything in moderation” is something I live by. It jives with the 80/20 principle of eating. 80% of the time I’m really on top of eating clean, unprocessed, foods and focusing on the right amount of macro and micro nutrients for my body and activity type and level (not as complicated as it might sound…don’t be scared). The other 20%? That’s my ice cream, my donut on my friend’s birthday weekend, the coffee creamer I “shouldn’t” have but sorta love, the delicious chicken enchilada casserole I had at the church potluck today… You get the idea.

I know myself and this is what I know: I LOVE to be healthy. I love how it feels. I love what it does for my goals. I love the energy it gives me. I love that I don’t have a million health issues and take ZERO medication. I feel pretty darn good!

I also know, however, that if I go extreme in my diet, you won’t want to be around me. 🙂 Just sayin’. I will get grouchy. I will be far too focused on food. I will feel deprived and at the end of the night eat whatever might be considered edible in my kitchen and then polish it off with “that food” I wasn’t “supposed” to have. So. What’s the point. For me, this whole moderation thing works.

I also subscribe to the 80/20 thing when it comes to activity and exercise. I’m busy. I don’t like to sit down. I exercise regularly. However, there’s a thought in the health and fitness industry that 80% of your results will come from diet and the other 20% from exercise. I believe this to be true from my very own first hand experience. I mean for real…if I’m a regular at McDonald’s I can pretty much put money on it that my 40 minutes on the treadmill (or whatever your exercise might look like) is not going to be super effective. It’s that phrase I love so much: YOU CAN’T OUTRUN YOUR FORK. #truth

(***Disclaimer…you will NEVER see me at McDonald’s. Part of that is due to the level of unhealthy foods they offer and the other part of that is because I’m a snob. I won’t give money to people or businesses I don’t believe in. Period.***)

Here is where you might decide you don’t like me and my advice/perspective doesn’t serve you (ok maybe you already did, but obviously you’re still reading!)…this whole moderation idea does not apply to everyone and I totally get that. There are those with some pretty intense, underlying health issues that can’t survive by such guidelines. Understood. I’m that middle of the road girl. That’s the amazing thing about having so many different people out in the health and fitness world. There’s someone for everyone.

I’m the one that watches portions, listens to my body, eats really healthy MOST of the time and just LOVES to love life! I don’t want to stress over everything I’m eating all the time. Thankfully I don’t have to. I am mindful, and I move on.

NOW, that being said…I do think it takes some training to get yourself to the point where you know what moderation looks like…where portions come naturally and you can listen to your body when it is satisfied and not go beyond that point. Trust me, I wasn’t always able to do it. The 80/20 principle takes time to grasp. It’s a learning curve if you aren’t used to it. Absolutely.

One more point: when I am over focused on what I am eating, that brings my life more away from balance. Balance is my thing. I strive for that. I do not in the slightest bit believe I was put on this earth to stress over my food all day every day. To be healthy and to help others be healthy…heck yeah! There’s a pretty darn big difference.

I hope you all had a wonderful, restful, rejuvenating weekend with people you love and food you love! 🙂 My son and I made some pretty delish oatmeal cookies tonight…oh yes we did!

I’ll share the recipe in the “food” section of my site. Warning…it does contain things I would consider “healthy” such as craisins, whole wheat flour and flax. See…balance. 🙂

Love ya!

Choose Your Own Adventure

Posted on March 29, 2015 by - Balanced Living

The other day I had to go to court. Yup. Traffic court. Yours truly earned herself a speeding ticket. When I saw those lovely red and blue lights behind me I was instantly ticked off. With me, with the officer, but then just with me, realizing…well…it was my fault. I actually caught myself speeding and just as I realized it and slowed down, the lights appeared. *sigh*
I observed the irritation I had and was kind of intrigued by it, realizing how automatic a reaction I had to blame someone else for what was clearly my fault. I had a moment with myself, talked myself back into reality. This was my wake up call that my life is just too busy. The reason (not excuse) for me speeding in that very moment was distraction. Not by my phone, or radio or other people in the car, or any other typical distractions; by my own thoughts and high gear that I had been running in all day….all week….for several years, really.

I went to court and stood in front of the judge and all the other people with my tail between my legs. When he asked if I had anything I wanted to say, in my head I was going through all the things that led me to this spot, the fine I had to pay and how I totally get that I deserved that, and how this little moment in court represented a wake up call for me…instead I said, “No”. He smiled at me, not a smirk, a smile. It told me that he knew and maybe appreciated that I “got it”.

What happened next almost sent me over the edge. This man walked up before the judge as I stepped to the side and got my paperwork from the court clerk. If there was an excuse to have, this guy had it. Literally I heard, “I am not used to this new bureaucracy…”, “I couldn’t pay my registration because I have this mental health stuff going on…”, “I don’t see the big deal with using your cell phone in a car…”. It took a lot to not turn around and say a few things to this guy. Then we walked out into the hall to pay our fines and I was privileged enough to hear more as he complained to the people in line with us and continued to plea his “not guilty” case.

This man is quite obviously a victim. I don’t just mean that day; he is a victim of life. The thing is, this is his choice. This guy, like many of us, has chosen to walk through life without an ounce of responsibility for himself. He wants the easy road. He wants to be babied and to escape any consequences bad choices might have for him.

So, there it is. We all have circumstances that occur in our lives that we do not plan for, ask for, nor want. Some circumstances occur because of our own choices. Regardless, what you do with those circumstances is what matters. That is the fork in the road we all choose. I’m not suggesting it’s easy to put your big person pants on and be an adult about things. Sometimes you just want to curl up in a ball and cry. And that is necessary from time to time. But, you do it for a time, a short time, and then you get up, brush yourself off, lift your chin, and decide what path you will follow next.

My fork in the road is deciding if I want to continue on in this unbalanced, high speed, auto pilot life I have created for myself. Yes, I realize being a single mom and trying to work my way into a better and better life for my son and myself carries some of that “busyness” necessarily…but not all of it. This is where I step into a conscious moment and take the steering wheel. I’m inviting you to do the same.

I Hate Carrots

Posted on February 25, 2015 by - Healthy Eating

I am constantly reading articles, blogs, books (ok I listen to them), listening to podcasts, connecting and following via social media…all health related stuff/people. I usually feel really excited and inspired about a very specific subject like adrenal fatigue, protein, balance, creating new habits, clean eating…(you get the idea) until… until it comes time to apply these things that I am learning about.
Anyone with me? It’s kind of that new years resolution “deja vu” we all experience. Know what I mean? Anyone ever feel like you are living a bad version of Groundhog’s Day?? But it centers around your habits and promises that “THIS TIME I will DO IT!!!”…

So, I recently started reading a book called “Carrots N’ Cake” by Tina Haupert. I was immediately drawn to this book. I wasn’t even in a book store. It was a store downtown that has some really eclectic stuff and some random books here and there. Among all this distracting, charming “stuff”, this book just caught my eye and drew me in. Meant to be? I’ll go with “yes”.

I have thought a lot about creating a new blog or book or something and entitling it “I Hate Carrots”. Why? Because I do. AND because it is a tiny bit ironic. Most people hear that I am a health coach and fitness instructor and hide their fast food wrappers and soda cans thinking I am going to critique them. And if I tell them my deep dark secret…that I hate carrots (gasp!), the shock is almost alarming. People shame me for that! It’s hilarious really.

Guess what?? I also hate celery. And beets!! Ok, one more…Lima beans!!!! GAG!

I just don’t remember signing a contract stating that if I became a health coach I must like EVERY. SINGLE. VEGETABLE. AND…I must be perfect.

At first glance inside of this new book I fall in love. I am on the SAME PAGE with this woman. I read in “Carrots N’ Cake” that she likes sweets and “not allowing myself to have them actually makes me sad”. I feel ya sista. Ok, before you start lecturing me on how that means I am addicted to sugar…back up the truck. I can go without and really don’t eat a lot of it. BUT, if I aim to take an entire “thing” out of my diet, I set myself up for failure. This is ME talking about ME and what happens to ME. What you experience with YOU is YOUR business!

So, this is where my favorite word BALANCE comes in. I say it a lot. I love it and yet I hate it because I say it so much I annoy myself with it. But, it is something I believe in, strive for and that makes me feel solid and grounded. I feel my healthiest when I have balance. You know…the ol’ 80/20 rule.

What is the purpose of this whole rant anyway?? I’ve decided that I was trying to present material that I agree with, yes, but that isn’t enough of a real experience for me. I want to help people make real and lasting changes. Guess what?? Sometimes that is just a really messy process. Really. Rarely is it a straight line from setting a goal to crushing it. Ok…NEVER is it like that. When we see success stories we see this clean, perfect, no struggles “before” and “after” and feel this surge of excitement because we KNOW that will be us in just 3 weeks with no effort other than saying “I’m in” and it will all magically just happen! Well let’s be real.

I want to share my “real” journey with ya’all. Yes, I’m a health coach, AND I am human. I am struggling through the messages and trends and buzz words with you all and trying to keep my eyes on the goal. I battle stress and sleep deprivation and cravings and just “not wanting to do it”, right along with you. So…let’s be real.

I’m hoping by “journaling” my messy journey, we can help each other along the way to our own balance. And remember, mine looks different than yours; which looks different than your neighbor’s; which looks different than your neighbor’s aunt’s second cousin’s, etc. Comparing is not part of the deal. Deal?

And with that…I’ll say goodnight and look forward to sharing some of the “stuff” I am doing currently to invite balance into my life.

Sweet dreams all!

Imagine that!

Posted on January 11, 2015 by - Inspiration

Here it is, into the 2nd full week of the new year. Resolutions abound! I definitely see it at the gym and hear the chatter on social media and among friends. Even if you abandoned the idea of New Years resolutions a long time ago, there is still something infections about starting fresh along with a brand spankin’ new year! The problem, well…there are several…but the stick-to-it-ness is lacking. Along with accountability and planning/goal setting, a huge tool for success, in my opinion and personal experience, is visualization.
What? Is that some weird new age, magic, must use fairy dust and chant kind of thing? Um…no. In fact, it is a scientifically researched tactic that a lot of athletes use. In fact, Aymeric Guillot, Ph.D., a professor at the Center of Research and Innovation in Sport at University Claude Bernard Lyon, in France finds that we actually activate some of the same neural networks (paths of interconnected nerve cells that link what your body does to the brain impulses that control it) during visualization that we do in the activity itself. Does that mean I can visualize running 5 miles instead of doing it? Well, it doesn’t activate your muscles and fat cells so…nice try! But, it gets your head in the game, helps prepare you, builds confidence in your own ability as you “practice” in your head and, as those neural networks are activated, lets you experience some of the adrenaline that might come with what you are envisioning.

“Ok, well I’m not ‘training’ for anything. What does this have to do with me and wanting to lose 20 pounds?”

Visualization can be used in a very powerful way to create new habits. I really believe that when you are changing something in your lifestyle, it is crucial to create sort of a new culture for yourself. Losing a significant amount of weight or starting a fitness program, these things have far more to do with your day to day life than just going to the gym 5 days a week and eating less. It has to do with how we relate with people, how we deal with stress, happiness and emotion in general. It has to do with how we relax and how we celebrate. It has to do with routine and what brings us comfort. I could go on and on…

If I want to become a fit, healthy person, envisioning myself as a fit, healthy person in very specific ways is huge. It makes it real in my mind, I can actually see how it would look in my life. Very important is what it reveals to me that WON’T fit in my life anymore. If I am picturing myself as being strong, energetic and fit but find myself binge drinking with my buddies on the weekend, or on the couch at night numbing out with a pint of ice cream or bag of chips, or I go out with my family and order a meal that puts me into a food coma for the rest of the evening and therefor cannot complete my workout …those things are going to start sticking out as NOT what gels with my image for myself.

Another way this tactic is helpful is in creating that new culture for oneself by bringing new input into your life in a lot of different ways. What I mean is surrounding yourself with things and people that inspire this new way of life in you. It might be friends who are living a healthy lifestyle, a magazine that motivates you, pod casts, books, websites, going to workshops or taking classes. A homework assignment I often give clients is to make a vision board. There are no specifics with the vision board other than making it something that inspires you in terms of a specific goal you are trying to reach. A vision board, if you have never done one, is essentially a collage.

Here’s an example of one (not mine):

Some people like to put quotes up in their house, in their car, etc. I love that idea too. A vision board takes the process a little deeper and the experience of just creating the vision board has a lot of meaning and helps us focus and hone in on where we are going with our goal and how we need to mold certain things in our lives in order to get there.

I would love to see any vision boards that are created! Or hear other tips that you use that you find helpful and inspiring!

Either send me a message through the contact form or you can find me on FB: healthwithjess

Happy 2015!

Love and blessings,

Mexican Brunch Pie

Posted on December 26, 2014 by - Breakfast

Mexican Brunch Pie Recipe from That Vibrant Life
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Mexican Brunch Pie Recipe from That Vibrant Life

Mexican Brunch Pie

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  • Author: Jessica Parker
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 30
  • Total Time: 45
Print Recipe

Description

I make this every Christmas morning and sometimes Easter.  It’s a hit, supper yummy AND EASY!!! Great for those watching carb intake but wanting something tasty at a brunch.  You could absolutely add bacon, sausage, veggies if you’d like but it really is amazing as is.

 

This recipe calls for regular flour, but I use almond flour to make it gluten free and more keto friendly. I also like to double the recipe so we have leftovers for a couple of days (it really doesn’t last long at my house). It makes for an easy breakfast or snack that is full of protein and healthy fat. Just heat it up in the microwave.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 5 eggs, beaten
  • 2 tbsp butter, melted
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour (I use almond flour)
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • 1 cup cottage cheese
  • 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (or Pepper Jack which is a fav at my house!)
  • 1 (4 oz.) can chopped green chilies, drained

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400F.
  2. Mix beaten eggs with butter (melted) & baking powder & flour in a large mixing bowl at medium speed until mixture is well blended.
  3. Stir in cottage cheese, shredded cheese & green chilies.
  4. Spoon into a well-greased pie dish.
  5. Bake at 400F uncovered for 10 minutes then reduce heat to 350F and bake another 20 minutes or until set.
  6. Let cool about 10 minutes. Slice and serve!

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 8
  • Calories: 2
  • Sugar: 2
  • Sodium: 2
  • Fat: 2

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Christmas “stuff”

Posted on December 25, 2014 by - Balanced Living, Fitness

Wellllll. There goes Christmas and in a week we will be saying goodbye to 2014. I know we say it all the time…but, really…what happened to the year?!

The holiday season always makes us kind of take inventory of our lives, doesn’t it? This time of year brings joy and pain and struggle and closeness; creates memories as well as brings up hard ones. It’s a chaotic whirlwind that ends up in a pile of wrapping paper and ribbon in an unbelievable short amount of time. So much effort is put into creating this big show…this production that we hope impresses our loved ones, our neighbors, our coworkers. Some of us are really interested in it and some of us just go through the motions. The lights, the movies, the cookies and candy….so much. I really always love Christmas Eve and taking time out to go to church to quiet all of that and refocus on the reason for all the buzz. Today, we went on a hike and I felt like that was part 2 of that “refocusing”.

All of this is such a great metaphor for life. Constantly busy trying to GET more and BE more. We are professionals at being distracted. I mean…we’re good. This afternoon I went and watched the movie, “Wild” based off the book by Cheryl Strayed about her Pacific Crest Trail hike; but really, about her life. Have you seen it? More importantly…did you read it? We can sit here and debate the stupidness of some of her decisions regarding her hike; but I’m more interested in the “about her life” piece.

Here is a lady who physically removed herself from the “chaos of it all” and was able to, thankfully, set herself back on a good path after experiencing heartbreaking loss. She was able to get out there and be alone with her struggle to just stay alive and take care of her physical needs. It cut away all the excess struggles we often times create for ourselves. Granted, it’s sort of fairy-tale land for most of us to even consider “dropping” life for a few months to do something like that. Perhaps we can purpose to create lives that are just a little bit more mindful in the day-to-day stuff, though?

I don’t know. Sometimes I just don’t think I have “that” in me. Being more mindful. What does that look like? Have you ever seen the movie “Eat, Pray, Love”? Remember when she is…wherever she was, at a retreat perhaps…and she was trying to mediate in that room full of people. She was trying so hard and just so awkward about it. It seemed as though 20 minutes had passed with the way her mind raced from thing to thing. Then, she looks up just as the clock ticks over one minute. It had been one WHOLE minute that she had been sitting there “meditating”. Well, I’m that girl. I don’t like to force myself to be still. I don’t like it. I don’t think that’s a bad thing either. What I have discovered about myself is that I get centered and grounded through active things. Running and hiking and just being outside in general do that for me. Really working hard and sweating takes me to a different place physically and my mind and emotions follow suit. Writing is another form of that for me, but a good hard run is my absolute favorite.

So now that we’ve gone down that tangent…we’re going to go down the whole tangent of exercise and fitness in general. I mean, this is a health and fitness blog after all. 🙂 The bottom line when I am working with clients or participants in a class, is that I want to help them get to this “mindful space”. I truly believe that struggle with weight and health in general stems directly from our crazy relationship with distraction. It is a symptom of it. This is one HUGE reason it is so. darn. hard. to lose weight! It really is about changing mindset and lifestyle. FOOD IS OUR DRUG. It is. Watching “Wild” tonight made that realization surface for me once again as I watched her sabotage her life with drugs, sex, bad relationships. We use food and no one can say a darn thing about it…because “everybody’s doin’ it” AND we need food to survive. Dang that’s a hard one.

So to wrap it all up (excuse thebad pun), I challenge you each to think about this whole “mindfulness” thing. What works for you? How can you be more mindful in your life? Is there excess that needs trimming (I’m not taking about pant size…well, that too) that is unnecessary distraction? A worse crime than picking up another cookie, downing another soda and adding to your overflowing calorie allotment for the day, is the heart and mind numbing effect that takes place because of it. Think about that one for a few.

I truly hope you all had a lovely Christmas!

My “WHY” & believing in more

Posted on December 18, 2014 by - Inspiration

Today I heard something on a podcast I was listening to that went something along the lines of “it’s not just about fitting into your jeans, it’s about being happy”. So simple and so true. It made me think of my why, which is very simple, and yet very multidimensional and super personal at the same time.

This “before” picture is me probably middle school aged right before I went on my “first” diet. I was miserable growing up. I always felt like I didn’t fit in anywhere whether that was with my family or peers. My family was a mess. Never did I feel anyone believed in me. They didn’t even believe in themselves. I was painfully shy and would just melt into the wall hoping to go unnoticed. I really had no confidence whatsoever and could not relate to the girls my age. I was too shy to act out and rebel against my dramatic and unstable surroundings and yet I didn’t know how to deal with it in a positive way. And so I ate.

Food was my comfort. I was always the quiet girl either tagged as “nice” or “snobby” depending upon how my shyness and lack of confidence was interpreted. One night, my mom sat me down on my bed and told me I was getting fat. Well, she didn’t say it, she just said, “you’re getting…” and she puffed up her cheeks and held her arms out to paint the picture of a fat person. Hmmm. What a moment. Burned into my heart. Although there are far more loving and tactful ways of addressing such a topic, I took it seriously. I lost 20 pounds on my first diet. I was in the 7th grade.

I will say that I ended up gaining confidence through taking control of my weight. I followed a diet that allowed me dry toast and plain peppermint tea for breakfast, cottage cheese, pineapple and walnuts for lunch…I think chicken and veggies for dinner… I remember getting candy from friends at Christmastime and just saving it all up in my room, proud that I didn’t touch even one piece. And so the cycle began.

My weight went up and down over the years and so did my family. I had already been in therapy and continued, participating in group and individual therapy. (I HIGHLY recommend this and will talk more about it in a later post). Fast forward on this crazy journey. I realized that food was my drug of choice. I ended up struggling hard with an eating disorder for many years. Food offers you that substance that is not only legal, but necessary. I was able to hide my abuse of it by keeping my actions secret and using exercise and not strict dieting to cover up the damage I was doing. I could go days hardly eating a thing because of the binging I would do. Exercise became my saving grace. It was another addiction, though. If I didn’t get in my certain amount of minutes/days each week I felt out of control. I irrationally thought everything would unravel and I would turn back into that girl sitting on my bed when my mom told me I was fat. That was my nightmare.

In the midst of this, though, began my relationship with God. I knew that I was made for more. I knew that, I was more than the dysfunction I was born into. I knew I was more than my struggle with food. I knew I was more than my struggle with self-esteem. I knew that somehow, my life had purpose. What that was…I had know idea. But, I was determined to find it.

So, on life went, very touch and go with my disorder, always working on myself in therapy, a strong relationship with exercise, dysfunctional choices in men…and on and on. However, my faith has always been my true saving grace. God has truly been my rock, even when I felt that I was just flat on my face. There has always been an underlying, undying belief that there is meaning even in my pain, despite so many mistakes…

So, here I am. I have a nine year old son who I consider a miracle, simply because children are just that. I have been a single mom since he was 2. During these single mom years I have earned a masters degree in Health Psychology, gotten certified as a Health Coach and as a Fitness Instructor. Life is often far too busy for my own taste, but I am so very thankful. I finally can say that I believe in myself.

My “why” when it comes to health and fitness is about fighting. I refuse to be the person I believed I was growing up. It is never too late to become who you know you can be. It doesn’t happen overnight, but the journey is a beautiful thing. This is why I love doing what I do. Sure, it’s thrilling to see people lose weight and fit into their jeans. But, what I live for is those moments you see tears in someones eyes because they have found hope again. I have watched people get back in touch with this belief in themselves and I am SO honored to be a part of it. It takes great courage to “go there” and be that real with yourself and others. It is incredibly worth it, my friends!

So much love to you this Chirstmas!