Mondays

I've been neglecting my blog! I have been so busy with my kids, coaching, trips, the holidays, our kitchen remodel. I put the blog on the back burner, but it's good to know that I'm still getting people looking at recipes and such.

If you've read any of my past posts, Mondays are hard for me. I lost my brother to suicide on a Monday. In fact, it will be a year exactly tomorrow. I really don't want to make this a sad post, so I'll leave it at that. Mondays can be hard for everyone, though. You get all weekend to relax OR do a bunch of house work and chores. Then Monday comes and you have to get back to work. Or maybe you're a stay at home mom, and you get help from your husband all weekend, and then he has to go back to work Monday. Whatever the situation, Mondays aren't the greatest.

A few months ago, I realized that Mondays are actually just another day. I have the choice to make Mondays hard, or make it the best day I can. It's the first day of the week, and I get a fresh start. No matter what I'm working on that week, getting my workouts in each day, keeping my house clean, working on a project, being a kinder person, Monday is the first day to get to work. Monday sets the tone for the rest of the week, so if you miss Monday, are you going to give it your all the rest of the week? Probably not. I hear a lot of people say, "Well I missed Monday and then this happened Tuesday, so I'll just start next Monday." There are a few things I can start any day and get real excited about it and have enough drive to do from there on out, but most things I do best when I start on Monday.

This week, I am really focusing on balance. I can balance my business, my kids, my house, and my relationships better. Time management is my weakness, I know I can do better on that, and balance is the key. I want to work on gratitude. I also want to work on variety in my nutrition. I get used to the same old stuff, which I'm totally happy to do, but I know variety could help me do better and keep me from getting bored. In every aspect of my life, I could use more balance. So I start today. I know I'll do great because I will give it my all on day 1.

Stephanie

I had to do a little post about my friend Stephanie! This lady motivates me all the time, and I'm HER coach :) ! She is a great woman, with a big heart and the desire to help others. She has three fur babies, and a husband. I met her at church, and I remember always watching her and wanting to be her friend. I saw her as happy and positive. It's funny how we never know what's going on inside someone. I had no idea she was struggling. But when I gained confidence myself, I decided to stop being shy and just try to be friends with her! I sound like such a nerd, but this is really how I am. Making friends doesn't come naturally to me. I'm so glad I gained that confidence, though! She is such a hard worker, and inspires quite a few people! 

Here's what she had to say about her journey so far:

"Last year was rough. I was the heaviest that I have ever been. I was not happy with my life on many levels. I was feeling sorry for me. I was using food to fill the voids and unhappiness. Then I realized that only I could change it. Five months later and 28 lbs lighter, I'm on my way to a healthier and happier me. I'm learning new skills and establishing healthy habits so this will become a permanent lifestyle change. I'm not perfect. I'm work in progress. If I can do it, anyone can!"

I have no doubt we aren't done hearing from her! She will continue to inspire and motivate me, among others. I am so proud of you Stephanie! Thanks for being my friend! 

Love your body

I've seen it over and over again, the picture that says something like, "I wish I was as fat as the last time I thought I was fat." I remember after I had my daughter, I thought about that a lot. If you've read my previous posts, you know that I had an eating disorder while I was in high school and college. If only I had appreciated my body back then. I would have treated it better, and wouldn't have gained so much weight when I got married and during my pregnancy. I started getting super hard and down on myself again. 

While I was nursing, I had a lot of preconceived ideas of how I needed to eat while I nursed, and I couldn't lose any weight. I felt frumpy and uncomfortable in my skin until I stopped nursing. Then, I started going to the gym for at least two hours a day. I started restricting calories. I beat myself up everyday, and worked myself till I was exhausted. I didn't lose much weight. I didn't feel any better about myself. In fact, I felt a whole lot worse about myself than when I was pregnant with a huge belly. 

I finally found a program that helped me lose weight (basically by starving myself and eating prepackaged foods). I lost the rest of my pregnancy weight, but I still felt awful about myself. I continued to belittle myself. The day I found out I was pregnant was a very hard day. I still hadn't reached my goals, and I wasn't planning on getting pregnant for at least another year. I didn't want to gain a ton of weight again. I decided to make a change. 

There's something about growing a baby inside that makes me feel better about myself. I continued to workout at least 5 times a week, and I watched my body grow in a healthier way the second time around. I didn't love myself yet, but I was starting to. 

Fast forward to a few months ago, I had lost even more weight. I weighed less than I did my junior and senior year of high school. I went and got new clothes. I felt better about myself, but things still weren't feeling right. I was so proud of myself, but I still looked in the mirror and saw flaws. I realized that I will always have flaws, nothing can change that. There is no such thing as perfection. But I could love my body anyway. It really made a huge change for me. It helped me look back and love my body even when I was at my heaviest. I appreciated all that my body had been through. 

No matter what we are going through, where our bodies are at, or what our bodies have accomplished, we should love them. Our bodies are gifts from God. I think about my brother who no longer is with us, and think about how I'm sure he wishes he still had his body. 

What good does it do to beat yourself up? What good does it do to belittle yourself, point out every flaw, and hate your body? It does NO good. Absolutely none. In fact, it makes things worse. Believe me, I know. 

Love your body. Care for it. Eat like you love yourself, move like you love yourself. Make good choices for your body. It will make a positive difference. You will eat better, and workout harder if you do it out of love instead of hate. I promise.

You CAN!

It bothers me when people assume that I don't have struggles with working out. Like it's not hard to just get it done. Every day, I have to make the decision to work out, just like everyone else.  Is it hard decision? YES! Sometimes it's easy. I really enjoy my workouts. But the majority of the time, it doesn't matter how amazing the workouts are or how amazing your body is starting to look thanks to said workouts, it's still working out. My bed feels great, I didn't get enough sleep, I am so comfortable vegging on the couch, I just want to cuddle with my kids, I want to go shopping, I want to clean my house...I have a ton of excuses just like.everyone.else.

The difference is, I realize these are excuses, and then I find reasons WHY I need to work out.

I love this quote. I am framing it in my office. It can go for so many things we make excuses for.

I have a piece of scrap paper with a list on it in my night stand. I made it one morning when I was struggling to get out of bed and go workout. I had 3 hours of sleep that night. I was bloated. I had already lost so much weight, and felt good about myself. I think I had every excuse in the book floating around in my head. I turned on my phone, and saw this quote, and found the first piece of paper I could see, an envelope from my internet company, and made a list. 

My hand writing is sloppy. There's 2 water rings on it from setting my water bottle on it at night. It means something to me though, and I look at it often. 

What are reasons why I CAN? I can because I am physically able. God gave me two legs. He gave me two arms. He gave me a healthy body. I can because it shows gratitude for the healthy body I've been given. I can because I want to. Not always initially, but it feels so good when I'm done. I can because I've been given the great opportunity to inspire others and show them it's possible. I can because my husband let me invest in these workouts, even though at the time we were very short on money. I can because it's an investment of time in myself,. I can because my kids are asleep, or I can distract them or they can play, or do the workouts with me. I can because we are blessed with a nice warm home, electricity to turn my TV or lap top on, and press play. I can because I know this program works. I can because it makes me a better person, I am happier and more patient. I can because I can do hard things, and it makes me stronger. 

What about YOU? I'd love to hear your list. 

Upcoming Holidays and staying on track

I've had so much fun being a coach, and being a mom, I have forgotten my blog! I post recipes here and there, but I haven't kept up on it like I was planning on doing. I've really been stressing out for my customers and friends, as well as myself, for the upcoming holidays. I know how easy it is to get into a habit of eating whatever you want because you're trying to enjoy the good seasonal food while you can. There's nothing wrong with indulging here and there. The problem is that it's so easy to let ourselves lose control. When that happens, it's even harder to break those bad habits. How many times have you lost your self respect because of how much you ate during the holidays, set New Years resolutions to do better, and then made it maybe one or two days? Just me?? Surely not!

That's what happens to me nearly every year. I hate the way I feel when I go to a family get together, tell myself I can have one piece of pie, and end up eating three. Or set a limit on how much I can eat at dinner, and double it when the time comes. Food is good. If it wasn't, no one would have a problem with over eating! Well, that's not true because if we got into emotional eating, that's a whole separate issue. 

So do you have a plan in place? Do you set rules for yourself? You can make the holidays even more enjoyable if you can avoid the guilt of over eating, I am certain of that! 

One thing I am personally doing is focusing on how I eat NOW, to prepare for all those get togethers in a few weeks. If I can control how I eat when I'm on my own, I can control how I eat when I'm around others. If you're like me, eating around others isn't as comfortable. I do this by following my meal plan, watching my portion sizes, eat slowly and chew thoroughly. If I'm mindful of HOW I eat, I'm more mindful of WHAT I eat. 

I am also making my workouts a habit NOW. I workout 6 days a week. I firmly believe in a rest day. My workouts, of course, are 30 minutes a day. Sometimes I have enough motivation to add in a little run with my dog, Lily, but I don't make it an rule. Am I going to beat myself up if I don't workout 6 days a week the week of Thanksgiving? Or Christmas? No. Beating yourself up isn't productive, or helpful! I'll probably get a run in early Thanksgiving morning, but I would also like to sleep in and cuddle with my husband on Christmas morning. It's important to get exercise, as I've stated before, I battle depression, and I feel happier when I workout. The holidays are stressful, and working out relieves stress. It's good for you. 

You can make exercising fun for the whole family during the holidays. One thing we are planning on doing is 10 pushups for every time someone rings our door on Halloween night. Obviously my kids won't be able to do 10, but my husband and I can, and my 3 year old can do at least one! Here's a list of different challenges you can do during the holidays with your family to make fitness fun! 

These are just a few ideas I came up with for the holidays, you can create a whole list for each holiday with your family. Include things even the younger kids can do. We mostly create our list for my husband and I, but my daughter does try to do them with us. You'd be surprised what kids can do. When they see you having fun with it, they have fun with it as well. It doesn't have to become a chore, or a fight, make it fun! 

I'd love to hear some of your ideas and plans to stay on track! Message me what your goals are, and how you're going to achieve them!