Fit People with Similar Stories

Have you ever seen someone really fit and felt intimidated? You imagine this person has looked like this all of their life. You think to yourself there isn't anyway he/she could have possibly been overweight or unhealthy.

I have many friends who just like me lost a lot of weight and now they are very fit. I met them at the gym and heard their stories and the bounds were formed. One of my friends I met through a running group; at the time I met her she was trying to lose weight and just started running. Now she is a trainer, she has ran half-marathons and soon she will run a marathon. She is just like me a busy mom, wife, and trainer; she gained weight because of pregnancy but one day a little spark was ignited. Between the two of us we lost over a hundred pounds and when we taught classes people would assume we were always super fit.

Don’t be intimidated by fit people. Many of these people have gone through the same things you are going through. As moms I know many of us at some point suffer from some sort of depression. We tend to shut down and stop taking care of ourself and we become the mom we saw in the mall and think, I’m never going to look like that after I have children. Well shame on you and me but I think we ALL end up being that mom at some point.

Never fear because it’s not too late to get in shape. I love seeing people of all ages exercising and taking care of their health. We only have one body and it’s important to take care of it. Start small learn how to read food labels. Always look at the fat and sugar content and read the ingredients.

Hidden Sugar; if you see one of these ingredients in the first five it is one of the highest contents in that product.

• sucrose
• high fructose corn syrup
• molasses
• dextrose
• honey

Read, read, read it’s important to read and I know it’s hard to know what exactly is the best reads to learn how to eat healthy. Eat Clean Diet is one of the best books out there. In the beginning of my weight loss journey I used these books like they were my bible. You can get them on the internet, at the library, and I’m sure most Kindles. You can check out my Success Story here.

Keep pushing and every little step is one step closer to your healthy goals.

Vacation and Keeping Up

This week I'm preparing for vacation and it's exceptionally hard coming off of a holiday weekend. I don't know about you but the last thing I want to do on a holiday weekend is pack and shop. I've been making my "To Do" list and of course tomorrow I will start the hustle and bustle; kids haircuts, grocery shopping, last minute clients and of course kettlebells and running. The last two are very important for me to keep my sanity during all of this craziness. We have a two day car ride to Outerbanks, North Carolina with five kids and a caravan with my parents and sister. Packing for vacation includes clothing, beach items but most importantly healthy snacks and foods for lunch and dinner. When I go on vacation I always pack the essentials; apples, protein shakes, chicken, whole grain tortillas, water bottles for the kids and gallon jugs of water for me. It's been a lifesyle change for all of us and I'm really excited because my mom, sister, and brother-in-law have all changed their lifestyle. My family completed the 24 Day Challenge and have had major success. They want to maintain their routine and their success and inorder to do this we are only being conscious about the foods we pack and meals we plan to make. I plan to pack the 24 Day Challenge cookbook and make Pineapple Burgers and Mango Salsa Chicken. The best thing about vacation in Outerbanks is the lack of fast food restaurants and the grocery store is approximately 45 minutes away from our house. This keeps us from jumping into the car and heading to the closest fast food restaurant to get a quick fix. No matter what vacation or at home I make it a point to keep up with my eating habits and most importantly my workouts. The kettlebells are packed and I'm ready to go...

Be Prepared

Its summer time and time to hit the pool go boating and enjoy many activities outside. Today my kids and I spent the day swimming at a friend’s. Before I left the house I prepared food, gathered snacks and packed a lot of water. I am normally a one to one and half gallon of water a day kind of girl but during the warmer months I drink a minimum of two gallons. It’s very important to stay well hydrated in the summer. One of my favorite drinks to add is https://www.advocare.com/11118654/Store/ItemDetail.aspx?itemCode=A2414&id=E&flavor=K&size=C Rehydrate; it replaces the electrolytes that are lost during the hot days. It’s very important to replenish your body with electrolytes, amino acids and carbohydrates all of these will keep your muscles from cramping and keep your kidneys functioning properly during extreme conditions. Today I loaded the cooler with; • Natural Peanut Butter • Apple • Nitrate Free Ham • Pineapples, strawberries and blackberries • Hummus • Corn tortillas (small) • Broccoli and Cauliflower (raw) • Water- an extra gallon and several bottles for the kids • Protein shake Why should you be prepared? It’s important to keep your insulin levels in check especially while out in hot weather. It’s difficult to get the kids out of the pool to snack or to even drink water and once we arrived home they couldn’t get enough to eat from all the energy they burned while swimming. Four hours of swimming for a child is a lot of calories burned. My daughter had part of a strawberry protein shake and a ham sandwich and my son had a ham sandwich too. Poor baby is fast asleep on the couch. Remember keep you and your family fed and hydrated this summer to avoid over eating and most importantly to avoid dehydration.

Part of Me...

I think Katie Perry said it best, "This is a part of me that you're never, ever gonna take away from me." Everyone has that feeling as they age that a part of them is lost. Now that we are parents and spouses we have to be responsible and we begin to somehow lose a part of ourselves. You wake up and look in the mirror and realize your life now revolves around responsibilities like; children, jobs, parents, and bills. I know as a mom I lost myself; I realized four years ago I was a mom and a wife but that seemed to be all I could say about myself. I didn't have hobbies and I rarely spent time with friends. Four years ago I didn't know who I was anymore. I stared at myself in a dressing room mirror almost seventy pounds overweight. It's important as parents or individuals to have something for you. Don't get lost and feel like you’re only existence is for taking care of your children and your spouse and neglecting yourself along the way. It's important to find some sort of healthy balance. I have changed my lifestyle and lost 68 pounds. I did that because I made it priority to take care of myself. I know it's hard to take care of you because I have four children, a husband that works 80 hours a week, I'm trying to manage going to school and my own business. I still fly by the seat of my pants but I wouldn't be able to do any of it without support from my husband, friends, and exercising six days a week. I did lose a huge part of me when I had my last two children because I suffered from depression but exercise and changing my diet got me out of my depression. Remember there are a part of the old you inside waiting to come out. I really encourage you to try taking small steps to get back to the person you were before; the person who had more energy and was much happier. Don't let life run you over and realize when you hit 50 you have so many health problems that you should have done something. Don't have regrets and most importantly don't let someone take that one part of you away.