Can & Can't and believing that you CAN

It's a total mind game. Your brain can definitely talk you out of doing a lot of things you know you should do that are good for you. I know I feel like I *want* to believe that I "can't" do things now that I am pregnant. And after the rough first trimester I had, I wanted to keep believing that I still "can't." But that just simply isn't true.

If you are like are me, and have been listening to this voice that is telling you that you "can't," well, it's time to HIT STOP on that negative tape in your head. I am now a week into my second trimester, and I am out of the woods of "all day nausea that makes you want to pass out." It was a pretty dark place but I see the light now. I no longer think throughout the day how terrible I feel and it's ok not to do anything but just manage the house and kids. I am getting my strength and my energy back. But I was in such a bad habit pattern of laying on the couch for so many weeks. I was going to let another day get away from me and just believe "I can't." But then I said, no, that's not really how I feel. I actually feel pretty good, maybe not 100% but a huge improvement from where I was. It was slow to come to my brain to say NO to the "can't thoughts" and say YES to the "can thoughts." It's like the Nina Simone song, "Feeling Good" and "It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me and I'm feeling good."

Then I #flippedtheswitch. I said "I can and I am going to try." So I stuck in a pregnancy cardio dvd and I hit play. My four year old and nineteen month old were home, so was I interrupted? Yes, several times. But I was an old pro of quickly fixing the problems and hitting play within a minute or two. And I kept going and I was getting my heart rate up and using my muscles again and feeling a little bit like my old self. It was really good to review exactly what it was that I {can} do while I am pregnant. And about 20 minutes into the workout, I gained my confidence back that had been missing for weeks and weeks. "I CAN do this," I kept thinking. It wasn't hard, in fact, it was pretty good. Even though in the back of my mind I have an "excuse clause" for exercising that if I am not liking it after 15-20 minutes, that I can stop and regroup again the next day. But my confidence grew like the Grinch's heart on Christmas and I made it all the way to the 40 minute mark, which is something that is usually hard for me to do normally NOT pregnant.

What is the moral of the story here? As a health and fitness coach, I listen to people tell me all the time how they "just can't" for whatever reason. Not enough time, no money, too stressed, no support, too hard. I want to tell you to HIT STOP on that negative tape and stop believing the lies. I have more excuses than anybody not to exercise and just "lie low" for the next 6 months with my 4th pregnancy and 3 children 5 and under. Nope, not going to happen. It's time to BELIEVE that you CAN. Because it is true. You really can focus on your health and make it a priority. Stop believing excuses and put one foot in front of the other to move forward, even just one tiny baby step toward your goal.

I believe in you. I believe in me. I know WE CAN DO THIS. Let's go!

80/20 & Keeping it real with Shakeology

I have often given the advice to my challengers when to eat healthy and when to splurge that they should follow the 80/20 rule. That means if you eat good 80% of the time, that it is ok to splurge 20% of the time. The problem with this is the same lie that most Americans say to themselves: "Oh, I eat pretty healthy and don't splurge that much." If we put that to the test: the test in which you wrote down EVERY SINGLE THING YOU PUT IN YOUR MOUTH FOR ONE WEEK...the results would probably stun you into silence. (Please download My Fitness Pal, a free calorie counter app on your smart phone & find me as a friend on it to share your menu with me.) You really do have to do the math and figure out what the splurge can be and how often. And with American standards, you need to calculate the portion size because we supersize everything all the time.

For example, last week was Halloween. I like many others, definitely nibbled on some chocolate (Reeses are my weakness.) With the 80/20 rule, that means that I could probably have 1 Reeses a day for a week, provided that I ate healthy the ENTIRE REST of the time. What happens is a little slip here (such as an extra slice of bread) or a slip there (putting a double portion of dinner) there. Or for goodness sake, you had to "eat on the run" whether you grabbed a "bad easy snack" or you hit the drive thru that week, you just blew the 80/20 rule and you are more like 70/30 or 60/40. If you were to grade your self on eating well (that's the teacher in me,) you are now at a C- or D/F. Is that what you want for your body? I hope not. I would hope I am a "B or better" because I know I can.

So what do I do? Lately, I have been battling my worst snack time: after the kids go to bed. So I have been drinking my Shakeology with dinner (or for dinner on days when the nausea is bad) or I make it after they go to bed. I usually make the Vegan Chocolate and add a little peanut butter and then it tastes like a Reeses to me. And it helps me avoid eating popcorn (my #1 vice at night) or some other nibbly or pregnancy craving (which has been lemonade this pregnancy.) This is what I am doing to get through and make sure I don't sabotage my hard work during the day or all week. Because believe you me, I can probably finish the whole bag of Reeses by myself in one sitting...almost.

But before I end, let me say one thing. I grew up enjoying food and I believe food is meant to be enjoyed and shared and celebrated. So when you do have the 20% splurge, enjoy it and feel no guilt especially when it is your birthday, anniversary or other special occasion. My birthday was last month and I feel no guilt that I had my favorite breakfast, eggs benedict. But I will tell you this: I only have it on my birthday or Mother's Day because I follow the 80/20 rule and I love to enjoy the 20 when it is "treat time." Enjoy your treat time when you have earned the 20%. I promise you that it really tastes much better.

Carb Coma & Shakeology

So this pregnancy has been my most challenging one to date. To describe the extreme nausea and fatigue is just indescribable. I am generally one of those happy pregnant women, who love the "glow" and the rounding of the belly and feeling the kicks from the little one inside. The side effects this time have really taken a toll. Lately, I have been saying to people, "I worked my other three pregnancies. I am so glad I work from home now because I cannot imagine standing on my feet all day, teaching, doing lab, grading a stack of papers and feeling this way." The nausea lasts all day, from when I wake up to when I go to bed and sometimes, I am sleeping and I still feel nauseous. And the fatigue that has set in has me very acquainted with my couch and what I can get done from my couch.

One this that has been killing me is that I am turning to carbs to help ease my nausea, as that is the most prescribed antidote for pregnant women with nausea. At first, it was saltines and rye toast. And I mean like an entire ROW of crackers and call that a meal. And when I had one really bad week, I finished a small loaf of rye bread (toast) in about 2 days. What I realize now is that this caused a huge imbalance in my diet and that it was totally ok to just eat for comfort to help with my symptoms. But I will tell you this: though the queasiness was eased, so was my energy. It felt like I could do nothing, concentrate on nothing and barely just get by in my days. What was shocking for me was I had been eating clean for about an year and half with a great healthy diet plan that I finally found worked for me and my body. Once I turned to the carbs in this pregnancy, my brain went into a fog and I got done less than half and mostly a quarter of what I used to be able to do. I also gained the most weight in the first trimester for this pregnancy than I did in all three pregnancies combined. My only saving grace is that my starting weight this time was in the medically deemed "healthy zone." The last three pregnancies I was starting out in the "obese zone."

What has helped me? Since my cooking skills (mostly due to smells) went out the window, I really relied on my Shakeology to help me through these tough times. Veggies, whether raw or cooked, were some of the things that turned me off the most, which is ironic since I was eating 3 cups of veggies a day prior to my pregnancy. (I almost yakked in the A & P produce section one day because the fresh produce literally smelled like dirt to me.) My symptoms usually worsened throughout the day, so I switched from having my Shakeology with my lunch (sometime between 10am-2pm) to now having it at 4pm or later. I struggle to get through dinner, just to cook something for the kids, let alone eat dinner myself. But having Shakeology to fill me up and taste so yummy when everything really lost its appeal to me was a life saver. With this month of October almost be renamed National Chocolate month as it was everywhere I went, I was so glad to drink my Vegan Chocolate Shakeology. For at least one meal a day I knew I was getting some balanced nutrition. And as I am in the last weeks of my first trimester, now I save my Shakeology for my dessert after the kids go to bed (which also helps because if I make my vegan chocolate, Noah, my 18 month old, absolutely needs to drink half of my shake with me.)

Looking forward to getting out of my carb coma as this first trimester comes to close in the next few weeks. And thank God for my Shakeology so I can enjoy something good for me and great tasting.

Shakeology & Pregnancy

So in the past 24 hours, since I announced my pregnacy with child #4, I have had several people ask me ("on the side") if I was still going to continue to coach and more importantly, was I still going to drink Shakeology. To answer that in a word: YES. And yes, I went to my midwife and she approved it whole heartedly, which I will relate the funny story about that as you read on.

But to answer your questions, of course I am still going to coach. I may modify what I am doing but I love working with my team, my clients and generally keeping myself and now my unborn baby healthy. Of course everyone knows how important it is to eat right and exercise while you are pregnant. And I am still drinking Shakeology, just about every day.

I will admit in full disclosure that this pregnancy has been one of my more challenging pregnancies. By about week 5, I have had SEVERE nausea, the kind that last all day, from when I wake up to when I go to bed at night. The kind of nausea that makes you curl up on the couch all day and you don't want to move for 12 hours. I remember being disappointed with the few times I dry heaved and wishing it was like my last pregnancy where I vomited daily for 14 weeks. I am on week 12 now and I now get two days a week (the other 5 are pretty bad still) where the nausea is just a few hours of the day, mostly around dinner time. Those are the days, I just can't cook but I choose to have my Shakeology for dinner and make something for the kids. My husband, sadly, has had to fend for himself many days, but thank God, he drinks Shakeology too. But Shakeology has definitely been a life saver because as I struggle with this first trimester, I know I am getting all my nutrients from a great source. Because my diet of saltines and toast just is not the greatest thing for my sweet baby.

So the funny story with my midwife was this: as I am sitting there on the table and updating her since I had my son 18 months ago, she keeps staring at me. I am asking her questions now about my nutrition (I was currently on the 21 Day Fix program and knew I needed to increase my calorie intake since I was pregnant.) She said, "I wish I could say I recognize you, but I don't." And I reminded her about Noah's birthstory (he was born in the car but she delivered his placenta when I arrived at the hospital.) "Yes, I read your chart and I remember that." So I said to her, "The last time you saw me, I weighed 233 lbs. I weigh 149 today. I became a health and fitness coach since I last saw you." "Wow. That is amazing." So I then went on to ask her about using Shakeology during my pregnancy since it was approved by another one of the midwives from the practice for nursing mothers. She took her time, reviewing the ingredients, and asking several questions, like how do I make it and do I meal replace with it. I generally drink Shakeology with my lunch, I told her. She said, this looks great. Every ingredient in there is natural and safe for you. She said, "You know, I just had a baby a few month ago, eight to be exact, I should look into this." I went on to tell her how I love Shakeology because I need the extra protein in my diet to help with my energy level, as well as it provides all the nutrition from these amazing superfoods that are in it. It has everything in it that I need that I know that I don't always get from my diet. And that is why I will be drinking Shakeology not only throughout my pregnancy but really, for the rest of my life.

So this blog will be modified with including my pregnancy, my weight gain, my triumphs and struggles and of course, next year, with my birth and my return to my pre-pre-pregnancy weight that I obtained this year. So glad to share this journey with you.

Drinking Shakeology...FOREVER!!!

So when I started on this journey over a year ago, I kept thinking, I am going to do this until...and I couldn't set an end date. I didn't know exactly how much weight I wanted to lose. I knew that Shakeology was helping me on my journey. And once I shared that with a few friends and family members, I was so pleased to receive so much support and love. So I kept ordering Shakeology each month, and I kept losing about 10 lbs a month in the beginning, with 5lbs a month after that. And I thought, this is good so I am going to keep drinking Shakeology. I was so shy to tell anyone that I was drinking a shake to help me with weight loss. I could barely tell my husband. It took until I lost about 25 lbs. to say, yes, I drink Shakeology each and every day and it helped kick start my weight loss and helped me on my road to health and fitness. Why was I so shy? I don't know. Fear of rejection or judgment? Now, I could care less if someone thinks less of me because I drink Shakeology. I am so proud to drink it and let everyone know that Shakeology was the KEY to my weight loss transformation.

Then on September 30th, 2013, I made the big jump and said, "I would love to help other people with their health and fitness goals." And that is when I became a coach. Once I signed up to be a coach, I realized that Shakeology is the cornerstone of what helped me kick all my bad habits. Before, I used to say, "Oh, I am working out, that is how I lost the weight." That was only half the story. Drinking Shakeology, usually at lunchtime, helped my feel full, curbed my cravings, help me kick my coffee and sugar addiction and helped my body realize what good nutrition is. Now, that I have been a coach for a year, I can honestly say that my customers who joined me 100% with drinking Shakeology each and every day, in addition to changing poor nutrition habits and adding a healthy dose of exercise have seen the BEST results in my challenge groups. I have at least a dozen or more people who have lost 30+ lbs. lose the weight in a healthy and steady rate by doing this and now many are at their "healthy weight" and maintaining. This is where I have been for several months. Maintaining, which feels great. Who would think that I would have gotten back into a size 8 after 3 kids?

So now when people ask, "Are you still drinking Shakeology?" "Why, yes, of course! Are you still eating vegetables?" Of course you are and so am I. I am choosing to add my superfood dense nutrition protein drink, Shakeology, into my diet well... basically...forever. Because why would I choose to NOT consume something healthy for me?

If I Could Put Energy in a Bottle...

So last month I was talking about a lot of the ingredients of Shakeology. This month I think I will tell you a lot about my honest to goodness feelings and emotions that I have had about Shakeology in the past year. I am going to break it down to before and after & really compare my recovery from Megan's birth to Noah's birth, my 2nd and 3rd child.

After Megan was born, I had had a C-section and the recovery was pretty awful. I had pain from the incision for at least 8 weeks, at which time I was cleared to exercise but didn't. Oh, I tried. I signed up for Stroller Strides in my town, and I love the instructor who looked great after 4 c-sections herself. But she had to modify the modified version of me. I was in the 200+ lbs for the majority of that year. Maybe I bounced down in the 190s but not all that much. A great day was when I was 188 after cutting out snacks. I had returned to work and completely relied on coffee (with milk and 3 T of sugar) at least 2-3 times a day and I was definitely a snack-aholic. I remember co-workers hiding their snack stash that everyone keeps in their drawers when I was around or telling me that they limited me to one. Yup, I was addicted to sugar. I would come home by 3-4pm everyday and I would absolutely NEED to sit on the couch and watch TV and veg for a good 30 minutes before I could even think about cooking dinner. I was always winging dinner and so I grabbed whatever was easy and mistakenly thinking my family was eating healthy because I at least put a cooked frozen veggie on the plate. Most nights after we got the kids to bed I could barely keep my eyes open to 10 pm and although I had the intention of exercising more, in a good month I only got in about 3 workouts, whether it was a group class or throwing in one of my many DVDs that I bought at Target on clearance. Clearly I was in denial that my health was a priority. My half hearted attempts to lose weight literally weighed on my heart and I kept wishing I could make it happen.

Fast forward to Noah's birth story, which was awesome and one day I will blog about it for those of you who do not know how incredible it was. So I have this amazing birth that was drug free and I was really doing my homework on eating healthy, which was a work in progress for a couple years. That is when I found my Team Beachbody coach, placed my order for my Body Gospel DVD program and ordered Shakeology. Now I have never had a protein shake before so to me, this speaks of "Life Before Shakeology" and "Life After Shakeology." So you would think with three kids that the work load would be too much: too much to clean, too much laundry, dishes, and bottles and too much to do in general. Well, I found that when I started drinking Shakeology that I no longer took that afternoon break (which was really a big energy slump that many times ended in a cat nap) and sat on the couch. There, I just picked up 30-45 minutes at least where I could get things done. I realized I could choose what I wanted to do, either workout or get some household chores done or play with the kids, which was made my heart sing with joy. I found that I craved healthier food instead of processed snacks. Before I would give the kids some Goldfish but I ended up finishing the box for them. One by one I replaced processed food with fresh fruits and vegetables. (I still have 1 or 2 quick snacks for the kids, but more often we pack fruit as our on the go snack.) At night when the kids would go to bed, I was able to have lots of great conversations with my husband because I had gotten a lot of my chores done during the day and did not have to always do them at night or better, we would do the chores together as we talked about our values, goals and dreams. He noticed my energy difference too as I no longer fell asleep on the couch before 10pm while we watched some tv shows or movies.

So what is the points here? Before I drank Shakeology, I was just surviving my days and praying to make it to the weekend. Hopefully to keep catching up on all the at I had intended to get done during the week but just didn't have the energy to get done. Now that I drink Shakeology every single day, I wake up refreshed, full of energy and hope and I get so many things done on my to do list that I am often amazed. Sometimes I am greedy and say, why can't I get 20 things done today, instead of just 10? More than once I have said to my husband at night, I am just so excited about life that when my head hits the pillow, my brain is dreaming such big dreams for us and our family. And I am now of the mindset of I wish there were more than 24 hours in a day because there is so much that I want to see and do and explore. It's called LIVING life and I have the energy to do it, all because of Shakeology. That is why I am so passionate about it. I think everyone should be drinking it. It is so good for you and the benefits are like the never-ending harvest. Truly for me, it is energy in a bottle and I will be drinking it every single day.

What the Heck is an Antioxidant, anyway? I think I know but...

I know you have heard of the term "antioxidant." It's been around since the 1990's as one of the ways to help cure or offset diseases and such other health problems. But do you really know what an antioxidant is, anyway? You hear it on the news and it is everywhere from cereal to supplements, lotions to creams, and everything in between. But do you really know and understand what an antioxidant is?

So we are going to have a little science lesson here. Bare with me, because I taught chemistry (and physics) for the last 15 years and I love the opportunity to educate people with what they thought was useless HS science. In our culmination of the BBD (bigger better deal) in trying to make better cars, better food, better everything in our society, we have put out a lot of damaging chemicals into the environment. Some of these chemicals you may have heard of before are called "free radicals." (Free radicals are also naturally occurring but I would like to point out that the human race has done a lot of serious damage too that has really done a number on our environment.) So these free radicals are everywhere: in the air, your food, things we touch. On a cellular and even atomic level, these free radicals are "electron stealers." When they enter your body, they really wreck havoc on many cells that can then malfunction (think down the line eventually become a cancerous cell to tumor to full blown cancer.)

Oh no! What can we do to protect our bodies from these "electron stealers" who damage the DNA in our cells? Da-da-da!!! Enter the antioxidant with his cape flying behind him to save the day. Antioxidants are generous "electron givers." They prevent oxidation, the lose of electrons. (Does anyone remember LEO the lion goes GER? Lose Electron Oxidation, Gain Electrons Reduction?) So antioxidants are able to give the free radicals the extra "healthy" electrons they have and therefore the radicals do not do damage to your body, or so the theory goes. (And this concludes our science lesson for today.)

So antioxidants are superheroes preventing damage from the terrible free radicals. But...well you gotta be in the right place at the right time. Meaning this: if you ate your blueberries back when you were a kid, but seldom ate them as a 45 year old adult, you missed the boat. You gotta keep antioxidants in and around your body so that they are in your system ready to help defeat the radicals. So that means you need to keep antioxidants in your diet regularly. How are Americans stacking up on that front? Terrible for the most part, when current statistics say the 2 out 3 Americans are overweight or obese. We are not eating what we need to eat to be a healthy culture.

How can we fix that? One thing I have done is to drink Shakeology everyday. It has taken me almost a year to retrain myself to have a healthier diet and I am still learning everyday. But I know when I drink my Shakeology, that I put in the antioxidants in place to do their job. This is part of what makes Shakeology unique compared to other "protein drinks" that usually just contain whey powder and couple of filler ingredients. (Do you read your labels?) The ingredients that they contain are just top notch and of the highest quality. They include the following: cacao, coconut flower nectar, acerola cherry, pomegranate, camu-camu, bilberry, goji berry, blueberry, acai, green tea, rose hips, cinnamon, and luo han guo. In addition to fighting free radicals, these super-fruits promote heart health, support joint health, and keep your brain healthy. The key is everyday consistency. If you want the battle free radicals, you need to have antioxidants present at the right place and at the right time.