Getting Thru Your Due Date

When Your Due Date Comes For The Baby You Lost

December 1st has been written on my calendar for months now. Nine to be exact. It was the due date for our baby that we lost this spring. I would be lying if I didn't say that I have been dreading it. I feel like once the date passes by the chapter will finally be closed.

I should preface this by saying that I am so so so grateful that I have another baby on the way now.  I can only imagine the hurt that those who also go thru this experience feel when another isn't on the way. We are the lucky ones. The ones who will be getting a baby soon as long as all goes well. While today still hurts us, it's not as sad as it could be and for that I am grateful. The pain that they must be feeling when this date passes by for them must be even more upsetting. Is today still a hard day for me? Absolutely but today is also part of the healing process.

This post is not a pity post. I don't need you to feel bad for us. I needed to write this for myself as part of moving forward and also to share with others what I did to get thru it all incase they are sitting in the same boat that we were.

In late February of 2016 I'd like to think a miracle happened. Finally after two and a half years of trying for a baby, I was able to get pregnant. We learned we were expecting in early March. A few weeks into the pregnancy we also learned that things didn't look well. The heartbeat was slower than it should be and the baby just wasn't growing enough. They also noticed a subchorionic hemorrhage. This meant a lot of visits to the doctor for us in the coming weeks. It meant lots of ultrasounds, lots of praying and sadly lots of not so great news.

As we neared the end of the pregnancy the heartbeat began to get slower and slower. I remember coming in for the ultrasound on a Friday morning and it barely being there anymore. Since it was obviously still "alive" we had to wait it out. The next week felt like the longest week of my life. We knew what the outcome was going to be, it was just a matter of when. I prayed and prayed for a miracle, but I knew in my heart that the baby wasn't going to make it. My husband and I went in that Thursday morning and sure enough the heartbeat finally had stopped. They put us in a "private room" while we waited for the doctor. I had a hard time keeping it together knowing I had a dead baby inside of me while all the other women were there because they had babies on the way. An OB office is the last place you want to be when facing this news.

About 30 minutes later we waited for the doctor to share our options with us. I was given advice from friends and family who had went thru it to opt for the D&E to just get it over with. I had went thru enough trauma in the last few weeks I didn't want to have to see it or pass it on my own. The OR schedule for Friday was already full so I had to wait until Monday morning. Talk about torture. We were instructed that if it started to happen on it's own to go ahead and come to the ER. That weekend was the only weekend in my life I had ever taken anything for anxiety but I decided I needed it.

Monday morning came. We dropped our son off at daycare and headed to the hospital. We spoke not much of a word to each other the whole way there. We rode hand in hand both sad for our little family. I was admitted and prepped for surgery around 9 am. I remember lying there just crying. I wanted the nightmare to end. The day was a blur. It took me awhile to come out of recovery. We didn't get home that day until 4:30pm or so. It will forever be one of the worst days of our marriage. We faced it together but it rocked us. It was a kind of sad that can't be explained.

The coming weeks were a whirlwind of emotions. I had taken most all of that week off of work and never left my bed. I was emotionally spent and sad. I stayed off social media, I ignored phone calls, visits and messages. I shut the world out and I don't regret that. I had to mourn the loss alone.

As the weeks passed by I started to "come to terms" with the fact that we were not having another baby. I struggled as friends around me shared the news of their own pregnancy. I watched as their bellies began to expand while mine didn't and now nine months later, I am now watching many of them welcome babies into the world.

I would never say that I am "grateful" to have lost a baby. But I will say that I am grateful for the journey that this loss took me on. I couldn't have said that then, but today nine months later I can. I am forever changed because of this. That journey brought me closer to God. It tested my faith, it showed me that marriage has hard days and that life will sometimes give you lemons. It helped me to be even more grateful for our son and the family that we did have.

There were days of crying in the shower and crying myself to sleep. There were workouts that were more like therapy sessions and there were books I read and podcast that I needed. I clung to Joel Osteen messages for hope and I spent time being a little broken. There was healing in all of it. Today I am able to share my story and it doesn't make me cry like it used it.

There is no answer of how long it will take you to feel better if you're the one going thru this. Maybe you will heal quickly, maybe it will take months and maybe even years. It will happen at different times for all of us. Sometimes it takes going thru something really hard to appreciate the joy in new beginnings. While this pregnancy I am going thru has been a wonderful unexpected blessing, it's also bittersweet. I look at it thru new eyes. It makes me appreciate each day even more than I would have had I not lost a child.

There will be a blessing in your own storm if you're the one going thru it. I can't tell you when, but I can tell you to keep your faith, keep your chin up and know that you're not alone. If your friend or family member is going thru this, send them a card, make them a dinner, bring wine. Whatever you feel like doing, just show up because they need you more than they will ever let on.

Today I am planning to purchase a lemon tree for inside our home because I have no idea what your supposed to do on your "due date" other than be sad. It's going to be my way of not just remembering the baby, but also remembering the journey we have been on while learning a hard life lesson. We took one of our most sour lemons that life handed to us and made something that resembled lemonade.We grew stronger in our marriage and my roots grew deeper in my faith. I wish I could say this is our only lemon we will be handed in life. I know it won't be and I probably won't be ready for it when it happens, but I will approach it with grace just like we did when life handed us this lemon.

Thanks for supporting us on this journey. Keep the prayers coming for our rainbow baby. We appreciate them more than you know. I know God is using me to be a light for others going thru this. My hope is that I give you hope for your own family.

xoxo

Sarah

What's A Girl To Eat When She's Eating For Two?

Second Trimester Healthy Meal Plan 

I would be lying if I didn't say my nutrition habits in my first trimester were a bit of a wash. Did I eat healthy? Yes mostly, but did I also drink ginger ale, live off of crackers a few of those weeks and enjoy some not so healthy meals? Yep I did. I felt awful too because of it. For the last three years I have been fueling my body with very clean foods and for the last four months I have gotten lazy in my habits. During the time when my nutrition matters most I am mad at myself for not trying harder. 

I spent the first three and a half months extremely sick. This pregnancy has been nothing like my first. I am forever grateful though to even be pregnant so I am not complaining about being sick. It did however make eating eating healthy foods a little less appealing. Instead I found myself putting away sleeves of crackers and for some odd reason drinking juice like it was going out of style. (Not my style by the way. Juice is off limits at our house because of all the sugars.) 

Moral of the story is the second trimester has been treating me much nicer and I am finally feeling like ME again. I am craving foods that are better for me and for the baby and I couldn't be happier about that. 

I sat down and did some meal planning for myself and our family and this is what I came up with. 

You will notice my menu is color coded. That is because I am still following the portion control container method that I learned two and a half years ago. I am not measuring anything out and if you follow it strictly you would notice that for my weight I am over and under on a few things, but this is the best I can do right now. Normally I wouldn't pick things like luna bars and there should be a little more proteins and a little less BLUE containers but I call it a win. It's better than crackers and ginger ale. If I feel like eating more I will and if I don't feel like eating whats on the plan I will improvise but I think the effort is what's most important. 

As far as water goes, I mostly am drinking 60+ ounces a day. I try to drink half my weight in ounces. Instead of coffee I have been preferring peppermint tea but somedays I still have a cup of joe. 

Wish me luck as I venture back into intentional eating habits that will be better for me and baby Griffith. 

Are you pregnant as well? Looking for some support getting thru the rest of your pregnancy. Fill out the application below to be considered for my fit Momma challenge group beginning after the holidays. This will be for expecting and new moms only. 

Fill out my online form.

Use Wufoo templates to make your own HTML forms.

7 Days of Shakeology

Helping To Curb Your Holiday Cravings

Starting on Monday December 12th I will be kicking off a 7 days of Shakeology challenge. This is for those have have been wanting to try out the product but are not quite ready to commit to an entire months supply. 

During those 7 days we will be trying a new recipe each day. I will share some of my favorites that will hold a close second to your favorite christmas cookies. In addition we will be working on improving some of your nutrition habits and even doing a few mini workouts that I will be creating for the participants. 

My hopes are that you are able to enjoy the benefits of something that has given me more energy and cut out my junk food cravings. During this time of year I have a feeling it's just what you need. 

The group will start on Monday December 12th and wrap up on Sunday December 18th. Hopefully I can help you over come a few holiday temptations and maybe even help you lose a pound or two that week. While Shakeology is not just about something that can help with weight loss, it is a nice little side effect. 

Please send me an email with the subject line SHAKEO letting me know you would like a space in the group. I will be in touch within 24 hours to let you know what your next steps are. 

S.Griffith27@gmail.com

Wishing you a healthy and happy holiday season! 

Beachbody Black Friday Sales

Grab It While You Can

Once a year Beachbody marks down some of our programs and products so you can snag them at an even better price than usual. This is the time to stock up on gifts for your fit friends and family. Or maybe even yourself. 

While you won't be able to snag Shakeology or any challenge packs during this sale, you will be able to get some of our best programs and products before they disappear.

This sale will begin on Monday November 21st around 3 pm EST and end on November 30th. Things will sell out quickly so grab what you want sooner rather than later. These prices are for USD orders. The sale also applies to those clients living in Canada. You can see those prices when you access the website. 

You can access these sales by clicking here. 

Please feel free to contact me if you have a question or would like to learn more about getting my support as a coach. S.Griffith27@gmail.com

Giving Back This Holiday Season

Happiness Is... Giving Others Hope

I say this ALL the time and I mean it. Beachbody has forever and I mean forever changed my life. I went into this as a challenger myself wanting to get rid of the last bit of baby weight. I wanted to gain back some confidence and not have a muffin top anymore. I had no aspirations of coaching, getting fit long term or even honestly sticking with this. I was only willing to drink Shakeology because I wanted in the challenge group. My plan was to drink it for a month and not spend the money on it again.

But them the magic happened. I LOVED the challenge group. I loved having a coach. I  loved the accountability and I loved the results I was getting. Much to my surprise I actually loved Shakeology too. Me; the girl who never ever drank a meal replacement shake in her life was now considering drinking it for more than a month.

At the end of the challenge I liked it so much that I wanted to run groups like that myself. I was shouting it from the rooftops how much I liked the program and how great I was feeling. I then went all in as a coach. From month one I wanted to help as many people as I could to get results and feel as great as I did and I have not looked back since.

March will be my three year anniversary as a coach and I can proudly say that this business has allowed me to help hundreds and hundreds of women. Some have achieved little victories and some huge weight loss goals. Some stay with me for along time and some get what they are looking for and maintain on their own. But all who join me leave a little different than when they started. They leave armed with a bit more confidence and a lot more knowledge on nutrition and exercise.

Being able to help these women has also helped me. It has taught me so much and has allowed me to grow in so many ways.

I went from being a full time teacher working her butt off to make ends meet, eating garbage foods, never exercising and never feeling like I mattered anymore to a full time Beachbody coach who's life looks entirely different. I have been able to "retire" from the craziness in education and now build my business from home. I am way less stressed. I have learned so much about nutrition and exercise. I am more present at home for the people who need me. I get to make an income by making an impact on peoples lives. It's funny where life will sometimes take you if you let it.

So here is what I am doing. I am paying it forward. Truly no strings attached. I am going to be giving away the 22 minute Hard Corps workout program along with a months supply of Shakeology to one lucky person. This person will have me as their coach and gain access to the November 28th Holiday Survival Challenge group. My team and I will be reviewing the applications and picking a winner on Tuesday November 22nd at 9 pm. The product will be shipped out to you on Friday November 25th.

The winner must agree to "go all in" with the program, follow the nutrition program, drink Shakeology and allow me to share their transformation story at the conculsion of them doing the program. Applicants may not be already working with a coach or be an exisiting client of mine. This giveaway is only open to residents of the USA.

If this is something you would be interetsed in please fill out the application listed below. Good luck! I am excited to pay this blessing forward to others!

Why Hitting Rock Bottom Is A Great Place To Be...

Rock bottom... The place where you rebuild your life

If I have learned anything during my time as a coach, it's that rock bottom is the best place to be at if you want to truly change your life. In fact, I don't really want to work with you unless you really are at rock bottom. Pretty bold of me to say isn't it? I say it out of love. I want you to be so driven and so sick and tired of feeling the way that you do right now that your willing to do whatever it takes to change. I find that those who are not ALL in just yet are the ones who fail. They are the ones who make excuses and the ones who buy programs with good intentions but never finish them. Why is that? I used to blame myself as a coach until I began to know better. It wasn't me. It was them. They were not ready and I can never make them ready. This has to happen on their own terms and conditions. When they are ready though, you better look out because that is where serious change happens. That is where they create new habits, they drop the weight and the best part, they learn how to keep it off. This is the place where they learn to rebuild a new life for themselves.

When I tell you that I can help you, I really do mean it but you also have to be ready to help yourself.

The challenger who I am featuring today has been at both places. She reached out to me a few months back with an interest in joining the challenge group I was hosting but after a bit of conversation back and for she just wasn't ready yet. I respected that and let her know I would be glad to have her when she was ready and that I wasn't planning on going anywhere.

This is more common than you would realize. Most who join me for a challenge group have been on the fence before they decided to fully commit. Some share conversations with me and wait but some watch silently and just are not ready yet. I realize this and honestly respect it because I did the exact same thing when I was new. I watched my coach. I had a conversation with her about wanting to join her, but I just wasn't ready. It wasn't until I committed fully on MY terms was it that I had success with the programs and went all in.

Eventually Danielle hit her rock bottom. She reached out to me and shared she was ALL IN and ready to start. Because of her determination and hard work she gets to happily report that she is now down 21 lbs in the last 30 days. She committed to drinking Shakeology daily, she cleaned up her eating and did 30 minutes of exercise each day. She followed the Country Heat program and lost the weight all while having fun doing it.

Below you can read her story. I asked her to share what her journey has looked like. Her story is one that many of you can probably also relate too. I hope you are inspired by her efforts and actions. You can do hard things just like she did. You just have to be willing to put your mind to it.

As a kid weight was somewhat of an issue. I remember being thirteen and not be small like my friends. When I was fifteen I decided I wanted to be on birth control. I was introduced to a shot that would take my menstruation away. COME ON being a teenager who wouldn't make that choice! Well I wish I would have read up more on the medication before I started it or continued it. I began to gain a lot of weight which is one of the side effects. My senior year of high school I tried to lose weight and I did but I gained it all back! This has always been a vicious cycle for me.

Three years ago I had my first baby boy. I remember thinking I cannot wait to lose this baby weight. I did in three months I was under my pre pregnancy weight. I felt wonderful, but in it all I was not exercising. I remember after losing the weight I started to have a lot of anxiety. Something that I thought was normal but it isn't. With the anxiety came some depression and this took me into a downward spiral. I had gained all the weight back.

Six months ago I had my daughter. While on maternity leave I did nothing! I blamed it on feeding the baby. “Oh how tough is it” I would say. Talk about excuses. I didn't lose any weight sitting on my ass the whole day feeling sorry for myself.

Last month, after talking to Sarah for 2-3 months if not more, I looked at the scale at the doctor's office and I almost came to tears. I had let myself gain so much weight. All I could think is what the hell am I doing to myself? What am I teaching my children? I was teaching them to eat junk food at all hours of the day and night! I had taken it way too far. That is when I realized I had to do something and I had to do something now.

Sarah had posted on facebook that she would be doing a mentoring program for anyone who wanted to become a coach. All I thought was could I do this? I mean is this really something that I would enjoy… Of course still trying to talk myself out of it. Using more and more excuses. I finally had to tell myself its now or never. I was at my lowest point with the weight issue. I did it.. I filled out the application and just waited to see if she would contact me. See if i meant the criteria. Well when she emailed me I never opened an email as fast as I did when I saw her name. I opened it and she wanted me to join her team and she was willing to teach me the ropes. I had to do this, I needed to get out of my comfort zone and do this for myself and my children.

I decided to do Country Heat. I love country music and to dance. I ordered it and could not wait for it to arrive. When it came I was so excited to do it. I even started my challenge group a week early because I was just so ready to get started and lose weight. I wanted to learn a new lifestyle that would keep me and my family healthy.

Day 1 I pushed myself to the end of that first workout. Damn was that tough, but I felt so great when I was done. I wanted to keep moving. I cannot tell you the last time I wanted to keep going. The last time I had so much energy I just wanted to go for a run. I was feeling on top of the world!

Midway through the program I couldn't wait to get out of bed and do my dance! I was talking about it at work all the time. The meals I was making following the program were so amazingly good. My husband and kids were loving the new delicious foods. The best part was getting on that scale everyday and seeing the numbers just continue to drop!

Finishing the program I have lost 21 pounds and feel so wonderful! I am getting back into the clothes that didn't fit. I can play with my kids more. I'm not sitting on the couch all the time. There is no more junk food in the house and I have not had one complaint from anyone! Which is surprising to me!

I am so thankful for Sarah offering this program, and for country heat for kicking my ass to help me lose weight. I probably would still be sitting on the couch feeling sorry for myself if she would not have offered me this opportunity. Also, a huge thank you to my family for their awesome support. Now I can help others that fell the way that I have felt. I am so excited to continue this lifestyle and continue to lose weight and be a better ME.

If you would like to be considered as a challenger in my next accountability group like Danielle was please fill out the application below and I will be in touch. The next group is beginning on November 28th. Spots are filling up quickly.

Fill out my online form.

HTML Forms powered by Wufoo.

Joy in the journey

Finding Faith In The Little Things

If you read my previous post I had made when I announced my pregnancy, you would remember reading my "rainbow" story. If not I will quickly share with you what I mean.

Since finding out we were expecting our "rainbow baby" I have been seeing a rainbow every single day, sometimes several times a day. Incase you're new to the term "rainbow baby" it's a baby that you have after experiencing a miscarriage. They call it a rainbow because after every storm comes a rainbow of hope.

Today I wanted to share with you an update. Some have asked are you still seeing the rainbows three months into this pregnancy? My answer is YES. Actually even more often now than I was in the beginning. Sometimes they are real rainbows up in the sky and sometimes they are silly things like a Halloween costume skirt or a piece of art in my sons school. It often comes when I am least expecting it each day.

I cannot tell you how much joy these little appearances bring me. It's my gentle reminder from the universe that all is well with my little one and to have faith that this is going to turn out okay.

At first I thought all of this was just a crazy coincidence but now three months in, I am starting to believe that these rainbows are being sent to me intentionally.

My husband thought I was crazy at first but now he believes I am seeing them for a reason too.

This is my first encounter with "signs" from God or the universe or whatever you want to call it but I am hooked. I love it and truly see each rainbow as a gift. It makes me curious how many other people see "signs" in their own lives as reminders to stay in faith.

I would like to think that my grandma has something to do with all of this. She passed away this August and I would have become pregnant shortly after her passing. She had 9 children and was what I would like to call the queen of fertility. I swear shes been assigned to watch over me and this pregnancy. Here's the cool part. Growing up my grandma had these beautiful crystals that hung in her dining room window. Every time the sun would shine you would see beautiful rays of rainbow light. It was a fun memory from my childhood. These rainbows make me think of her each day and it makes me feel closer to her.

While I don't photograph all of them I did want to share a few with you all to show you how cool it really is.

This announcement has been YEARS in the making. It's absolutely an answer to all of our prayers. 

This was my first encounter with the rainbows. Each of these long streaks is a rainbow. It's hard to see it from far away. They were in the foyer of my home. My son was the first to find it. He called me and was yelling to COME SEE ALL OF THESE RAINBOWS. It was a week after I found out I was expecting. Nobody knew yet except my huband and all I had been thinking about was how happy we were about our rainbow baby. It brought me to tears. I could have sat and looked at it for hours. Since that night I have continued to see these rainbows each day. It was a much needed sign for me.

A close up of what the streaks looked like in our foyer. Bright, brilliant and beautiful just like this miracle we are experiencing.

This one showed up in my kitchen on a day I was feeling uncertian and worried about the baby. I am sure it was shining this bright because someone knew I needed a strong reminder that day. I was in awe of the beauty of this one. 

This one appeared over our house the morning after announcing our pregnancy.

This showed up on my computer screen one day when I sat down to work for the day. I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. I kept looking around for the light in the room from where it might be coming from. I still never figured it out instead I took it as a sign that all is well today.

There are many more that I could share with you. It gives me hope and faith and helps to ease my mind each day. I can only hope that they will continue until my little one arrives in May. I hope you enjoyed reading this and sharing in the JOY along with me. 

Maintain Don't Gain Holiday Survival Group

Help With Holiday Survival 

Tis the season to gain 10 lbs. Yikes.. but seriously. Unfortunately this time of year can be very hard on your waistline. It seems as if we have one holiday after another leaving us little chance to drop any weight.

Although when I think about most people I realize that weight loss is never really the goal during the holidays, it's more so that we go into survival mode. We want to enjoy the treats and alcohol at the gatherings. We don't want to have to say no to the stuffing. We want to enjoy the seaonal treats that we wait all year to enjoy, but we don't want to gain any extra weight that we might already be carrying around. More so simply maintain where we are.

That is what I want to help you with this holiday season. I want to help show you how to survive the holidays without gaining 6 - 10lbs. Will you shed some lbs in the process of the challenge group? Yes most likely if you stick to the plan. But the goals of this months challenge will be to teach you tips so that you can enjoy the holidays and make good choices. You will be able to enjoy the cookies and learn some self control so you don't have to eat the entire platter of them. I will help you to fit in some exercise during these busy weeks so you can find an outlet to let off some of the stress you might be feeling from the holidays. In addition I will teach you how to clean up some of your favorite holiday recipes to make them just a little healthier.

These new habits will set you up for some killer health and fitness changes and success leading into the New Year, which is when I think most of you would prefer to think about "weight loss."

Do you feel like you need this kind of support leading into the holidays? Please fill out this application below and I will be in touch shortly to get you a spot. This is a group your not going to want to miss out on.

Fill out my online form.

Use Wufoo integrations and get your data to your favorite apps.