Focus On Food - February Nutrition Challenge

As I near more closely into the thrid trimester of my pregnancy I am focusing hard on my nutrition and a little bit less on my fitness like I had before I was expecting. I am doing yoga and trying to keep my body limber and strong, but my nutrition has been what has been most important to me. When I had my first baby I gained 57 lbs because I ate whatever I felt like it. I treated pregnancy as a pass to go hog wild on junk foods. This time around I have been much more concious about what I was fueling my body with. There are going to be five years between my two children. Over the course of those five years I learned a new way when it came to nutrition. 

I spent the first two years of my son's life reaching for fast food. I could have lived off of potato chips and lattes from the drivethru at Starbucks. I finally woke up one day and said enough was enough. I had to learn to be healthier not just for ME but also because I needed my family to be healthy too. I decided to make a change and joined a challenge group because even though I wanted to be healthy I really needed help. I needed someone to hold me accountable and teach me "how" to actually make it happen. 

Well guess what... it worked for me. Clean eating became the norm and my desire to eat junk food began to diminish. I learned that healthy foods can actually be delicious and that 30 minutes of exercise a day actually made me a less stressed crazy mom. 

I drank Shakeology daily because it actually made me feel better. I stopped craving junk foods and saw a huge change in my digestion. I never realized how much I was lacking in vitamins and minerals until I started to add them in. Shakeology helped make my skin glow and hair and nails grow like a weed. While I will admit I was so skeptical at first, I have hardly missed a day since I started drinking it. I really can say it's worth every penny. 

During the month of February the challenge that I am going to host a challenge will have a HUGE focus on food. I want to share with you what I have learned about what a powerful tool nutrition can be to taking back your life and creating new habits so you can live longer and be stronger. 

Not only will I be teaching you how to meal plan, but also how to fall in love with HEALTHY eating. I promise during this time you will NOT feel like you are on any type of diet. In fact, by the end of the challenge you probably won't event want to return back to your old ways. I will teach you how to manage portion control and tips for keeping up with this lifestyle on a budget. 

In addition to our focus on foods I will also help you to pick a Beachbody fitness program that best suits your goals. After we pick a program you will be added into the challeng group for support and accountability. It's easy to buy a fitness program with good intentions but it's hard to stick with it. That's why having a coach and a support group is the piece that so many are missing. I find those who commit go "ALL IN" as a challenger are the ones who get the best results. 

If this seems like something you are in need of and are ready to join me please fill out the application below. There are a limited number of spots so apply quickly to be considered. We will begin on Monday February 20th, 2017. 

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Gearing Up For A Busy Month

Now Taking New Challengers! 

Over the holidays I held off on offering my services to my challengers. I kept my groups that I did offer very small because I wanted to be able to give the best services and give them my full attention. The holidays and New Year had me so busy that I needed to keep things low key, 

Now as we are getting closer and closer to "spring break" and warmer weather is nearing on the horizon people are coming out of the woodwork asking to be in my challenge groups. So many that I have actually decided I will offer two challenge groups for the month of February. I have one that will start on February 8th as well as February 22nd. 

These groups are for new or existing clients of mine who are looking for some accountability, fun and help. In the program I will work with you to get you in the habit of doing daily exercise as well as focus on clean eating and portion control. My speciality is meal planning and meal prep so I am hoping some of that talent will rub off on my challengers too. I always find that to be the most difficult for many of those who I work with. 

Many often reach out and ask - so what does it mean to be in a challenge group and what is required of me? It's pretty simple. 

#1 - You have to want to change more than you want to stay the same. It's time for you to get a little uncomfortable and work on getting out of your old ways. An all in attitude is expected from all challengers.

One of my favorite shirts. TRUTH I didn't wake up like this, I worked my butt off to get healthy like this. It wasn't easy but oh so worth it. It can be for you too! 

#2 - I will add you into my private online support group. There I will have you "check in" with me and the other clients who are in the group along with you. Each day you will share your victories and struggles. The group is my way of holding your feet to the fire. It's easy to buy a workout program and not do it but it's hard to quit when someone is checking on you. 

#3 - You will need to follow the meal plan that comes along with your program. You have to be willing to give meal planning and prep a try. I think you will find it will REALLY help you get on track.

#4 - You must be willing to incorporate Shakeology into one of your daily meals. Remember we are practicing clean eating so you can expect to have to eat a lot and eat often. I tend to eat about six meals a day and Shakeology is one of my six. Don't be nervous about it but it's okay if you are. I was too. I swore I would only drink it for the one month that I was doing my program. Little did I know I would be still drinking it two years later. It helped me to cut out my junk food cravings and gave me more energy. The vitamin boost was something my body really needed!

#5 - You must be willing to stick to the workouts that are going to come with the program you pick. You will do them daily, even on the days where you may be lacking motivation.

I need you to want this for yourself. I can't want it for you. I can't make you do this and I can't make you eat healthy. All I can do is encourage and teach you how I have done it. Remember I started where you were not too long ago. 

I was doing Hammer and Chisel this morning with Autumn Calabrese the trainer who created the 21 day fix and changed my world and was thinking about how she has helped me even though she will never know it. 

She's kind of my girl because without her and her program I would not be where I am today.

I would still be living off of lattes, never working out and feeling stressed because I wasn't making time for myself. I wouldn't be helping others like I am today either.

Funny how one choice to buy a workout program completely changed the direction of my life.

She may never realized this but she showed me that every mom has 30 extra minutes to squeeze in a workout, she taught me clean eating and portion control and she even showed me how to get rid of that post baby body. If you ask me that's pretty awesome!!

Get at me if you want me to teach you what I've learned along the way about being a busy mom but still making time to take care of myself. I would love to have you in one of my February groups I have starting up! Please fill out the application below and I will be in touch right away! 

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I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

Today I wanted to get real with you about my challenge groups. I wanted to share with you what they mean to me and what they are all about. So heres the deal - I started this journey as a challenger myself first. I remember feeling like I "hit rock" bottom when my son had just turned 2. It was the night of his birthday party and it felt like my last straw. I was so sick and tired of being tired, living off white chocolate mocha lattes from Starbucks and NEVER having enough time for myself. I wanted things to change. Even though I was a "busy mom" I wanted to make some time for myself. In that moment I didn't know how I would do it, I just knew I had to make it work. Quickly I began to scour the Internet to learn more about the 21 day fix that was just coming out at the time. I thought there is no way you could seriously drop up to 10 lbs in 21 days or could it really work? That's all I was after just 5 or 10 lbs but more so I wanted to feel better. I was very apprehensive about Shakeology and just the idea of being in a challenge group. I really didn't understand what it all meant, but I saw one of my friends from college being successful not only as a challenger first but also as a coach. After watching her for many months, I decided to pick her because "she wasn't going anywhere." She clearly knew what she was doing when it came to helping people find success. 

My group lasted for a month and at the end of the month not only did I hit my goal that I was working towards, but I also was hooked on the whole challenge group environment as well as Shakeology. It made me a new mom and wife for my husband and son. I was refreshed, energized, less crabby, happier and no longer living off of Starbucks because of my small change. Which was funny because I was SO skeptical of all of it at first. From there, I knew I wanted to help others feel as great as I did and quickly became a coach myself. 

But here's the thing - I am now 18 months into coaching and helping challengers to get the results they are pushing for and to this day - I am STILL a challenger myself.  The environment that is created in a challenge group is a place that makes you feel like it's okay to fall off the wagon but you don't get to stay off the wagon. We celebrate wins big and small and encourage each other when they need it. We share recipes, health tips and ideas that we are picking up along the way as we adapt to our new lifestyles.The groups are not about being on a diet, they are about changing your lifestyle once and for all for the BETTER. I teach you how to make this a part of your life and how to make yourself proud. 

During my time as a coach, I have helped countless individuals lose A LOT of weight. But what I think is more important is that I didn't give up on them when everyone else including themselves had. I kept them accountable and held their hand thru the challenge. It seems to me that regardless of your income, your profession or your weight loss goals we all just need a friend to help support us along the way.

If that's what your in need of, please fill out the application below. Allow me to be your coach, your friend, your hand holder, whatever you need. Just ask - be brave enough to say I need help with this and I can't do it alone. I can quickly place you in a support group and help get you started.

The journey is hard enough, don't face it alone

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