Nutrition Flexibility & Balance After Babies

After having my second daughter in April 2016, I knew I had to do something about my weight. After my first daughter I never quite lost all my "baby" weight before getting pregnant with our second...even though they are 2 years apart. And, to top it off, during each pregnancy I gained about 55-60 pounds even though I was consistently doing CrossFit and eating (somewhat) healthy. Yikes! 

In the past I had tried Paleo, The Zone and had looked into Whole 30, but only made it about a "whole 2" as there were just so many restrictions! I personally thrive on tight boundaries and goals but I need to be able to live my life. We have very social jobs which entails us meeting people for lunch, dinner...and of course coffee! Because of my need to go out with people I found the other "diets" too restrictive for my lifestyle...plus I have a 3 year old and sometimes Chick-Fil-A is what's for dinner! :) 

I've been on a macro nutrition plan since June 2016 and love it. This is by far the longest time I've ever followed a plan and I have seen some incredible results. My progress has been slow and steady...sometimes slower than I want, but I have stayed the course, trusted the process and have been truly amazed. In June, I weighed in at 164 pounds and now in March I weigh at 133. 

After the weight loss, the best parts for me are my increase in energy levels (I used to want to/need to take a nap almost every afternoon), my increased strength (I feel stronger and faster in the gym than I did before my first pregnancy), and I no longer stress or worry about what to eat or what to do if I had a "bad" day of eating. 

I know that I can take a day off for a celebration or a vacation and pick right back up where I left off. In the past, I would "punish" myself for having a meal or day where I know I ate poorly, but now I get right back on track, hitting my numbers the next day. I love that I can have a weekly date night with my husband and fit in some dessert if I want to and if I plan for it. I love that I can eat the same things as my daughters because I don't have to eat anything special and I am setting healthy examples for them on a balanced diet and portion control.

Photo Credit: Rx Pics

An encouragement: stay the course and you will see results! It took me almost 3 weeks to lose my first pound as my body adjusted to my new eating habits. Plan ahead! If you go into each day blind and just eat freely this will be more difficult. I go into each day with a plan, usually starting with my dinner, so I know what I can eat each day whether I'm working from home or at a day long workshop. 

Trust the process-if losing weight and being fit was easy most of the population would be at a healthy weight, right?! It takes time and it takes change...trust the process and be willing to make change. 

Feel Good! Patience. Worth the Work!

Raw, real, and relatable story shared by a client. She has had a major transformation over the past year. We have worked together for about 14 months, and her overall health has been so impacted, she is now off paying it forward by helping others with their nutrition. Love these stories!

As a self proclaimed "I'd rather not eat, then exercise" kind of girl for 35 years, my world has gone through a major turnaround. 

I got married straight out of high school (20 years old) and had my first of three kids at age 21.  Being a young mother of three and my husband being self employed, I was always running in 10 directions. I had no fitness history. If we were allowed 12 minutes to do the mile in high school PE, I came in at 11:59. I was never over weight and felt like I looked good in clothes😉.  

Getting ready to turn 35, I knew I had to get in some sort of shape. Lots of people in my life had taken up running and loved it, so I thought I would give it a try. I hated it. Every minute of it. I had some friends that were involved in CrossFit and my sister convinced me to give it a try. I did and I found my fitness! I started 3 years ago and have never looked back. It was about 2 years in when Misty started talking to us about macro nutrition. I had been working out for 2 years and hadn't lost a pound. I had built tons of new muscles, but no weight loss. Like I said, I was never over weight, so weight loss was not the reason for me starting CrossFit. After talking to Misty about my goals of losing the the layer of fat covering my new found muscles, we got started. The first few weeks were hard as there was little weight loss, but I kept working hard and "trusted the process". Misty rebooted my metabolism and the weight started coming off. Don't get me wrong, this is not a 30 day fix, it's a life long nutrition plan. The progress is slow, steady, and real. Not only did I lose weight, I had more energy, built strength, and just felt awesome! I was able to still enjoy my favorite daily coffee and dinner with my family. It takes a little planning, but totally doable. I now have the tools to know how to go on vacation and get through holidays without throwing all my progress out the window.

In conclusion, YOU have to be ready for change. This awesome feeling I have, I wish for everyone.  I don't necessarily mean my weight loss, but all the other positives that come with great nutrition that includes feeling good from the inside out. Seriously! At this point the weight loss is just a bonus. You think you feel good, but you don't know how good you can really feel. Thank you Misty for all your support on this journey. #BOOM

The Mom Life- Creating a Better Version of Self

I have the honor of working with AMAZING clients! We all come from different walks of life, and all have a story to share. When a client is ready for TRUE CHANGE, that is where the MAGIC happens! Meet one client and her story:

I've always been an active person. I'm always wanting to try something new in terms of fitness. I can remember going to step aerobics, kickboxing, some spin class and some weight training. I even took up running in the middle of a very humid summer in Houston! So when I did travel assignments on the east coast, I was still pretty active, but the toll of working night shift and the night life didn't agree with my metabolism. Let's just say I gained 20 lbs while I was on the east coast.

I then ended up on the west coast. The weather is beautiful and I took up running again and even did a half marathon. I was back to my usual weight and I even lost most of the weight that I had gained during my traveling years on the east coast.

Fast forward, then came marriage and having a family. I was actually in pretty good shape when I got married. I was going to the gym on a regular basis with the help of a personal trainer and I was still running so I was able to maintain my weight, but I've always struggled with the nutrition aspect of my training. My husband and I are home bodies so we love making food at home! We also like to try new restaurants and live life.

Next, babies came in the picture. I had my daughter in 2010 and I was able to lose my baby weight due to lack of sleep for 8 weeks! With our move in 2012, I also found CrossFit. It has been a major part of my life. I was doing CrossFit on and off around the addition of my boys in 2013 and 2014. After I was cleared to go back to working out, I knew I needed to be consistent and really work on getting my fitness back on track and work on getting my body back as we were done with our growing family.

I was back going to CrossFit almost everyday and felt great at first, then I started really getting fatigued often. I was so afraid to eat more because I was thinking it defeats the purpose of working out. I needed to lose weight. The pressure was on because my 40th birthday was months away. I lost the weight before my 40th, but as soon as I started eating again, I gained it back. My nutrition was not dialed in, so I was getting frustrated. That was when I sought the help of Misty Smith. She was talking about a nutrition program and the "macros" way of eating. She offered a nutrition challenge at the gym which I participated in and had been very successful.

I've been doing this type of nutrition plan for over a year now and I've really enjoyed the process. It has been exciting and frustrating at the same time. Every new thing that you do there's always a learning curve. With this way of eating, planning is the key! I've achieved my goal weight and my performance at the gym has improved tremendously. In the last year, Misty and I have worked on several goals and my macros were adjusted accordingly. Now, I'm not saying that I've always been consistent in adhering to my macro plan, and there were days where I've had major slip ups, but the beauty of this plan is you get to start over the next day. I'm still sticking to this type of nutrition plan currently, and I hope to continue doing this for the rest of my life. I can eat everything just as long as I can fit it in my macros. For me, it's basically just about eating in moderation and making healthy choices. I'm a dessert person so if I want to eat dessert, I take that into account and plan for it. We like to go out to dinner, so again I try to plan my food intake accordingly. The same thing goes when we travel or go on trips. It's hard because you are out of your element, but you just do your best. Again, you can always reset and get back on it! Life happens and you need to enjoy it!

In addition, the macro planning helped educate me in understanding nutrition labels and information. I think we've become a country of big portions and we're not really eating a serving size unless you weigh it!! I want this to be my lifestyle so I can be an example modeling a fit and healthy lifestyle for my family, for my children, and the people around me.

A Transformation Journey

Sometimes it takes some tough love and reality to truly see what you do not see. Like really ripping those blinders off, and showing some truth!!! No foggy goggles.

I recently celebrated my 4-0 birthday and it was such a culmination of thoughts and reflections. I feel like when you get to this point in life, you hopefully have some solid life experience to reflect on where you have been and then look forward to where you are going. I can honestly appreciate my story, my past, my life experience, for what it is, and I look forward with hope, optimism, and comfort that I know there is much greatness to come as well.

Birthday vacation enjoying the ocean & dunes.

A year and a half ago, I was not in that happy place. I had a HUGE Pacific Northwest-type gloomy cloud that had been hanging around for some time. Some of you know a little more of my story, but if not, read here or watch this video. (You can check out more on the blog). I had let an injury affect me in many parts of my life, but it was really a culmination of several factors that all merged together. Not a high, bright period along the life timeline.

Then there was a moment where I realized, enough is enough! I have too much to offer those around me with my God-given gifts, and they are not being utilized because I had allowed myself to be overwhelmed by life funk! My physical health wasn't optimal, and therefore affected my mental and spiritual health. All were running on empty, because I had allowed that to happen. I felt some heavy weight weighing on my overall general health, literally and figuratively. It was time to suck it up, change my mindset, and do the WORK to get back to finding a positive and good balance in my health.

So here I am eighteen months later, a transformation that is not only in my physical health, but overall general health that's mind, body, and soul. I am in a great spot and now feel it's my duty to pay it forward. It feels great to be able to provide value to others, and help them reach their optimal health goals. Look good, feel good, do good!

Littlest & I always dancing around being goofballs.

Make the conscious choice to choose happiness. Find the courage to get beyond those insecurities that are holding you back from being YOU!!! It will take WORK, but you are SO WORTH it! You were designed by God to share your individual gifts with everyone out there. We all need to share more of our individual gifts. Be your BEST YOU!!! Do YOU. Don't try to live up to someone else's standards or ideals. What do you need to do to invest in yourself? How can I help?