6 Ways to Improve Your Mood

Most of you know, I'm a fitness and nutrition coach. I help motivate and encourage people to achieve their goals for a healthy and fulfilling life.

I wouldn't be real with you if I didn't let you in on a little secret.  I have down days. Days when I doubt myself.  Days when I don't want to eat healthy.  Days when I want to feel sorry for myself. Days when I feel like my life is so unbalanced that I don't know how I manage to get it all done. Days when I feel like I give more of me to others than I give to my own husband and kids. Days when I let the negative voices creep in and feel envious, selfish and a victim of my surroundings.

You know what?  Down days happen. And when they happen to me, I ask myself the following questions:

1.  Did I spend time with God today? Did I read His word and ask to be open to His will for my life? Did I pray for others? Did I truly listen to Him?

2. Did I work out today? Did I spend at least 20 minutes getting my heart rate up?  Did I break a sweat?

3. Did I have an eating plan today?  If not, why?  How does that make me feel?  Am I making unhealthy eating choices and if so, what emotion is attached?

4. Did I spend some time working on my own personal development?  If not, what could I be reading,listening to, or doing that could be giving me a different perspective and improve my outlook?

5.  Who have I been in contact with today?  Am I surrounding myself with people who love me, believe in me and support me?

6. What am I thankful for in my life?

Chances are, if I'm feeling down, something above is off. I skipped a workout, I didn't spend time with God,  I encountered a non-supportive person. You get the idea.

If you are struggling right now.  I encourage you to ask yourself these same questions.  What one thing could you start doing today to start improving your outlook?

Sometimes getting out of a down cycle can seem downright impossible, but I assure you, you are able to do anything with intention and a desire to change. It's within you. God bless!

A Work in Progress

Soooo happy to be getting back into regular workouts after pregnancy!  I am ready to bring it AGAIN!  I am a little late with this, but this is my 30 day progress photo just 6 weeks after delivering my 2nd child.  My son was born July 18 and I started working out August 1 to TurboFire.  Some first month observations…

• Working out during pregnancy was a good thing.  I felt like my delivery went so smooth and I bounced back so much sooner than my first pregnancy!
• The first 2 weeks of working out were tough…my body was still healing so I had to take it easy and modify the workouts.
• My OB doctor said no ab-specific exercises until 6 weeks postpartum.
• I’m not so focused on what I look like right now…but know that I feel amazing. (lost 5 lbs)

For September, I have decided to introduce weight training back into my routine, so I am doing a TurboFire/ChaLEAN Extreme Hybrid program.

The Beauty of Using Nutrition Guides

I’ll be honest, I have never spent tons of time reading food labels.  Being a “skinny” girl for all my life, I have never really needed to pay attention to food.  And, what I mean by that is - the calories, the sugar, the fat content, all of it.  I have been pretty blessed with good height and genes, but no matter how thin you are in your youth, it catches up to you if you’re not watching.  A year ago, I decided to take more interest in my health and diet and each day since then, I am learning more and more about “clean” eating and the types of food I put in my body.

From time to time, I hear from people who are using a workout program (in most cases a Beachbody program that I recommend), but are not losing weight. The first question I ask is, “are you following the nutrition guide that came with your program”. Most of the time the answer is “no”. This confirms for me that we should leave it to the experts to recommend meal plans and recipes for us, at least until we figure out what is good and not good for us to eat.

All of the Beachbody programs I have used (P90X, Insanity, ChaLEAN Extreme to name a few) come with a nutrition guide.  These guides take the guesswork out of what I am supposed to be eating and help create a realistic, workable plan for my busy life.

Of note, I am thankful for the guide that Chalene Johnson put together in ChaLEAN Extreme. It’s like she crafted to recipes just for me, the busy mom who never has any time to prepare food! The recipes require basic, inexpensive ingredients and do not take much time to prepare. As a result, I am more inclined to make them, therefore I’m not only eating healthy, but so is my family.  Who doesn’t love Balsalmic Flank Steak and Faux Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Chicken Kabobs and Chicken Bruschetta?  Great tasting meals that will keep you trim and on target with your goals.