My Responsibility!

My Life is MY Responsibility! If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you always got.

I love this saying and wanted to put it out there for eveyone to think about. It's so easy to say you want to change, workout, eat better, get organized, manage your time better, etc...but until you take the necessary steps to make the changes, you'll get nowhere! It's completely your responsibility to turn your life around and noone can do it for you.

Did you know they key to weight loss is 80% nutrition? You can workout for 2 hours a day, killing yourself, and it won't amount to much if you eat whatever you want, whenever you want. I tell my clients that all the time. They want me to kill them in our sessions but then they don't always stay focused with their nutrition. I know that everyday life gets in the way. We all have busy schedules, picky kids and spouses to feed, etc. but that's not an excuse to lose control of our eating. It's like the quote above says, "if you do what you've always done, you've get the same results". Take the time once a week to do your meal planning for the week. I use Sundays as my day to plan the week's meals, do the grocery shopping, pre-dice my fruits and veggies, cook my chicken breasts, pre-package my snacks, etc. All of these things take about an extra hour per week and it's worth every minute! If I really stay focused on my nutrition, I can maintain or even lose a few pounds in no time! I also feel so good about what I'm feeding my family and I know my kids are getting the proper nutrition they need.

I will do my best to post my weekly meal plan as often as I can and also any extra tools I come across. Decide what you want to achieve, stay focused, plan ahead and reach your goals and the changes will come!

Sweet!

I often get told by my clients that the one thing holding them back from a "Clean Eating" lifestyle is their overwhelming sweet tooth. Yes, I feel your pain. My husband can attest to the fact that I have a serious sweet tooth and it's sometimes hard to control (especially when the hormones kick in!) I have a few "Clean Eating" recipes that I use to help alleviate my stubborn sweet tooth. Here are a few of my favorites...

Choco-Monkey Protein Shake
Makes 1 serving

Handful of ice cubes
1 C. Skim milk
2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbsp. natural peanut butter
1 scoop chocolate-flavored whey protein powder
1 medium banana

Place all ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth.
(This really makes quite a bit so I sometimes give a small cup to each of my kids and they love it!)

Chocolate & Banana Protein-Packed Pancakes
Makes 1 serving (3 pancakes)

Olive Oil Spray
1/8 C. low-fat cottage cheese
1/4 C. egg whites
1 1/2 scoops chocolate protein powder
1 medium banana, sliced
1 Tbsp. sugar-free maple syrup

Spray a nonstick pan with oil and set on medium heat.
In a bowl, combine cottage cheese, egg whites and protein powder. Use a handheld blender to mix thoroughly. Pour batter into pan. Cook each side for about 2 minutes or until pancake is golden. Top with banana slices and syrup.

I often get asked what protein powder I use. My favorite is the Chocolate Fudge by Essential Natural. I mix it with water or milk and drink as a snack or after my workout. It is sooo good!

I hope all of you in the Houston area are enjoying this amazing weather! It's a great day for a Choco-Monkey Shake!

Hello Rain!

We spent the entire day, yesterday, outside with the kids. We started with a nice, long bike ride (the entire family) followed by a picnic lunch. The kids don't get to ride their bikes with us often and they had a great time and were worn out (yeah!) The rest of the day was spent outside mulching the yard, finishing the garden, planting the butterfly garden and various flowers around the yard, and pressure washing. Lots of hard work but our yard looks amazing! I kept saying I wanted it to rain so I wouldn't have to water everything...well, Hello Rain!

I can't say I'm too upset it's raining the last few days of Spring Break. The yellow pollen in the air has been crazy and this rain will wash it away and we also need a good watering of the yard. I can use the time inside to get caught up on laundry, plan workouts, plan meals for the week, etc...there's always something to do! Best of all, it's extra time hanging out with the kids before they go back to school. I've really enjoyed the time off with them, the lazy mornings, no homework, no sports...it gives me a preview of what summer will be like and I'm ready! The bike ride yesterday was awesome and we plan to do more of those as a family. I love it when my kids are getting exercise but think it's just having fun. Pretty soon it will be time to jump in the pool!

I hope everyone is enjoying your Spring Break as well and you've had some time for family fun!

Well, finally, Spring is almost here and that means one important thing for my family...an abundance of fresh, beautiful produce all over the house! I love stocking up on the best fruits and vegetables, washing everything, slicing and bagging all of it to be kept handy for snacking. Whenever my kids want a snack I tell them to open the fridge and choose anything in the containers. There is nothing better than fresh fruit on a warm day and there are about a million different ways to enjoy it!

I just wanted to take a moment to let everyone in Houston know about the fabulous produce I found at HEB! They have a huge selection of organic strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, etc. and are all on sale! I totally loaded up! We had a fabulous berry medley for dessert last night (Cale always adds some sugar-free whipped cream for the kids) and I've been popping handfuls of fresh blueberries in my mouth all day. So good and full of antioxidants!
Whatever we don't eat in the next few days will be put in ziploc bags and frozen to be used for future desserts, smoothies and whatever else we can think of. It's time to head to the store or farmer's market and load up on whatever is fresh and preferably grown local.

I also headed to the local plant store with the kids yesterday and finished buying our veggie plants for the garden. We loaded up on lots of herb plants, squash, zucchini, strawberries, peppers, etc. and will plant a future feast. My kids love to grow produce right in their own backyard. They're usually willing to try something new when it comes from their own garden. It's a great money saver too and fun for the family!

If you have any great ideas on how to get the kiddos to eat healthy, please send them to me!

Make your own recovery the first priority of your life.

Robin Norwood


I love this quote. So many of us have health issues, illnesses, aches and pains, etc. Some of us think it's up to doctors to cure what ails us when, in fact, it's really up to us to fix the problem. Your health begins with the choices you make in your life. Think about your daily routine, what you eat, what you drink, how often you sleep, how often you exercise, your stress level, etc. I could go on forever about how we don't take care of our bodies. I firmly believe your body will take care of you if you take care of your body. I challenge each of you to really think about how you live your life. If you're really honest with yourself, I'm sure there are quite a few areas where you could make improvements! Take the next few weeks to recognize the areas where you can improve and then make a REALISTIC game plan of what you can do to Fix the Problems. Educate yourself and educate your family on the benefits of a healthy lifestyle!

My husband and I have recently started reading a new book called "The Seven Pillars of Health" by Dr. Don Colbert. This is an amazing book about the natural way to better health. Dr. Colbert gives "easy to understand" explanations of what you can do to improve your overall health. So much of it I have already heard but he simplifies things and gives you simple ways to incorporate these changes into your life.

Over the next few weeks, I'll do my best to share the best tips from this book. I hope they are helpful!

Welcome to my Blog! I've always done a monthly newsletter but feel it sometimes gets a little impersonal. I've had so many people ask about what I do on a daily basis to keep fit and healthy. I decided a blog is the best way to give those who are interested a sneak peek into my daily routine. I will do my best to post new exercises, recipes and healthy tips as I come across them. I will also post motivational tips, scriptures or anything I feel gives encouragement. Feel free to check in on my blog as much as possible. I will do my best to keep it updated regularly. As always, I'm here to answer questions and to help in any way I can! God Bless you all and don't forget to sweat!