Words That Remind Us Of Our Personal Power

"No Matter How Hard The Past, You Can Always Begin Again"

This is one of my favorite quotes because it is short, simple and puts things in perspective. Sometimes life can get messy. Circumstances and relationships can get complicated and hurtful at times.

Different people deal with different specifics in their lives but all human beings are faced with emotional and/or physical challenges in their life time. Those are pivotal times in our lives when we have to choose how long we are willing to carry the negative effects of those challenges. Some situations threated to break us and some motivate us to become stronger.

We don't always get to choose our situations but we do get to choose our own personal outcomes.
 

What Would Your Kids Tell You?

Have you ever wondered what your kids would really want you to know if only they had the maturity and vocabulary to tell you?






Things like:

1. Don’t try to be my friend; I need a parent so much more
2. Tell me you are proud of me
3. Teach me how to express myself when I am hurt and angry
4. Show me you think I am capable of doing things on my own
5. Tell me something good or funny about your day
6. My temperament and maturity rate may be different than yours was, don’t make me feel wrong for not being you

The complete list is available here and every parent should read it at least once. :)
What Kids Wish Their Parents Knew

How Do You Feel After You Eat?

Knowing what to eat at when can be very confusing. There is an easy way to figure it out though!
Our bodies will tell us what it needs and what it doesn't want, we just need to learn how to listen to it.
A wise person once told me that when choosing what to eat, always remember that food is fuel.
After you eat, you should feel great and energized!
If you are feeling sluggish, bloated and in need of a nap, your body probably didn't get what it was needing to function.
How do you know which foods are slowing you down? Eliminate one type of food per week and see how you feel. Each persons system is a little different so there is no cookie cutter solution. There are some universal truths of course like, no body can thrive with sweets, fried foods, fast food and chips. That being said, many people that eat a typically healthy diet still don't feel their best. That's where the elimination experiment comes in. By removing breads and pasta one week and soda the next, you will gain some insight into your body.

Doing a safe and healthy food cleanse for a few days is also a great and quick way to figure out what your body is trying to tell you. After the cleanse, add food groups back into your diet one at a time and see what happens. I tried this myself and the results were surprising! There is a link below that gives more details about my experience with a healthy cleanse.
DrOz 3 Day Cleanse Review

Our journey to feeling good and living our best lives is ongoing so lets do it together.
Please leave any tips or suggestions that may help me or others feel great! We all have some information which is great but when we add all of our knowledge together, it is amazing!
 

Fun and Unusual Ways to Get In Shape

I know the term Working Out was designed for a reason.  It is work to get your body in shape and tone your muscles. If it was easy or all fun and games, everyone would do it right? Maybe everyone can!
 
 

For some of us, traditional cardio workouts just aren’t something we jump out of bed to do. I have a really hard time staying on our elliptical machine for more than 1-2 minutes whereas my husband can stay on that thing for 45 minutes and still like it. I may be an exception instead of the rule but I find running, elliptical machines and stationary bikes kind of boring so I spend the whole time watching the clock and thinking about how my muscles are beginning to hurt. It just doesn’t work for me.

Does that mean that I can’t tone my muscles or get my heart pumping a little faster? Definitely not!

There are many different ways to have fun while getting the physical results you desire.

• Hula Hoop
• Jump rope
• Trampolines (full sized or mini)
• Dancing
• Swimming
• Basketball
• Playing Tag

Some of these suggestions can be done in your own living room or garage, with the kids, with friends or alone.

The idea is to get up, get moving and get healthy. If you can do that without dreading your work out, there is a higher probability that it will actually get done on a regular basis.

Maybe we could just change the name from Work Out to Play Time? It was Just a thought.

What is your favorite active thing to do and why? Your ideas will inspire me and a whole lot of other people so thanks for sharing.

Healthy Kids

We are all trying to find ways to make ourselves look and feel better. There is an infinite amount of information about different foods, supplements and programs available everywhere we turn.

But, what about the kids? It is a common misconception that kids can eat whatever they want because they are young and they will burn it off.
Have you ever heard certain foods being referred to as "kid food"? I have heard that a lot. It is generally referring to sugary cereals, processed cheese's and spongy nuggets.
The truth is, the foods our kids eat should be healthier than ours. Their brains, bones and muscles are forming right now and this is the only body they will ever have. Our kid will have to live with the choices we make for them, forever.

Children's brains need healthy fats to develop properly and their bodies need protein and nutrients to form a strong foundation for the rest of their lives. Studies have shown that when we give them foods that are loaded with artificial ingredients and simple carbohydrates they have a dramatically harder time concentrating, retaining information and being calm.

Let's come together to set the next generation up for success and optimal health, they are counting on us!

For more information and some meal ideas, check out Nutrition:Healthy Kids

Please leave any tips or suggestions you have for how to get our kids healthier food. It can be tricky sometimes so I would love to hear any ideas you may have!

One Minute To Happiness

Appreciation and pride are two feelings that create the purest happiness within us.

It takes about 10 minutes to complain or feel sorry for yourself (ok, maybe 20 minutes if your really on a role) but it only takes about 1 minute to find something to be appreciative of.

We all find ourselves bogged down with daily stresses and irritants and let's be honest, it's easy to fall into a deep pity pot pretty quickly.

Having trouble with a co-worker or supervisor? 
Kids driving you crazy?
Your husband picked up the wrong things at the store?

Life's external circumstances don't have to ruin your whole day. The next time you feel irritated and stressed or your forehead starts to cringe, stop! 
Instead of spreading the negativity by complaining about things that are beyond your control, take 1 minute to think of something you are grateful for. Do you have something or someone in your life that others may not have? I'm certain we all have quite a few things we take for granted that others may only dream of having.
Then take another minute to be proud of yourself for the way your taking control over your own internal peace and stress level.
Some days you may find that it's necessary to do this numerous times and other days, maybe only once or twice. Eventually it will become a habit and daily aggravations won't have the power they used to.
This process isn't meant to spur feelings of guilt or shame for getting irritated in the first place. This exercise is about reclaiming your power over your emotions and reactions so you can enjoy more moments of your life.

Happiness is a choice, choose wisely.

How To Avoid The Baseball Bulge

Little League Baseball

Spring time is here and that means baseball!

Baseball means fresh cut grass, the sound of the bat cracking the ball and the excitement of the crowd as the runner steals third.

Unfortunately it also means hot dogs, hamburgers, garlic fries, soda and lots of candy.

This is the Spring Sports Sabotage.
It’s easy to get lured in by the intoxicating smells and food vendors that are posted up every 20 feet.
Don’t fall into the trap! It’s a pretty safe bet that anything sold at either a professional ball field or the local ball park is filled with calories, carbohydrates, fillers and loads of salt. It is really easy to eat a whole days’ worth of calories during one baseball game.

Here are some tips on how to enjoy the game while avoiding the belly aches and carb coma that is sure to follow such a nutritional beating.

1. Eat before you leave the house or bring something protein packed to eat in the car right before you go into the ball park or stadium
2. Staying for a double header? Pack a snack that is easy to eat and bring it with you
3. Put something delicious in the slow cooker before you leave the house so dinner will be ready when you get home

Spring Sports Snack Ideas:

• Sunflower seeds are a baseball tradition and loaded with healthy fats and protein. If your favorite brand is extra salty, simply get the low sodium bag. (or buy Spitz, they are drastically lower in salt than most brands)
• Peanuts are another baseball favorite that are loaded with protein so you will stay satisfied longer
• Trail mix is always popular. It is available at most stores or easy to make yourself with your favorite ingredients.
• Grapes and small mandarin oranges are easy to eat and will help satisfy that sweet tooth
• If you aren’t really hungry but you have an oral fixation issue (like I do) try gum!

Have you ever noticed that ball players are either spitting seeds or chewing gum?

It is possible to enjoy a day in the beautiful outdoors, cheering on your favorite team without ruining your health in the process.

Play Ball!