Whine=Wine

Today has been a "whiny" day.... which has led to a nice glass of wine at night. It seems that often times when I plan out "great days," there are often small issues that tend to take the "greatness" out of the plan. For example, today, we met some friends at Washington Township Park in Avon. This is the BEST park... Brownsburg, come on, get on board! There is shade, there is rubber mulch, the bathrooms are clean, and there are amazing trails... and now there is a splash pad. What more could you want? We had a great time with great friends... and after 3 hours at the park, with playing, hiking, and lunch- with twizzlers as dessert (yes, it was for a fun day!) ...it began. The WHINING! So whining=naptime for the kiddos.

I got some downtime with my main man, Gavin, which is so fun now. He's into cooing, blowing bubbles, and rolling over if you are lucky! Then, the girls got up and it began, AGAIN! (This is where Jarrod would ask me, did you give them a time out? So for those of you who were wondering the same thing, yes, we did a break and a time out.) But it still didn't change things.

This is when I start to wonder, surely, I didn't do this to my parents. When they broke their backs trying to make a "great day," I'm sure I was very appreciative... and even gave them downtime when we got home because I recognized how tiring such an activity could be for an adult. Insert sarcasm...

These are days when I truly appreciate my parents. I can honestly say that I cannot remember seeing my mom ever roll her eyes at me for ridiculous whining.... she probably got really good at doing it as she turned away from me. I can honestly say that I don't remember my mom losing it on the Wendy's drive-thru guy... who for the 10th time gave me sweetened tea when I clearly ordered unsweetened tea. (Hello? Have they not heard about this food revolution?)I know that my dad always got me a band-aid, even when the scratch that I was screaming about was not band-aid worthy. And because I know my parents did this for me, I know that I can do this for my kids.

I also know that at the end of a whiny day, a nice glass of wine is the perfect reward for me not rolling my eyes, losing in on the Wendy's drive thru guy, and getting the unnecessary bandaid.

Cheers!

(Sidenote: My husband wins the awesomeness award tonight for picking up an unsweetened iced tea at Wendy's tonight on his way home from work after receiving my rant of a text about the fiasco! ;))

Strong enough to resist?

Ugh. I'm sure we've all written or said something that we wish we could take back. "Are you strong enough to resist?" Ridiculous. All too often in the fitness/nutrition industry, there is an emphasis on willpower... and the lack of often leads to the notion that we are weak. I happen to think we are just human. And I am also a big believer in the the mantra, "Life is short!"

Friday night, I was lucky enough to sit across from Mark Sisson at the Weber Grill downtown. We had several Paleo temptations that night, and willpower was being tested! Before I left for dinner, my mom reminded me of the pretzel rolls that Weber serves... Ugh, test #1. But, I passed. With the Paleo guru is sitting across from me, the pressure was on! My husband, was a quick thinker and quickly swallowed one while Mark left the table to take a phone call.(Not sure he tasted it. :))It was quite comical, as I looked around to see most of the other trainers avoiding the pretzel rolls as well... knowing that we were all envious of Jarrod for "sneaking" one! Dinner was easy, but then it came time for dessert.... key lime cheesecake... my favorite! And I went with the mantra, "Life is short!" I asked Mark if he ever did dessert and he said the he does, occasionally, but not in this type of crowd. I get it. He was on display this weekend, he was selling his diet, he was selling the image. We do that all the time.

I have always been really good about eating "healthfully" when we are out and about. However, around 10:00 when it's getting close to bedtime, Jarrod and I would usually have our ice cream. It was our splurge. I always looked forward to this time of the day because it was the few minutes that we had to ourselves, where we could actually have a conversation without interruptions of "Mom, can I?"and "Dad, can you help me?" I had the mentality that I had earned it. But really, was I truly rewarding myself? Possibly... but only short term.

I think it's really important to allow yourself the occasional treats. Mark Sisson operates on an 80/20 rule, where 80% of the time, you eat right... 20% you can go off the "diet." It's something I encourage my clients to do so... because if we are constantly making ourselves resist the temptations, we are setting ourselves up for failure when we are eventually going to cave. (Today, we went to the Strawberry Festival for BREAKFAST and it was wonderful!)

The Big Purge

Today, it was time to get rid of all the junk. Mark Sisson refers to this as a "purge." You could also call it a painful way to throw away money... however, I know that in the end it will be well worth it!

I waited until Jarrod left for his haircut, as I knew we would face a bit more resistance from him. The girls were actually pretty pumped... and even though they made sad faces for the camera, they quite enjoyed throwing it all in the trash!

As you can see from the picture, we had accumulated more than our fair share of grains! And we are donating some of the unopened snacks to our church. (Evann is quite hopeful that her class will get the goldfish!) Now that the pantry is empty, except for some nuts and Lara bars, we will be venturing out to Costco for more fruits, veggies, and meat tomorrow. Hoping to swing by Trader Joe's for some dark chocolate, as well. I'm thinking a freezer for the garage may be in our near future!

While this has been a pretty big transition for the all of us, I know that we are making great strides. Tonight, Jarrod took the kids to Chick-Fil-A. Yes, they did have nuggets, but Jarrod ordered fruit instead of fries for the girls. Not only did he order fruit, but when they accidentally received fries instead of fruit, he went up to exchange it. AND, they told him they couldn't take the fries back, that he could keep them, and they would give him fruit. WHAT DID HE DO? He tossed the fries in the trash and took the fruit to the table. WOW! That was the best thing I heard all night!

Something that I heard this weekend keeps sticking with me... "The things that are the most important will face the most resistance." Resistance comes in all shapes and sizes... are you going to be strong enough to resist?

Super Slow training in Brownsburg, IN

Jumping in... with all 10 feet!

Over the weekend, I was lucky enough to attend the Indianapolis HIT seminar. You could say that a light was sparked, and as I walked into the house, Jarrod knew that something had changed.

I have two daughters and one son. I have a husband that I adore. I would do anything for them, which is why I started this blog. Two years ago, I became a personal fitness coach. It changed my life, especially my attitude toward exercise and nutrition. However, I didn't carry it over to my husband and my children.... fear of resistance! I was under the impression that in order for kids to have a happy childhood, there needed to be sweets and junk food. Of course, I would go through spurts where I would make smoothies with hidden veggies, but time and time again, I succumbed to the idea that I would be taking something away from my family if those things were not a part of our diet. LIFE HAS CHANGED!

Today, we have started anew. We have jumped... all 5 of us... into the Paleo/Primal way of eating. What is Paleo? Well, I'm glad you asked. I'll tell you about our day, just to give you a taste of what it's like.

Breakfast:

Scrambled eggs, bacon, and fruit

Lunch:

BBQ, veggies

Dinner:

Chicken and frozen stir fry veggies in olive oil

Carrots and grapes

WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?

I just had a baby, okay, 4 months ago. I am getting back into shape. This is not for me. This is for my kids. I want them to feel GREAT! I want them to be healthy.

I am also doing this for my clients. I know there is a bit of intimidation when you walk into a gym and you see the trainers. You think they don't have cravings, they don't fail, and they don't know what it's like to struggle with weight or eating the right way. Unfortunately, as a personal fitness coach, I have my fair share of struggles too. However, I have a great team surrounding me. They pick me up when I don' t think I can keep going, and they encourage me to look at the bigger picture.

The big picture is this... I want to give my children the gift of WINGS. I want them to be given wings so they can fly. (Alli is reading this and is very confused... she is also very literal) No, not real wings. (Oh!) I don't want them to worry about diabetes or heart disease.... or any of the other maladies that will plague them if they do not learn to eat right.

So, hopefully you'll check on us from time to time... holding us accountable. And, who knows, maybe you want to get some wings, too! Feel free to join us as we take flight!