Do you consume apple cider vinegar? I do :)

I know there are mixed views on whether apple cider vinegar (ACV) is good for you or not. I’m a big believer in consuming a couple of tablespoons every morning as I brew my coffee :) as I drink it straight and wash it down with a sip of water or coffee to clean the vinegar off my teeth. I’ve had digestive issues (bloat, gas, constipation, cramping) along with unwanted belly fat and a distended gut for many years without much luck. Over these past 6 months or so of taking ACV I’ve noticed a HUGE difference in all of my belly issues.

What is Apple Cider Vinegar?

Apple cider vinegar is a type of vinegar made from ripe, freshly crushed, apples. The apples are fermented and passed through an intense process to develop the final product. In the first step, the crushed apples are exposed to yeast to start the alcoholic fermentation process, and the sugars are then turned into alcohol. In the second step, bacteria are added to the alcohol solution which further ferments the alcohol and turns into acetic acid.

Sometimes you don’t know until you try and if you’re dealing with any gut issues I’d suggest giving a small dose of ACV a try!

Sunday Rant: Life is Hard...so embrace the mess

I had a wake up moment this week that really gave me a perspective about life. Over the years I’ve gotten into the routine of comfort and knowing what goes where and who does what and this will happen and all was in my control. Of course I’d have a little hiccup every now and again but was able to get back into the day to day of routine with kids, their schedules, work, house in order and so on which does reduce stress and keep me more in auto pilot.

However, after recently buying a home (first-time home buyer after divorce—proud moment) that has had MAJOR issues which will financially tax me from day 1 that was VERY unexpected to my middle daughter being diagnosed with an auto-immune disease called Alopecia Areata (her hair is falling out in patches). These issues among other things has caused choas which makes me feel overwhelmed.

In the past my pattern was to get emotionally upset, feeling frantic and not being comfortable with not being in control of my world AND the people around me (especially my loved ones). This overwhelmedness tends to make me lash out and my closest peeps may get the grunt of even though it’s not them and it’s just me not handling my inner emotions and feelings of the outside stuff going on. This may be yelling, anger, being stuck in fight or flight mode, eating unhealthy foods to check out for a minute, scrolling on social media to numb out, over exercising and other distracting unhealthy behaviors and the list goes on. Can you relate?

Sometimes it’s easy to distract, stuff emotions, take it out on others, over consume then to get to the root of what I’m really feeling. I’ve realized that this does not serve me well and have been doing a lot of inner work to slow my roll when it comes to life and what it brings. Do I still get upset? Sure. Do I yell sometimes? Yes, but not as much (anyone grow up with adults constantly yelling and screaming to the point you think it’s totally normal??)? Getting out my frustrations at life through healthy expression, journaling, talking to my tribe of people, mediating, getting outside and so on sure do make me feel better and is way safer than taking it out on my lovely family that I’m so lucky to have.

I will figure out how to handle my house drama and all that needs to be done here so we can be comfortable in our home. I’ll also dig deep into how to help my middle to calm her issues with alopecia and how we as a family can support her to make her feel better from the inside out.

Life is messy and sometimes you have little messes and sometimes you have big ones that seem so out of control and really rock your world. Here’s to taking one day at a time and responding before reacting and slowing down to make sure I take care of me before jumping into anything.

Sunday Morning Rant

Life is like a roller coaster with really bright moments where all is well and I’m on top of the world. And just like that things can spiral out of control and you feel like there is no way out. What has changed? How I react. How I take care of How I listen to my inside voices as I know what I should do. What can I control? What can I take charge of when I feel I have no control? My health. My nutrition. My exercise. Loving on my kids. Learning new things.

The older I get I realize that things are constantly changing and just when you think you’ve got a handle on things, life throws you a challenge to see how you handle it. Like “let’s see if she REALLY learned the lesson she was supposed to”. Ha. Funny, not so funny. Right now is one of those challenging times and I’m working on how to take each moment, day, situation as it is. Do I have a temper tantrum, of course, with a full blown cry, pity party and woe is me attitude. I give myself a moment to wallow, talk it out, write it out and dwell. But, I dust off my knees and tackle the issues full speed ahead. I can only control what I can control.

I’d love to say that all people only do good things for all…but I realize that we all have things swirling around on the inside that makes you do what you do. Some of those have positive outcomes and some negative. Some are meant to make people feel good and some may aim to hurt. I do not know why people can intentionally lie, hide or mistreat another but there again, I am not them. I can get mad, sad, angry and then let that sh*& go. If I sit on it too long, that toxicity will cause bigger issues and make me a negative and bitter person. I can control what I do from the inside out and if I do hurt someone, recognize my part and apologize and make my heart feel better.

Here’s to controlling me, my actions, my fitness, my health and my attitude. Here’s to consuming foods that make me feel best, walking outside and taking in the fall air and the most important of them all —hugging my girls until they squirm.

What's on your plate?

After working with clients over the years this seems to be a hot topic of debate. Meal timing ? How much protein? Carbs? No carbs. No bananas ever. Keto, fasting, low carb, high carb, vegan, paleo…And the list goes on and on. It’s easy to get confused with a new way of eating being put out into the world daily. I believe in going with what feels good to YOU. Being in tuned with your OWN body and how you feel, perform, recover, energy levels, weight and digestion are a good start to determining what to consume and what your body likes. I’m dealing with gut issues that both my doctor and I are trying to figure out. So what works for me may not be for you and that’s OKAY. It’s important to constantly reassess your health through bloodwork, your mental health, your mood, your sleep and how your bowels move. Nutrition definitely affects all of these areas so why not try and discover what foods works for you? Feel foggy, sleepy, moody, gassy, bloated, (fill in the blank here) after consuming certain foods or drinks? You might just want to take notice of what goes in your mouth!

Reflections and getting ready for 2020

Ever sit down and consume a bottle of wine or a bag of chips even though you aren’t hungry?  Mad at someone and so you go to the fridge and find something to eat that won’t help your fitness goals but you don’t care?  Do you ever scroll through social media or watch a Netflix show marathon show just to numb out for a bit?

Over the past year I’ve been doing a lot of research to figure out why I do what I do that works against me.  For me, I tend to gravitate towards sweets and/or junk food when I want to check out.  Long day at work, kids not getting along, to-do list growing, and so on.   Why?  For some it may be scrolling through social media, watching too much Netflix, alcohol at night, always being “busy” and even over-exercising and the list goes on and on depending on who you are and what you like to do.  There is nothing wrong with indulging in these activities in moderation.  However, when you are choosing to do these things instead of dealing with the root issue at hand (feeling sad, angry, bored, happy, etc) that could be a problem and not help you get to your health and fitness goals in the near future.

My challenge this year is to dig deep, get more present, pause and recognize when and why I’m feeling how I’m feeling to truly let me shine.  It’s easy to get distracted and cover up our feelings with unhealthy behaviors but it’s even more important to let your feelings be known so people know the true you!  Here’s to a great 2020 start!