Becoming a Morning Person

During the workweek, I was always one of those people who would press snooze 5 times before I would get out of bed. I would actually set my alarm earlier on purpose so I would trick myself into thinking I got more sleep. Anyone else do that? I despised mornings and would do everything I could to stay in bed for as long as possible. The weekends were another story. It’s foreign to me that we used to sleep in until 9..10…sometimes 11 am?!?!
That was before we had kids. Once I had them, sleeping in obviously no longer existed.  I can’t even remember the last time I slept past 7:30 a.m. but even with the boys awake, I would pull them into bed with me and laze around for another hour or so, checking emails on my phone and dreading my long to-do lists for the day, until I finally had to role out of bed to feed them breakfast, get them dressed and then start getting myself ready for the day ahead. Our mornings were always off to a late start.
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Now don’t get me wrong, when you’re a new mom, give yourself permission to laze around. Most of us don’t get much sleep through the night and need to take every minute we possibly can to rest but I know I rocked that laziness a little too much longer than I needed to. My kids are sleeping through the night so I really have no excuses.
Over the past 4 months, becoming a morning person has improved the overall success of my day in so many ways!
During my first round of the 21 day fix, I did my workouts in the evenings. But I watched some of the other challengers get up each morning and get it done and it looked kind of appealing. There where a lot of nights where I was simply too tired to even think about working out. I often wished that I didn’t have it hang over me all day and that I could just get it out of the way but I was too scared to commit to mornings at that time.
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The next round in January, I told my accountability group one day that the next morning I was going to try working out in the morning just to humour myself. I was convinced I would hate it but I wanted to see what it felt like. Keeping my word to someone is important to me…20 people, a whole other story. So I did it. I woke up at 6:30, grumpily headed downstairs and got it done. At 7 I checked in with my group to share I HAD DONE IT! While I was online, I responded to a few e-mails, replied to Facebook messages and grabbed my devotional for the day. At 7:15 I went up to start making breakfast and I couldn’t believe the energy I felt! The twins were just waking up at 7:25 and as I glanced at the clock, I couldn’t believe how much I had accomplished in 1 hour before anyone else in the house was awake!!! It felt SO GOOD!
From that day on I was completely hooked. I just loved how productive I felt, how much energy it gave me, and how it set me up for success the rest of the day.  Starting early gives you that mental boost – while the rest of the world sleeps, you are already thriving.
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In a book called The Compound Effect  which I’m reading with my coaching team this month (I would HIGHLY recommend it to everyone as it just has so many incredible life applications!) the author talks about bookending your days by implementing routines that set us up for success. We often can’t control what goes on through the day…the circumstances we face at work, with our kids, out in the public. BUT we can control how our days start and how they end. Instead of bombarding myself with the tasks of the day before I even get out of bed, (like I used to do), I don’t even look at my phone before I head downstairs for my workout, spend time in the word and THEN start my day. I can’t tell you how life changing this has been for me.
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Thanks so much for reading!! xo

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8 Reasons that Keep me SO passionate about working out

It honestly makes me sad when people say things like “Why do you need to work out every single day? you look great.” or “ Why won’t you eat that? You don’t need to lose any more weight” It frustrates me to hear these things because my decision to maintain a daily fitness routine and eat clean is about sooooo many more reasons then just losing weight you guys. PLUS it’s totally possible to be skinny while NOT healthy and NOT strong. So it also makes me sad when people don’t make fitness a priority because they’re blessed with good genes that keep them looking lean and fit (when really on the inside they are the farthest thing from it!). Those good genes are going to do nothing for you when your bones are weak and your arteries are clogged in 20 years from you being inactive and eating all the wrong foods. I know that sounds a little harsh but it’s the reality and I care too much about you to not say it. So here are 8 reasons I came up with that have motivated me to get into the best shape I can possibly be:
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Stress Release: My husband said to me about a month ago “I’ve noticed that you’ve been a lot less stressed lately”. I thought about it for a moment. I hadn’t really made any huge eliminations or changes in my life that would make things less stressful. In fact, with coaching AND my photography business, I’ve been struggling with balance over the past months. But previously, I had a hard time managing my stress and would have breakdowns to my husband on a regular basis which involved me crying and telling him that I was going to quit everything because I couldn’t keep up with being a mom, a good wife, and running multiple businesses.  Since I’ve been working out consistently, those endorphins have totally been helping me to relieve stress.  I don’t feel as stressed in general but when I do feel it, I’m able to manage it a lot better.  It’s really amazing what that extra release of hormones does for you! Studies have shown that even five minutes of aerobic exercise can stimulate anti-anxiety effects.
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The Joy Factor: I am just all around happier when I’m active. Again, those endorphins just get going and affect my mood in such a drastic way! If I miss a morning workout, my morning just is not off to a great start! I can totally feel it. Me being more joyful, totally affects my relationships with my family and my friends and just anyone in general really.
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Getting Stronger: A couple weeks ago on The Social, the girls were chatting about how there’s been a recent shift in the media from making women think they have to be small and skinny to encouraging women to be HEALTHY and STRONG and I couldn’t be happier about this! My goal with my consistent fitness routine is not to become the smallest I can, but to become the STRONGEST and HEALTHIEST I can and that’s my hope and prayer for the women I coach as well. I am able to lift weight and move my body in ways I have never been able to before and it feels SO good. I also have so much more energy to keep up with my kiddos and that alone feels amazing.
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The me-time: The time I spend in the morning working out, before anyone else in my house is up has become so important and necessary for me. It’s my time to just focus on myself, recharge, pray, reflect and energize for the day ahead. I always come upstairs from our gym feeling so refreshed and ready to take on the day. Focusing on me and my own health for those 30-40 minutes each day gives me the energy I need to focus on everyone else in my family the rest of the day. So important!!!!!!
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The Anti-aging affect: If you want to feel younger then your years, make your work-out routine a PRIORITY in your life. It WILL make a difference as you age. I’m 29 and I STILL get ID’d at the liquor store so let’s keep it that way. 😀 My short term goal is to still be ID’d at 40 ok?!?! Research states that a regular fitness routine can help improve your bone-density as you age too. Work out consistently and you WILL look and feel younger as you age.
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Confidence Booster: 
As a mentioned above, weight loss has never been the sole factor in my decision to get healthy but feeling comfortable in my skin was definitely a goal! Since I’ve been become stronger and leaner and more fit, I  DO feel SO much more confident. I feel like I can wear whatever I want to wear and I haven’t felt that way in a LONG time. When I feel more confident about my body, I feel more confident in EVERY area of my life! To step out and do things I would never normally do, to encourage and uplift others, to be who God designed me to be.
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My Kids: One of my biggest motivating factors back in November when I decided to get my health on the right track was totally my kids. They are my world. I want to be around for as long as I possibly can to watch every milestone, to have lots of grandchildren and lots of great grandchildren too. I also want them to lead by example. I want only the best for my children as far as their health and happiness goes and a big goal of mine is to inspire them to be active, healthy and fit too! How can I do that if I’m not walking the walk?!?!
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The Inspiring Factor:  I’ve always had a passion to inspire people, to teach, to educate. (I do have a teaching degree after all!). One of the most motivating factors in pushing through the days when I really don’t feel like working out is to inspire and encourage others to keep going when they feel like they can’t. That’s why I love my challenge groups so much! We are what we surround ourselves with and I know people are watching my journey so I’m encouraged to keep sharing and inspiring in hopes that others will join in and get healthier too!
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So those are just a few reason’s why I’ve become so passionate about working out and getting IN SHAPE. Are you convinced yet?!? I would LOVE to help you get started. 

 

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Blog Launch!

I’m SO stoked to be launching this blog today! Living out a healthy lifestyle by being active daily and eating the right foods to nourish and sustain my body has become SO important to me. Encouraging and motivating others to do the same has become my BIGGEST passion over the past 4 months and that’s why I’m starting this blog. My goal is that it be an uplifting and inspiring corner of the web where I’ll be sharing my newest favourite recipes, fitness and every day fashion, real mom stuff, and my journey (both the successes and the struggles) towards being the healthiest I can possibly be.

As I launch, I’m thrilled to be teaming up with Albion Fit for a GIVEAWAY. I just adore like umm EVERYTHING in their shop and was thrilled to receive these amazing leggings to add to my spring workout apparel!  So light, comfy and can I say gorgeous?!? Albion Fit is generously giving a second pair away to a lucky winner who enters the contest on my IG! Good luck and thanks so much for following along!

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