the old me...

I look back so often to help push me forward again and again...  

Sometimes I get discouraged and knocked down, 

wondering if it's worth it to get up AGAIN and fight back?

The answer is simple: 

My health is ALWAYS WORTH FIGHTING FOR.  And YOURS IS TOO!

I hid behind food.  It was my comfort.  Food couldn't hurt me or let me down.  People can, people will hurt you, they will want you to fail...sometimes this world can be cruel.  

It's how we GET BACK UP AFTER BEING KNOCKED DOWN THAT MAKES US STRONG!

Having the privilege to know and meet some incredible Mom's in my Move It Mommas crew, I have seen their hurt.  They have shared their stories and I feel like I can relate...we can all relate to being hurt by someone we love.  They've had a person they loved call them "fat" or tell them they needed to lose weight, that they were unhealthy, that they needed to stop eating this or that.  CRUEL.  

I carried those things with me...heck I still do.  These women have a place to feel comfortable, to voice their discouragements and defeats.  But as we vent our frustrations, we become stronger.  Find a way to come out of the struggles as a stronger, more powerful person.

 NOW if someone tries to discourage me, I use it as fuel for the fight instead of reverting back to my ways of finding comfort in FOOD.  

Stop believing the negative.  It's always EASY to believe the bad stuff because we've been told it, we lack self-esteem so we just accept it.  

NOT ANYMORE!  

We deserve SO much more.  

Healthy Kids?

My heart aches for the unhealthy children these days.  They want help, they want to change but don't have the proper tools.  The family MUST set the positive example.  If there's unhealthy foods all around and one of the children has "issues" with food as I did but the others do not, does that make it okay?  Absolutely NOT.  Do we want our children to suffer from health-related illnesses?  Do we want our children to be the best that they can be?  YES!  

To do that, we must properly fuel their bodies too.  They WILL adapt.  

My children deserve knowing what being healthy feels like.  I didn't have that for quite a bit of my childhood.  I was worried about the next meal while friends were playing and having fun.  I worried that in PE the teacher was going to call me out for the sit up test and the partner that held my feet was going to laugh at the fact that I could barely complete 2.  I showed up for my first day of soccer practice SCARED TO DEATH that I'd be called fat or I couldn't keep up with my friends.  That is a feeling that shouldn't be carried around daily as a child.  EVER.  

For me when the house was empty, I'd EAT.  My mom would leave for work and I'd head straight to the kitchen, ready to fill up on empty calories hoping to fill an emotion while I was at it.  Ugh.  Makes me sick thinking about eating the leftovers from the night before with a spoon, fridge door wide open and I'd eat it so fast that I'd make myself sick.  But WHY?!  Why would I intentionally do that to myself?  A LOT of personal discovery led me to knowing that I ate to take the place of my father leaving...I felt abandoned so the food acted as a crutch.  The food wouldn't let me down or disappoint.  I felt as though he gave up on us, so I gave up on myself too.  WHATEVER your struggles, triumphs, illness, injury, goals...do not let anything stand in your way.  

Overcome it and watch yourself be AMAZING :)  

The FORMER McClellen's

The NEW McClellen's!

I realize that many of you fight this battle ALONE.  Having family sit around eating unhealthy foods, drinking sodas and lacking exercise.  It's hard to motivate an entire household but you must TRY.  I was very fortunate to have found my husband, who battled weight for quite a bit of his life.  He was his heaviest in 2009, after the birth of our second son.  He went for his physical and the doctor explained that his blood pressure was too high to continue.  It was his wake up call and he hasn't looked back since...
We changed together.  For ourselves, one another and our children.  We MUST be that example for our children.  All of us.  They are watching every move that we make.  Show them that life is worth living at its fullest.  A healthy child is always a happy child.  Exercise feels good.  Eating right feels good and we want ALL children to learn that from the earliest age possible.  No short cuts, no easy way out...just plain old hard work and dedication to our bodies, to our health.  

The emotional stuff is outta the way- 

Who's hungry?!  

Meal idea 1: breakfast turkey sausage sauteed with a southwestern medley of onion, peppers, very small amount of corn and black beans.  Served with a toasted Ole high fiber/low carb tortilla and topped with power mix lettuce :)  Quick, easy and delicious!

meal idea 2:

1 slice Trader Joes sprouted bread-my new fav!  toasted and topped with 1 Laughing cow wedge-creamy Swiss, then 2 eggs and 1 egg white-scrambled.  Served with handful of grapes!

As I've said a million times, healthy eating doesn't have to be difficult.  

healthy kids!

meal idea 3:

whole wheat bread, low sodium Boars Head oven turkey and a Laughing Cow Swiss taking the place of dressing!  Served with sliced apples and a Chobani Champions blueberry yogurt tube :)

Find people with the same interests as you and your family!  Find a family that enjoys being active and eats healthy.  Do things TOGETHER!  Make exercise FUN!  A family hike, bike ride or walk to the park is something your entire family can take part in so take advantage of it and have fun.  Have the kids get involved in the kitchen.  Allow them to help cut veggies and fruit, stir the eggs or make my delicious breakfast banana cookies :)  

Most importantly, ENJOY HEALTHY LIVING AS A FAMILY!  

Who's with me??

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