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Monday, March 30, 2015

What "they" say...

Have "they" said anything to YOU?!
Many won't stop doubting until you are right back "safe" with them...in that comfort zone where you just survive, day to day without that fire deep within! "They" are unhappy or uncomfortable in their own skin most of the time, others truly believe that we shouldn't push ourselves...
that we should do mediocre because it's safe and easy there but...
I've lived BOTH.  I choose HEALTHY!

I've heard many times, "You workout too much." or "It's not healthy to run marathons and half marathons, it's dangerous", "You are pushing too hard, you should back off or you'll get hurt." and these words have been said to me and/or to people that I help.

Ask yourself, 
Are they worried about what YOU DO or what they WON'T? 

Exercise is GOOD for the body. Period.
Movement is good for the body AND mind.  Our mental health is important as well.
How hard you push is up to you. 
Pushing limits is what makes the body feel alive.  
Your mind becomes clear and you FEEL GOOD.
Quality of life is determined by your physical and mental health and it's a known FACT that exercise and weight training (when done properly) are what the body needs.  Our bodies need healthy foods, not crap that was processed in a factory 8 months ago and will last in your pantry for 2 years...right?!  RIGHT! 


My body chooses to feel alive, strong and unstoppable and nothing frustrates me more than the phrase,
 "You are pushing too hard, you need to take a break."...WHAT?!

You must not know me because I took a "break", a long "break" that gave me health issues that thankfully I've reversed through my work that you call "pushing too hard".  
I was pre-diabetic, had gallbladder disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obese, smoker, anxiety, IBS and other health-related issues.  IS THAT HEALTHY??


We must keep in mind that these doubters are simply fuel to my fire...
and they should light yours too :) 

Will you let what they say dictate your future? I won't.
I've been told after EVERY half marathon I complete,
"Are you finally finished running 13.1 miles? Haven't you done that enough?"
Uh actually I'm just getting started!!  I have MANY more obstacles and goals to reach in my future...it's a long ride with ups and downs so hope you can hang on tightly!!


Wednesday, March 25, 2015

who I was VS. who I have become

Who I was...
A girl full of energy, had many friends, I laughed a lot but cried more.
Food was my blanket.
It protected me in a way that nothing else could.
Out with my friends I was the life of the party, but behind closed doors I was a mess.
I was hiding my emotions and with that came the weight gain, stomach issues, bad skin, depression, stress and sadness.  I thought that's the way it was, the way it had to be for me.  
My body only knew to feel tired, achy, worthless because it was all I ever showed it how to feel. 
I was trapped and my biggest critic was ME.
I'd shoot myself down every chance I could.
And I'd create windows of "I can't" all around..."I can't do this because _____" "I can't do that because _____" and the list went on and on AND if I did step out of my comfort zone and TRY something to better my life or try to get healthy, "I am not strong enough to do this, look at me" "I'm going to fail after so many days so why try?"...wow, did I really live that way?!
YES I DID...



I have a hard time looking at the girl I used to be.  I don't relate to her at all anymore.
Strange isn't it?
Our mind is THE most powerful thing we have...
our bodies are strong but if our minds fail us, then we are finished.  
Finished believing and finished trying to be better. 
If I would have never changed my mind, who knows where I'd be but I'm so happy that I did.

My mind now tells the woman that I am, "You are strong, you are beautiful and you work HARD for everything you've achieved" and that's a good feeling.  
Nobody can take that from me.
It's MINE.

Do I still have moments of doubt?  YES, I'm only human.
But as soon as my mind jumps in ready to defeat me, I SHUT IT DOWN! 

I won't allow my doubt and fear to stand in the way of my life and you shouldn't either!

I speak with women in my community every day and it saddens me to see the doubt in their eyes.  They don't believe they can and their mind is so blurred by all the times they failed that they can no longer see the success.  

There is hope.  Always hope.
Some only dream of crossing the finish line of a half marathon, I have done it MORE than just a few times.
Some only dream of losing over 100lbs, I have done it and inspired others to do the same.
I used to DREAM of a better life, but now I'm creating one day by day! 
And let me tell you how great it feels to DO IT rather than IMAGINE IT!
It's a feeling that keeps me doing what I do, keeps me pushing so hard and pushing others harder.  

We can LIVE life or we can allow life to PASS US BY. 
The choice is ours.  If we are physically able, then what's our excuse?  A bad knee, foot or toe...yes, I guess you can sit around and list a million excuses but WILL YOU?  
Or will you demand more out of your life??!  


Friday, March 20, 2015

SPREAD THE WORD!

If you are local please spread the word!! 
We are looking for YOU! 
Email me: rissarose80@yahoo.com for further details! 

Our group was featured in Bay Area Health & Wellness magazine this month! We'd LOVE to have you!!!! 

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

difficult.

As we focus on our spring/summer goals...

It's always easier to stay the same.  Keep coasting through your life, not completely happy but getting by...enjoying life's little moments but something inside tells you, 
things could be SO MUCH better.  Right?
I fought that person within for too many years.  
I see women around me fighting with the person they want to be.  
so What stops us?

Fear?  Difficulty? Failure?

If we hide behind the change that we want, never actually seeking it or working toward it, then we have allowed valuable time to pass us by.  To be trapped by our body's inabilities breaks my heart.  Children, teenagers, adults...all of us.  We are capable IF we give ourselves a fighting chance but stopping at a road block when things aren't "perfect" is only admitting that you have failed.  You have given up, thrown in the towel and you're ready to go back to that same cycle of defeat, depression and failure that you know so well.  Why?  Because it's easy?  Because it's too HARD to fight for something that we want?  
The HARD is what I have grown to love and appreciate.
I get a sense of strength each time I throw on my workout clothes and go for a run or put my ladies through an intense workout.  I feel strong when I make healthy and balanced food choices for myself and for my family.  It gives me the feelings that food never could.  It fills me up with joy to know how strong I have become and how healthy I feel on the inside, makes me feel proud.  Proud that I didn't allow my "obstacles" to stop me.  That I stopped giving up on ME.  That feels incredible, especially when I lived so much of my life giving up on myself EVERY DAY.  What an awful way to feel.  Of course, I get frustrated with the work, the HARD work but I feel good.  Nothing can take that away from me, ever! The way I felt when I ate crappy foods, drank soft drinks and had no stopping point...it was awful.  I was tired, depressed, my body would ache and I felt sorry for myself and I can't even tell you why?  It was like, poor pitiful me...let me keep eating, not exercising and lets see how bad it can get?  It can't get much worse, this is the bottom right?  Ugh.  Why play that game with yourself?  
It's not LIVING, it's slowly dying inside.  

When we seek change, we can't look to a pill, program or "lose 30lbs in two weeks by drinking this shake"...it's UNREAL.  
And if it sounds too good to be true, 99% of the time, it isn't true.  
It's giving false hope and I HATE that about the fitness and health industry and it's my job to change all of that.  

I want to disclose up front-it is HARD, it'll test your limits and make you feel vulnerable, there will be days where you want to quit, you will feel better and stronger as time goes on and the way healthy FEELS is a feeling that cannot be replaced or described, it must be FELT!!! 

I've learned that the hard way, after crashing on EVERY "diet" I ever started...all of them.
Putting in the work every day makes me feel STRONG 
so don't wait for the perfect time to change...do it NOW!  

Time passes us by either way...how will you choose to live?!  


Monday, March 2, 2015

eat like a rainbow...

For most of my life my choice for food was never what was good for my body, but only what "tasted good".  Problem is that I really didn't know what things tasted like because I never TRIED new things.  

I always loved fruit but rather than a serving of grapes, I'd eat an entire bowl, consuming 3-4 times the amount my body needed.  Or strawberries, I'd eat the whole container dipped in cool whip...not so bad?  I topped my over consumption of fruit with plain crackers or a cheese sandwich using white bread and super processed cheese "product".  Ugh.  But wait, I did love a good salad.  Lettuce piled high with cheese, bacon, croutons, and ranch...let's never forget the ranch!  Eeek! And I did love veggies.  Especially fried okra, string beans covered in Italian breadcrumbs and eggplant covered in cheese.  You see, my variety was all wrong.  Instead of nutrients and nourishing my body properly, all I focused on was the emotion I'd get from each bite.  The sense of comfort I'd have after eating garlic bread smothered in butter and while these things are delicious, they did NOTHING for my health and if anything they made it worse.  
This trend stayed with me for years...until I changed my MIND.  The mind is powerful and if the mind wanted processed cheese from a can on top of Ritz crackers then that's what it had.  
It wasn't about my stomach and what tasted good to me, it was about training my brain to get fulfillment out of REAL things rather than food.  Fulfillment from life and the happiness it can bring.  Happiness was no longer confined to my pantry or refrigerator, I was looking elsewhere...
And when I chose unhealthy foods like those, my stomach suffered A LOT.  Cheeseburgers, french fries and a diet coke, pizza, enchiladas with chile con queso and endless chips, bread and pasta galore...NO COLOR and NO NUTRITIONAL VALUE.  I ate that way for YEARS, not days, weeks or months but YEARS :(.  
I paid the price but increasing pant sizes, constant bloat, depression and lack of energy all of the time, it was like I had NO desire to get up and go...ever. I had gallstones and had to have emergency gallbladder surgery in 2004, a very scary experience.  
I suffered from IBS and constipation frequently.  I drank Metamucil like it was a soft drink. And do you know that by changing my diet and lifestyle, these days I have NONE of these issues AT ALL!!  It's true!  
I'm living proof that we are what we eat :) 
and that rainbow plays a HUGE factor to our health.


Needless to say, my plates lacked color...and by this I do not mean the style and color of the plate you use, but what you choose to put ON that plate for every meal!  Ha, nice try :) 

Today these foods fuel my body and I find pleasure and happiness through life.  My family, my boys and my husband.  Family and friends close together and my workout group.  My fitness and improvements every day with my health make me happy and I feel strong.  

A few examples of colorful foods...

1/2 c cottage cheese, 2 egg whites sauteed in coconut oil spray with fresh berries.  


1/2 cottage cheese, 1 clementine orange, caramel rice cake, pb and fresh blueberries.  


...and while with family over the weekend, I opted for this,
sliced turkey roll ups, 1/2 granny smith apple, salad with extra virgin olive oil, dried cranberries and toasted sesame seeds.  I could have had a white bread sandwich and chips but created this healthy option instead :)  These days I love breaking away from the pack and making my own tasty goodies knowing I'm treating my body right :)

Your turn...
DO YOU EAT LIKE A RAINBOW?
Choose color by choosing foods with nutrients rich in fiber, vitamins and minerals.  The healthy, good-for-you foods leave us feeling fuller longer, energized throughout the day and keep our bodies feeling fueled and strong...what's not to love about that??