REAL.

I'm gonna keep this one short and sweet. :-)  I know you're all cheering inside, right?  I had an epiphany/duh moment.  Usually the holidays roll around and I'm thinking "Yay!  I get pies, cookies, caramels, and our family's traditional Christmas morning cream cheese French toast casserole!"  Yum.  Am I the only one that gets excited by this "excuse" to indulge?  Yeah, I thought not.  No judgment!  We're cool.  I won't tell your secret.  Anywho, this year has been a little different.  Heck yes I've been excited for these yuletide goodies, and yes, I have appreciated them adequately :-)  Trust me :-)  But there's been a noticeable change this go round:  I've actually LOST WEIGHT this month. No lies.  And this is where I get completely REAL with you.  I've shown you my transformation pictures, and at that time I gave you a deficit number.  I had lost ~26 lbs, yeah?  K.  When I decided I needed to do more than workout to be healthy, I weighed 148.8 lbs.  Which, for a woman at 5'7" put me at the high end of the "healthy" BMI range at 23.3.  Now hold on to your socks.  Today I weighed in at my lowest weight yet, 5 months later.

This is how excited I was about it.  I posted this picture even though my toes look sad; but this post is titled "REAL" so, there you go.  119.8!  That is 29 lbs EVEN.  And the last 2 of it came off this month.  So now, my BMI is 18.8, at the low end of the healthy range for my height.  Moral of the story:  If I, who STILL has to give in to my sweet tooth regularly, can LOSE WEIGHT during the peak of the weight gain season, so can YOU.  I don't do this to brag; seriously.  I do this to show you that it's possible.  I've been totally honest with you, completely upfront about what I've done, and why it's working.  I even showed you a nasty picture of my feet, which motivated me to do this:

The holidays don't have to be a time to dread the goodies and the threat of weight gain if you make it a habit BEFOREHAND to take care of yourself.  Everyone deserves to feel this awesome about themselves.  I've spent SO LONG, TOO LONG being uncomfortable in my own skin.  Have you? 

NO MORE.  

Camu Camu

It's Saturday, and you know what that means!  Today's Shakeology superfood is Camu Camu.  It's kinda fun to say :-)  Did you ever watch Jungle 2 Jungle, that Tim Allen movie that came out in the late 90's?  Anywho, there's a line in there, something like "Lipo Lipo, so nice they named it twice."  

Same with Camu Camu I'm guessing :-)

So, I looked here and here to see what awesomeness Camu Camu brings to the Shakeology party, and it turns out that it's a fantastic source of antioxidants, potassium, amino acids, and Vitamin C.  In fact, the Camu Camu fruit has 50 times more Vitamin C than oranges.  Whaddup!?  Crazy.  Because of all the goodies in this superfood, it has been shown to balance brain chemistry, decrease mood swings, is great as an anti-inflammatory supplement, and has anti-viral properties as well (all you old farts like me who had chicken pox growing up are gonna want somma this.)  The anti-viral properties in Camu Camu are shown to reduce flare ups in cold sores, herpes, the common cold, and shingles--that thing all us chicken pox veterans are candidates for.   Another noteworthy benefit: because it has so much Vitamin C, it helps decrease depression and anxiety as well.  How many of us are stressed out about everything?  I know I get that way sometimes.  Well, some people who have taken camu camu supplements for an extended period of time have reported that they "require less synthetic anti-depressant medications." reference

In fact, I know an amazing woman, who told her story about dealing with depression, and how drinking Shakeology daily, and I suspect the camu camu played a part in this, helped her lower her anti-depressant medication dosages.  And to be completely honest, this lady's story is what prompted me to become a Beachbody coach.  I took a leap of faith, and signed up without having my own experience with Shakeology to support me.  But I've been drinking it 4 months now, and I KNOW that my body is healthier.  I can FEEL it.  Take care of your body and fuel it right, and weight-loss will be a by-product of getting healthier.  Truth.  Anywho, here is her video: 

And just for accountability purposes, I have been doing my workouts :-)

Nailed it.

See ya Tuesday, folks!  I hope your weekend is fantastic!

Happy Holidays!

Drumroll please...I present to you the FIRST EVER Palmer Christmas card!  Well, the picture we're using for our Christmas card :-)  

Yeah, I know.  I'm terrible; but there's no time like the present, right?  And, as holiday traditions go, at least in Utah, tonight we made the trek to downtown Salt Lake to see the lights at Temple Square.

And this is probably the first time I've made sure pictures were taken to document this trip.  Makin progress :-)  {E} was excited to go see the lights, and {C} spent the whole time on Brandon's shoulders, but she loved it too :-)  It was an especially great event for Brandon and I because it was great to show {E} where Mommy and Daddy got married, and to help her understand how special the temple is to us.  It reminds me of the first time Brandon and I went to the Salt Lake Temple together:

We did something pretty awesome.  We didn't just get married.  We made a promise to each other and to our Heavenly Father that we would work our entire lives to make our marriage last forever.  Because we loved, and still love, each other THAT much.  Because we loved our future children that much, and we wanted to keep them FOREVER.  Still do, in fact :-)  And that covenant made these moments that much MORE AWESOME.

The day {E} was born...

...and the day {C} was born.

What a beautiful reminder the temple and the Christmas season is to us of how much Heavenly Father loves each of His children, to send His Son to earth to give His life for us.  Because of His gift, I can keep these weirdos forever, and nothing in the world could make me any happier.

Transformation Tuesday!

I haven't been coaching too long, so I don't have a whole ton of transformations to whip out and be like "Bam!" with, but since I have one to share today, today will be known as "Transformation Tuesday!"  Like that?

Intros:  This is my friend Ashley from Arizona, and her brother invited her to join the challenge group I run.  She joined at the beginning of October, and these are her results since then. She has been drinking Shakeology and doing the 21 Day Fix. This is her story, in her own words:

"I moved up to Rexburg, ID July 29th.  When I left home, I had shot up to 231, and definitely felt like I needed to take charge of my life.  I started slowly by walking every day.  The high altitude was definitely an adjustment, but as I pushed through the toughness, I have adjusted and haven't used an inhaler in 4 months!  When I started school in September, I was having blood sugar issues.  After going to the doctor, I was given a blood sugar monitor, started on Metformin, and advised to start a regular exercise regimen.  I was also diagnosed with severe ADD/ADHD and started on medication.  This was a big blow to deal with, but I've had lots of wonderful support from family and friends.  In the beginning of October, my brother invited me to join this challenge group! He has been a great motivation for me.  Since starting the program, I started walking to school every day, and I started taking the long way home.  I was walking anywhere from 4-7 miles a day.  Adding in the Shakeology and the exercise programs, I felt even more energy and motivation.  I finally felt confident to do measurements and to take photos of my flaws.  After 6 weeks, I went back to the doctor on Friday, Dec 5.  All my blood levels and labs had completely evened out and I was now in normal ranges! And, my weight was down to 194!  I'm so happy and very excited to be seeing myself change and become stronger mentally and physically.  I still have lots of room for improvement, but I have so much support from loved ones and friends.  This has been a great journey so far, and I look forward to continuing the awesomeness!" 

I am so amazed, inspired, and proud of Ashley and her hard work.  She is one of the sweetest and happiest people I know.  I have always thought of her as a beautiful person, and it is a joy to see her own confidence radiate from her as she's progressing!  I love her very much and am thrilled to be a part of her journey :-)

And now for my own accountability.  I've been hit and miss with my workouts, unfortunately.  I think it's this residual sinus infection, but if I can't catch a workout at the right time of day, my head is throbbing, and it's all I can do to take care of the girls.  But today I buckled down and played catch-up on my workouts.  So I did this one:

(Upper Focus).  And this one:

(Core Cardio).  Also, today was special because I did push-ups with my right hand flat on the floor, instead of in a fist.  Remember when I sprained my wrist and it only bent this far?

Yeah, massive improvement since then.  My wrist is still weak, I wasn't able to do push-ups like that the whole time, but it's making progress and getting stronger, and that's what's important, right?

And to top it off I did this workout as well:

I believe the top position is called an "S" quad hold (according to Shaun T) and the bottom is low pigeon.  It felt so good to stretch after the first two workouts!

And today was the last day of my challenge group that started in November, so here are the end of month pictures.  Since the start of the group I've netted .8 lbs lost, but since last week where I gained a pound, I've lost 1.8 lbs.  So...winning!

And now a story.  I have an almost-three-year-old who I call Miss {C}.  I love her to death and think she is the cutest girl in the world.  Even with those feelings, she still drains the energy out of me when she is tired.  She whines and begs, tugs on my clothes, grunts, her word usage drops dramatically and she cries over EVERYTHING.  Her "tired" behavior started early today, so I put her in bed and let her cry it out.  She slept for an hour and a half, started whining and said she wanted "to carry me", so I picked her up and cuddled with her for a while.  She was out again within 2 minutes, and this is how she looked before we had to pick up Miss {E} from school.

I should make her nap everyday, because she was SOOOOOOO MUCH MORE PLEASANT!  Couldn't believe it.  

Finally, a quick invitation:  My partner coach, Tasheena, and I are hosting a "Power Week Preview" from Dec 15-22.  If you have been thinking about joining one of my challenge groups, this is a FREE preview to see what it's all about.  You don't have to buy Shakeology to join, or purchase a Beachbody workout program.  You'll be in the same group with my other challengers who have been using Beachbody products, and you will feel the camaraderie we've fostered, and the support from each of the other challengers!  If you want to join for the week, hit me up on Facebook and let me know.  This is gonna be awesome!

Maca Root

Welcome!  Healthier Living Today brought to you by Maca Root!  As it is Shakeology Superfood Saturday, I'll be focusing on this particular ingredient, but first, I want you to think about this for a minute.

and this

I don't mean for these informative posts to be pushy and sales-y.  But seriously, the more I learn about the amazing ingredients in Shakeology, the more amazed I am that it's only $4/serving.  And if you've been reading any of this, have any of the benefits resonated with you?  Do you have a family history of heart disease, high cholesterol, diabetes?  Did your mother have breast cancer, or your father have prostate cancer?  Any cancer at all in your family?  Blood disorders?  These diseases are all rampant in the U.S, and I'm willing to bet EVERY. SINGLE. PERSON. reading this has one of these things to look forward to.  Why WOULDN'T you pay $4/day towards PREVENTING some of these things and being healthier?  Something to think about.

So, maca root.  I looked here and here, and so far, this is the ingredient I probably need the most.  It has iron, calcium, Vitamins B, C, and E, zinc, magnesium, phosphorous and amino acids.  It boosts energy, libido, fertility, relieves menstrual/menopausal issues like cramps, hot flashes, anxiety, and improves moods.  Seriously, not to sound stereotypical, but doesn't this sound like a "wonder woman" elixir?  Winning.

Clean Eating

Hey hey hey!  Yeah, I'm not sure I can pull off that phrase....  Has the Christmas/commercialism shopping bug hit anybody else?  I'm one of those terrible people that starts shopping for other people, and then I get side-tracked by how cute these shoes would look with this or that outfit.  Anybody else here like that?

Selfish Brooke.

On to the story.  I started my clean eating group for this month on Monday, and I've been doing much better this month than I did last month.  Already I've reached a new lowest weight and the group lasts through Sunday, which is also Fast Sunday, for those of you who are LDS and know what I'm talking about :-)  So, I'm very optimistic about my results this time around.  Here are some low-res pictures of the kind of food I've been consuming this week.

Teriyaki chicken with asparagus and brown rice

Quaker Cranberry and Almond protein oatmeal with blueberries and a little brown sugar

Of course my chocolate Shakeology :-)

And tonight's dinner of eggs, turkey sausage, and crescent rolls, which really wasn't super healthy, but it was a compromise meal so that the girls would actually eat.  Last night I made a taco soup in the crock-pot and put in large chunks of ground beef.  My girls picked out the ground beef and left everything else.  Eventually I bribed them into eating the beans they left in their bowls by promising a piece of chocolate afterwards.  I'm not ashamed.  They still came out of their room at 9:00 saying they were hungry, so I gave them carrots to shut them up...and they both ate all that I gave them.  And yes, I know I shouldn't be giving my kids food after bedtime.  I have my reasons, and I have weighed the pros and cons.  Pros: My kids actually will eat vegetables, we all sleep through the night.  Cons: my kids' teeth are still screwed up, we (yes me too) deal with a grumpier, sleep deprived "all of us".  Pros have it.  

And that is the story of how Brooke tried to eat healthy while not starving her family.  Stay tuned for the next chapter :-)

T25 Month One Results...ish.

You know, I thought that since {C} is almost three, it wouldn't be a problem to go ahead and start wrapping presents to put under the tree.  She did so well last year!  But I'm coming to terms with the fact that my angelic baby is many times more mischievous and devilish than her older sister.  Because why would my children be the same?  It's not like being mine and Brandon's children would guarantee they have similar DNA at all.  Testimony:  God has a sense of humor.  There's just no getting around it.

And you know, Brandon just thought it was the funniest thing in the world when I sent him this picture.  I oscillated between discipline and just letting it go for a good 10 minutes.  In the end I just reiterated that she's not supposed to touch anything on or around the tree.  On the flip side, this was the cutest thing I've seen in a while.

They woke up this morning and, holding hands, made up words to the Who Christmas song from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."  But now they've done this all day and I'm a little bit over it. :-D

Do do do...so I finished my first month of T25, amidst bronchitis, a sinus infection, birthday indulgences, and Thanksgiving gorging.  Yes, I realize I just gave myself a bunch of excuses, but I think, considering that they're all true, that these results are pretty good.  :-)

But now that Thanksgiving and birthdays are past, and we're all recovering from the plague, I've started Month 2 with renewed vigor.  And Beta Core Cardio, unmodified, KICKED MY BUTT.  I haven't exerted myself that much in at least 3 weeks, closer to 4, and it was very rewarding at the end of it.  I was actually stinky and sweaty.  WOOT.  *That means I did work*

December will be a much different month for me than November.  I will make it so.

Reishi

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  The girls had so much fun playing with their cousins that they hardly ate! Which is how I knew it would go down ;-)  Isn't that how it always is with kids?  I did way better than in past Thanksgivings, and had one plateful of deliciousness, maybe I took an extra roll...or two :-)  And after an appropriate amount of time digesting, I indulged in 3 small slices of pie with whipped cream on the side.  Then I went early "Black Friday" shopping with these guys (my cute "little" siblings, who are all younger AND taller than me).

The next day Brandon went Black Friday shopping and brought home a beautiful Christmas tree for a steal, and we took great pleasure in decking the halls.  I think our tree needs a few more strings of lights, perhaps ;-)

So...today is Saturday.  You know what that means!  Fun facts about Shakeology :-)  Today's special ingredient is reishi.  Reishi is a reddish mushroom which acts as a balancing agent.  I did a small amount of research here and here, and the biggest benefit seems to be as an immune system booster and an agent that returns the body to normalcy, and who isn't interested in that during the season of sniffling noses and yucky coughs?  It's more preventative than a cure, if I'm understanding what I've read.  Other benefits include lowering high blood pressure and improving blood circulation.  Sounds good to me :-)  Bottoms up!

Happy Thanksgiving Week!

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!  If you think about it, Thanksgiving is really the pinnacle of Fall. Everything else is just kinda downhill.  You know what I'm talking about, don't pretend you don't.  Yes, Christmas is very exciting, and the anticipation and build-up for that day is palpable and exciting, but Christmas has always been anti-climactic (?) for me, probably because there's a certain expectation of gifts.  Maybe I need to grow up and get over it :-)

So, back to Thanksgiving.  I've always had a sizable family representation here in Utah, but now the majority has shifted, or maybe evened out between my maternal family and paternal family.  This year we'll be gathering with my dad's side of the family, where there will also be lots of little kids present for my girlies to play with, just like on my mom's side.  But what's exciting about this is that they're "newer" friends.  Works for me, just as long as I get to enjoy PIE.  Speaking of which...

...this is what I did today.  I'm in charge of contributing rolls tomorrow.  Yeah, I needed to make sure they were "done."  That's why there's a roll by the pies with a bite taken out of it.... :-)  I also volunteered to bring some pie, because I like to bake.  Also, I can count on somebody else to bring the pumpkin, pecan, and some fruit kind of pie.  But nobody else makes buttermilk pie.  And this stuff is GOOD.  Pair it with a good vanilla ice cream, say...Blue Bell, and you're making magic.  *drool*

Moving on.  Remember how I've been complaining about having a nasty cough clenching its fist around my lungs and suffocating me?  Yeah, turns out that the girls had bronchitis and I had a sinus infection to boot.  Soooooo after three weeks of that we're finally medicated and on the mend.  But first we had to go down to St. George for the weekend to infect our favorite family/friends--who apparently already had it last week.  But we all had lots of fun nonetheless.  And now you get to look at our memories :-)

This was taken at The Fractured Prune.  Have you heard of it?  Their donuts are AMAZING.  Miss {C} ate more than her fair share, and she's not normally one for getting her hands all sticky.

Naturally we did some shopping, and I always feel like it's a win when I remember to buy things for Brandon too :-)

And this picture just made me laugh.  She sat there for at least 10 minutes. just cleaning her feet with a wipe while we were driving home.  Weirdo.

Well, now that I'm on a few decongestants, ibuprofen, and antibiotics, I decided to hit the workouts a little harder.  And by that I mean still taking it easy on the cardio, so my respiratory system doesn't fail, and adding more weight training, because I enjoy it.

Bad news:  Because we were taking a vacation, and my birthday was yesterday, and tomorrow is Thanksgiving, I've been letting my vigilant eating habits slide....I'm basically back to where I was before I did 21 Day Fix.  But it's not too bad.  I thought I still looked decent for my birthday dinner with Brandon and the girls.

Guess who's 27?  THIS girl!

And you know, it wouldn't be a REAL birthday if we didn't indulge in cake, right?  We hit Sweet Tooth Fairy and picked up an Oreo Cream cupcake, an Apple Pie, Sweet Potato Pie, and Pumpkin Pie cupcake as well.  You know, 'tis the season :-)  They were pretty good, but my favorite is still the Strawberry Shortcake.  MMMMMMM.

Resolution:  I will be enjoying tomorrow and the rest of the weekend guilt-free.  Monday I start my week-long clean eating group, and I am gonna get back in the saddle.  And I know all of you are gonna fill your plates to overflowing, because that's the way to show gratitude, right?  Waste not and such ;-)  So, if you're feeling yucky come Monday, hit me up on Facebook, and I'll plug you into my group.  There is also a prize...so...yeah :-)

Goji Berries

Welcome to Shakeology Superfood Saturday!  Today we will be learning about Goji berries :-)  But first, I have to tell you about my dinner date Thursday night, cuz it was AMAZING!

We went to the Cliff Lodge up at Snowbird, and had our dinner at The Aerie.  Definitely the fanciest restaurant I've eaten at.  SOOOOOO GOOD!  We started out with this spicy tuna roll that had asparagus inside (yum!)

I didn't take pictures of the rest of the food, because I just dug into it, but we each ordered something different and shared kinda family style.  We tried the baby kale salad with fried polenta sticks, scallops, salmon, trout, beef tenderloin, and I had the wild mushroom ravioli.  Then we HAD to try dessert, which was white chocolate croissant bread pudding with a salted caramel gelato.  The whole experience was fantastic, and the food was divine!  Loved it!  And this is where we sat:

And now for Shakeology learning.

I did some research on Goji berries, which happen to be rich in vitamins A and C, and they also have a lot of iron.  I'm mostly interested in the vitamin part of it though.  Vitamin A is a natural antioxidant, and is key in cell reproduction, protecting your body from free radicals which speed up aging :-/  Vitamin A is also good for your eyes. Maybe you noticed? I do wear glasses, so obviously, I could use a little more vitamin A in my life.

Goji berries are also a good source of iron, which is necessary to produce blood cells. Low blood production can lead to anemia and other sad conditions, so we like iron around here. The biggest benefit that I'm interested in, though, is the vitamin C. Most of you probably don't know that my mom had breast cancer about 5 years ago. Even though her oncologist said her specific type of cancer wasn't hereditary, based on the prevalence of cancer in general...I won't be surprised if I have a run in with it at some point down the road. Nonetheless, it doesn't hurt to consistently ingest some vitamin C, which is supposed to reduce the general risk of cancer. Score.

So, what have we learned, class? Goji berries=yay!

This is the back of my bag of Shakeology.  Look at the pretty pictures there are of some of the awesome ingredients! I am gonna be so smart ;-) And so will you! Till next time... bye!