Holidays Without the Weight Gain?

WARNING: Long, AWESOME post.

So, I did something kinda awesome. I finished the WHOLE ENTIRE P90X3 program.

Yeah. That's 90 days of hard core workouts. Nailed it. Well, sorta.

I didn't follow the nutrition plan as strictly as I probably should have, cuz you know, there was cake occasionally, or pumpkin waffles...*drool*

Anyways, that's where my Shakeology comes in, like a superhero I might add. See, this stuff is like magic. It reduces my sweet tooth cravings (which are heavy duty), gives me all the nutrients I SHOULD be getting from vegetables,  and keeps me full for about 3 hours (thus preventing unnecessary snacking, like me driving to Einstein's multiple times a day). And it tastes FANTASTIC. *score*

And now for the results: I can do twice as many pull-ups as I could when I first started, I can curl 20# dumbbells (for a little while), and I can do lots of funky push-ups. I feel pretty cool. AND I maintained my weight the whole 90 days, through anniversary celebrations, birthdays, family get-togethers, and kids leaving their pop tarts lying around the house. Winning.

SO WHAT? I'll tell you: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years are gonna crash down on us all WITHIN the next 90 days. What's your plan? Would you maybe like a safety net so you don't gain an extra 15-20 lbs? You COULD even lose weight through the holidays...just sayin.

I've got a support group for other sweet tooth mommas like me that starts October 19th. Wanna know more? Just comment and I'll give you all the info, cuz we're friends, and I like you!

-Brooke

Love

Follow @driven_mama

I've found my life calling.

And it's been one of those journeys where I knew the destination beforehand, but it has taken me SOOOO LONG to see the scope and the HOW.

Backstory:  I always knew that, when it came down to it, I just wanted to stay home and be a mom. And I hate to say "just" like that, but what I mean is "that's all I wanted."  I wanted to stay home and focus my energy on building my family and making it the best that I could.  Which is hard stuff, 7 years, 7 months, and 3 weeks into it.  And it will be hard LOOOONNNNNG after this, as well.

Back to the present:  I work at a gym daycare, which I've mentioned before.  I've been there for 2 years, 7 months, and 2 weeks.  And I have worked at 5 different locations throughout Utah and Salt Lake County.  Thassss lossa kiddos.  Wanna know what I have loved best about this job?  It isn't that I get a free gym pass, or that Brandon gets a free gym pass, or even that my shifts are at MOST 5 hours.

What I love best is the kids.

That also, incidentally, is the hardest part of the job.  But that's not what I'm focusing on. These children have taught me so much about love, and trust, and well-children.  And that's beyond the degree in Behavioral Science and Family Studies.  I have learned to love, and hug, and trust, and smile, and wipe away tears, and be that constant for them.  I love when new families come in, and they have a scared child that doesn't want Mom or Dad to leave.  I get to step in and be the constant for them while the parent is away.  And I build trust with them.  And they hold my hand while we walk to find a toy that they will like, or go get a picture to color.  And by the end of the 90 minutes, I've made a new, true friend. I feel like, in these moments, I get a glimpse of how the Savior loves and sees them.

For most of my adult life, this approach has not translated to other adults. :-/  I kinda figured, "They're old enough to make their own choices and deal with whatever happens. They can suck it up and take it just like everybody else."

And then I started coaching.  Initially, I saw a great opportunity to supplement our income and even take over so that Brandon could go back to school or focus on getting his dream job.  I still see that, but at first that was all I was focused on.  Me.  It's amazing that I've even been able to convince people to let me be their coach.  Don't get me wrong, I had every intention of being an honest coach, with integrity and determination to help others, and have done my best to do that.  But my heart wasn't all the way in it.  I was focused on the money.

And now, 1 year later, almost exactly, I am FINALLY starting to get it right.  It has taken me AN ENTIRE YEAR to get my brain and my focus in the right place, to change my heart and shift my focus, so that what I am offering comes from a place of love.

The workouts, the Shakeology, the challenge groups, the entire format WORKS.  It worked before I started coaching and it will work after I'm dead and gone.  But what has changed and made the difference in my success has been me.  I've gone through the refiner's fire, and survived.  My challengers have stayed with me and had such PHENOMENAL success, and now they are as dear to me as the children I work with everyday.  I honestly, truly, love them, and am invested in their success.

And THAT was the epiphany.  My calling in life is to LOVE OTHERS.  And coaching is a way for me to expand and share that love with everyone.

****Life changing moment complete****

Just talk

Hey there :-)

I really don't want this to get old with me just posting pictures of me working out and pretending to be all cool.  Maybe it already has.

I'm not sure how you all perceive me through your computers and mobile devices, but I hope that as I learn and grow that I will be able to share myself with you and help you get to know me for me.  And don't be shy, if you feel so inclined, leave comments :-)  I want to get to know you, too!  Let's be friends.

So...I don't have pictures today.  Just words.  And this one starts the story:  why.  Why am I doing this, this blog, pursuing physical improvement, sharing it with people I don't know.  Why?

In the beginning (of my life) I was born to two wonderful people that I love.  I was their first child, and only child for a while.  My beautiful siblings didn't show up until I was 7, 9, and 11 years old.  My parents had only me for a long time, and I was the object of their affections and sole object of their parenting strategies for those formative years :-)  I benefited a lot from that much attention.  I started ballet and soccer when I was 4, and participated in those for the following 9-10 years.  I remember being taught to read at a young age and my first piano lessons (which weren't very successful in the beginning.)  I was blessed with so many opportunities to try my skills in various areas and to stretch myself.  I am grateful for the opportunities and experiences I had growing up.  Along with those experiences and opportunities, there came expectations.  I did well in school, and the expectation was that I would, most definitely, go to college (and finish), and I would be responsible for the cost.  So, the motivation was to excel in school and qualify for scholarships.  I learned to work hard.  I maintain 9 years after the fact that my senior year in high school was harder than any of my years in college.  I was taking 4 AP classes, working part-time, and taking night classes at UVSC (UVU) for one semester.  It paid off :-)

I felt like I was constantly working for my parents' approval.  Nothing was every quite enough.  I love my dad, so SO much, but he isn't the most tactful person :-)  I remember one day, after I'd come home from volleyball practice my sophomore year, he said, "You know, your poor fiance.  You're gonna go off to college, and bring someone home for Thanksgiving break to meet us, and he'll see your mom and think that that's how you'll look when you're her age."  To clarify, we had just moved to Arizona that year, and I had put on probably 10-15 lbs.  I was a little "fuller", but for 5'7", I didn't feel it was "bad."  My mom, on the other hand, is 5'9" and has stayed at the same 135 lbs for as long as I've known her, aside from pregnancy.  This was my dad's nice way of telling me to be careful about my figure.  But I still remember it 11 years later. I was still not quite good enough.

But, putting my past in the past, I moved on after high school and met Brandon.  There just aren't enough words to describe what he has done for my self esteem.  Even through two pregnancies, he made me feel beautiful.  I love that man. So, so much.  But just because our spouse says they love us just the way we are, doesn't completely change the way we see ourselves when we look in the mirror.

And this is where my "why" kicks in.  I found a way to feel better about myself.  Not just because I lost weight and looked better.  Because I found a way to gain control over myself.  I found out that I could be strong, that I could pick myself up and do things.  That I could CHANGE my attitude; I didn't need to wait for some circumstance to come along and make me feel better.  I am in control of me, of what I can do and what I can accomplish.  I can create opportunities for myself to grow and succeed.  And that is SUCH an EMPOWERING feeling.  I want to share that with everyone!  I don't need other peoples' approval to feel good about myself; I can look at myself in the mirror and see all that I've done and be proud of it, knowing that I did my best, and that is good enough.

I have learned to love myself. And I think there are others out there who are starving to learn to love themselves.  And I want to help :-)