How am I the StressLess FatLoss person??

StressLess EXPERT....

Are you a friend or family member? Do you know me well? Have you simply MET me? Then you may either be thinking one of two things:

1) that I'm the wrong person to create a program about stressing less

or

2) I'm the PERFECT person to create a program focused on Stressing Less and balancing your life.

I'm going to go with 1, for obvious reasons, but I'll let you know why it's 2.  

I was BORN to stress. I was a month early when I was born, just because, no other complications leading to it...I simply NEEDED to come early because I was worried I might miss something (at least that's my personal theory). And so it continued...  I always worried about things. Being late, being the first asleep at parties (so I was always the last), worried about what my sister was doing, worried about what was for dinner at breakfast, worried about fire escape routes while falling asleep, worried I'd miss something important, making things important that weren't!  The list goes on...

I even got made fun of in college by a roommate/god friend (so it was lovingly yet he made a point) for putting on my schedule "brush teeth at 7:35am" "brush hair at 8:02am"  "walk out door at 8:16am"....

I feel this quality helped me thrive in my corporate career. I was always on time, aka early, I sent in projects on time, I finished work early, I expected the same from people I worked with and I got things DONE. I excelled and got promoted on track as I had planned.

Then I became a MOM....and that "great quality" that I thrived on started to not work so well. Stressing about baby falling...but falling ON something, splitting her head, breaking a bone from a tiny tumble, envisioning her choking on an entire chicken bone (um, not a dog, and I don't even eat chicken on a bone!), all very irrational. Naptime had to be done at the EXACT minute, on the minute. Bedtime had to be perfect, the same routine every time, at the right time.  Needless to say, I stressed about everything.   

Add myself into the equation, my routine, my workout, my nutrition and health, my work, my clients...and it was/is a disaster. Stress rules me.

Therapy (and my husband, who is the epitome of relaxed and "stressless") taught me that I need to control it or it controls me.

Born from my own life came the StressLess FatLoss program...using it helped me not worry about food or fitness during times of heightened-stress or during really busy and fun-filled times in life. It helped me drop some stress related fat gain without over-stressing my body and BALANCING my hormones to do so.  It also helps me maintain my health and fitness during those busy times that would make it too stressful for me to fit in my hour-long, but needed, lifting workouts.

Did you know that the much desired, long workouts can actually be counterproductive for hormone balancing and stress also? So taking a step back, letting go (Let it go...let it go...  #girlmom) is necessary, though hard, for your health (and fat loss!).

Join me in getting happier and healthier while LEARNING to balance yourself, your nutrition and your fitness...whatever that means to YOU., in YOUR life.  

My body as a trainer. Perfection is not happiness...do not be fooled.

Happiness > perfection

Here it is.

Me, no make up, no flex, no filter, no visible abs, after eating chips and drinking proseco....just me and my family. And yes, I'm a trainer. I study a lot, I read a lot, I love the science behind body and health, I love what I do, helping people be healthy. ⠀

     

I've been lean, I've placed 1st on stage (I own a sword!! see it below.), I've had abs, I've had delts that pop and glutes, I've also missed my husband and kids because I trained early and late, and missed mass quantities of food, wine, and pancakes just because my kid wanted a mommy-and-me date (and not trying to make them "fit my macros").⠀

⠀

But I've been on vacation a month now, I didn't have to workout to get to my "vacation body". This is me before vacation, on vacation and maybe even after vacation if I so choose. It's my lifestyle, I don't want

or need to be in pictures or on stage or have visible abs to be me anymore (and I did, don't get me wrong..been there, done that).⠀

Everyone should reach their "potential" at some point if they want. But my potential is being around for my kids, being happy, being there for my clients and understanding that having that wine, that cheese or that veggie...is because it fits my lifestyle of happy, healthy and balanced.⠀

 StressLess FatLossis what gets me through the busy days. I love lifting but sometimes I just need to focus on health.

BALANCE IS PERFECTION

Balanced for Fat loss. Is the life possible? 5 ways to start.

Living a balanced lifestyle is a great place to be, but what does that even mean?
(keep scrolling for my list)

We have all heard that stress is one of the worst things for our bodies in terms of fat gain, heart problems, gut health and overall wellness.  Health-conscious people talk about living life in balance to help get your body in order and I completely agree with that sentiment. So does it work? How do you do it?

My New Years goal this year, 2016, was to be more "balanced"...I'm checking in on that now that we're well over half way through the year. I think I've definitely done a BETTER job at it but I'm certainly not going to claim I'm fully well-balanced!  My kids, husband and business are not well balanced, is anyone's??  If yours is, please, pass on the secret....I beg of you. I do have to say, I'm so much closer now than I was last year at this very time.
        I've been able to balance fitness and life for better success in my goals. *score!*

I believe living a "balanced lifestyle" is VERY important but I actually believe it is more about mentally feeling balanced than physical balance (aka food and fitness).


Balanced means something different for everyone. A balanced lifestyle is different for every person so you truly need to find your own balance. But here's my list of how I'm trying to live a more balanced life for fat-loss and lifestyle.
* I'm not a psychologist so if you're looking for mental stability/balance, I think you'll have to check in with one
... but I can tell you how you can start the process physically....  :)

1) Wake up and drink water...it will refresh you, start your day off with something good in your body and keep you on track to staying hydrated.

2)  Don't spend hours working out. You don't need to.

• Workout should be on your calendar, just like an appointment, even a 15 minute one.

 3)  Get out of the gym!

• Walk, if you have time to facebook, snapchat or watch a 30 minute tv show, you have time to walk. You can even Facebook or snapchat while walking...just walk in the morning and/or at night for 20 minutes or more. It will help you think about your day, think about your next day and lower your cortisol...which will help you lower your midsection fat stores.

 Spend time with the family, spend time with yourself, that is part of living balanced. 

4) Eat well 90% of your meals for the day. Protein and Veggies should be at every meal...then stop thinking about your food.

5) Ultimately:   Don't think about the other things you need to do while doing the current thing you are doing.

•  It will cause stress for you to think about work when you can't be working. Don't think about kids' laundry while getting in a 20 minute workout.  Don't think about cooking dinner while eating lunch...  *This is a hard one but just try!

Balance comes from what YOU feel works for YOU. But you can't be balanced if you're stressing about being balanced. So de-stress yourself.

PS. keep an eye out in the next 2 months for the exact workout and nutrition plan I used from the start to get more balanced in my life...it works..it's working for others too! Their success is happening as we speak. #stresslessFatLoss

How we don't gain on vacation....

The crew

IT COMES DOWN TO  what you do every other day of the year....read on:

So I'm back from our 14 day vacation in Bali, it was my sister, her husband and myself and my husband. It was SPECTACULAR. We grew up in Indonesia for a bit so Bali is not unfamiliar territory, but it has been quite a while! I'll include some fun pics...the culture and the company always make a vacation great.

Monkey forest temple

BUT as women we always seem to worry about weight...from losing it to gaining it, and ultimately food stresses us out so then vacation is not fun....

How many times have you heard people say they're losing weight for their upcoming beach getaway...only to come home and say they gained 5-10lbs while on this amazing vacation?

local foods...veggies, meat, rice

Do you ever go on vacation and look forward to (or salivate just planning!) the food and all the different dishes you're going to indulge in because you were so strict before you left? Do you go hog wild on vacation and eat everything and anything because "it's vacation, why not?"?

Why would you want to undo all of the very hard work you put in to get ready? It can take 4 months to get physically changed and take 1 or 2 weeks to put back on quite a bit....That just doesn't seem fair!


SO HOW do we vacation and never put on pounds? I don't step on the scale...lol. It's true.

But for REAL:  First, we love vacationing...I have even been called a vacationing PRO by a client (I'll take that title any day!). I grew up lucky enough to have parents that liked adventure and change, so we got to travel, and learn how to do it right (right according to us at least!).  Vacation is something that is important for your health, even a stay-cation. I'm not talking about only going exotic places...but wherever you do go, make it worthwhile and use it as vacations are intended, to destress and relax (Sound familiar? The first steps in health and fat-loss, right?!), experience and learn.

Second, we eat local. Why? well, it's cheaper! But also....because when you're not in America, you don't get served American sized portions, therefore we eat smaller amounts at meal times. Plus, you may find new, healthier dishes that you never knew you liked. So try new things. Local also means in-season fruits and veggies, staples in anyone's healthy diet. Focus, as always, on veggies and protein and the rest will fall into place naturally while on a vacation.

Local fruit, Salak

Third, we MOVE A LOT! And come prepared. Vacation is not a different lifestyle, it's part of the lifestyle.

EVERY morning we'd get up, make coffee and walk either to town from the resort or along the beach sipping coffee or literally, my husband and I walked around the resort hallways just exploring...we have no time to beat, no clock to live by, just walk. That's the beauty of vacation, you get to go at your own time.

run followed by some SUP

Most places have a gym, but you may not want to be in a gym a lot so....  Some days I'd go for a run then go back to the room and use the resistance bands I brought with me and do a fast circuit to pump up my muscles and get the blood flowing before heading out for the day to lay around and read. The BEST was sprints on the beach at night. Or push-ups while laying around...no one is looking, no one cares. You might even inspire someone to move too.

We'd leave the hotel and WALK to lunch, and later walk to dinner, saying "no" to every taxi driver along the way...
Besides walking you can do lunges down the hallway, you can snorkel, you can swim for 20 minutes, you can do water aerobics in the ocean...the options are endless.    But we did make sure to do something EVERY DAY.


By why do so many people plan vacation around the food, or get excited when the cruise has unlimited buffets 24 hours a day?  Probably because they're not living a balanced life during normal times. They're so restrictive that when you get to a special place, all you can think about is food. It doesn't have to be that way!  Food is fun, food is delicious and you can anticipate a great meal...but living to eat 4 burritos a day while in mexico, simply because you're there, is not the best way to approach a vacation. It's the best way to put on a lot of weight and get some serious heartburn!

If you live a balanced and active lifestyle before vacation, once you get to vacation you will still live actively. You won't feel the need to OVER indulge, or OVER splurge.... you can just regular indulge and regular splurge...it is vacation after all!

Take this workout with you sometime:

Is this real life? Your expectations and mine.

This is me. In real life. On a 14 day vacation. #notfilter I'm happy and loving life...and I don't care what you might think of my body or my lack of visible abs as a Fitness trainer. I don't care if other trainers want to see biceps,

or striations of muscle, or look down on me because I don't have those (and, sadly, many do). I want to live a healthy, balanced life eating pizza and salad or frozen yogurt with my girls....and that is what I do. That is what I tell my family, friends and clients to do.

Trainers are always talking about living healthy and balanced...but as they say this they're standing there shirtless with their abs on display as they tell you to "go live life in balance, eat in moderation and work hard" and YOU TOO CAN LOOK LIKE ME with a six-pack. Don't believe everything you read or see (though filters and good lighting). That trainer is lacking. They don't have the empathy needed to see your situation as different from theirs or that your physical wants may not be the same as theirs. They don't have the knowledge and understanding of the biological differences that each woman has to deal with at different stages in life or that genetics does play a role in physical appearance...or that some people just don't want to work that hard, and that's ok too!

Everyone is different...does this person have another career to balance? Friends that aren't as into fitness? Understand menopause or hormones?

- Kids? Have they every been though pregnancy and any or many of the complications both major and minor of pregnancy, birth and postpartum bodies or hormones?

- Do they have family members to take to lessons, practice or other mouths to feed?

- Is this trainer truthful with themselves in how they feel? Are they going to parties but feeling guilty or are they able to enjoy themselves?

- Do they get to go on last minute Thai food dates with their husbands just for fun without guilt?

I'm not talking about diminishing the ability of a trainer simply because they DO have abs, it's just important to see if they're really happy and truly balanced WHILE having abs (the holy grail! ).

ABs are not my life. Family, Fitness and Health are my life, feeling GREAT and feeling STRONG (both mentally and physically) are my goals.

I teach my clients about Flexible Dieting or tracking macros because it is a learning tool, it creates an understanding of nutrition and choices and how to actually make choices based on your own body and goals. It leads to more mindful living. And we can get pretty lean if we want or we can use it to learn to live a BALANCED life with lasagna at dinner or french toast at brunch and still lose body fat to be healthy. This is real life.

www.heartstrongfit.com/work-with-me

Healthy mindset, food rewarding...What's a parent to do?!

So my kindergartner came home yesterday and said they got candy at school for listening to something and missing recess...

Her: "don't they know I have candy from the other days I already don't eat because I have too much? They give too much candy."
          *thoughtful pause*
"They should give homework instead of candy, that'd be better!"
I definitely laughed because it's kind of ridiculous😅.....

I doubt many would agree with her...but I bet a sticker would make her happy! My kiddo loves sugar like normal kids but apparently she knows her self-imposed limits...PLUS they get other treats and ice cream WEEKLY...yep, weekly #brainfood?? I in no way blame the teachers....My family is full of educators, I put no blame on other for what happens in my life, it's up to us to mold our children's choices and life skills.

🍦 I'm not worried about obesity or childhood health issues because we eat well rounded meals and move, run, jump and play sports. I hope other families do too......but I worry about 2 worse consequences:
1) the sugar crash and subsequent bad attitude at home! I'm thankful I don't worry about childhood obesity, I hope we all learn to make our kids move and feed them right so you don't worry either. And those sugar attitudes?! We all need help with those....

But my other worry:




🍦 🍦 What about teaching a healthy reward system, both internal and external?! Reward good behavior with sugary food and they'll grow up feeling like food is a reward. Food is delicious and fun but should we start thinking of it as a reward or punishment then it takes a different meaning as a young adult or grown woman, especially one who struggles with food/ weight issues.... it starts young. Reward a kid for having a good naptime with candy (yep, it happend) and when she grows up she may feel it's a great reward to have pie every night because she had a great day at work (her edible smile or tasty pat-on-the-back). But then if she has weight issues she may need to cut back a bit... but how can she feel the success if that was her "good day" edible pat-on-the-back?!
(not an end of the month "I smashed my work goals" treat...as those can be rewarded because it should be 👊)

We can FEEL greatness without having to feed it. Each day should be celebrated but, in my opinion, save the treats for the big times.

📍 It starts young. Habits are too hard to break, set good ones first.

This treat below was frozen fruit with a stick jammed in it. 

They handed them out around our pool to the kids free during the day and the smiles and cheers were to DIE FOR. They get happy over the simplest things! Let's teach them what's good brain food from the beginning. It really does start at home. Be their leader, teacher and example.