Family Vacation (In Pictures)

 

How To Travel With A Toddler

Ah, I caught your attention, right? Doesn't every parent want the low down on how to make traveling with the littles perfect? The secret! Well, let me tell you, I wish I had the magical "how-to's" that will make me seem like the almighty life saver but sadly, I'm just a mom with a crazy terrible two toddler boy. Before heading off to our annual family vacation I would spend hours on Pinterest and Dr. Google looking for the answers that would make everything calm and lovely for our 2.5 hour plane ride down to Florida. Tirelessly I would make lists and post-its, and even find myself super gung-ho to potentially write a how-to blog to help other parents. Now, looking back on everything and playing that reel over in my head I realized that I am going to sound like the text book "bad parent."

You see, my son is extra special and extra feely. His feeling get hurt easily (he gets that from me) and he is very rambunctious and restless (also from me, yay!). So, at 2 years and 4 months (almost) old, I find that there's some things that just will not work for my baby. You see, Johnny boy doesn't like to sit down. He doesn't like to watch movies in their entirety. He gets bored almost instantly. He loves to  yell. And he doesn't like to nap when I want him to, most of the time. So, what do I do?

For starters, I knew I had to bring his car seat on the plane. No ifs ands or buts about it.I know, it's heavy and a pain in the ass but so is a 40lb toddler who would end up on my lap! Otherwise he would be running around the airplane and tapping people on their heads thinking it was the most fun in the world. The next is I knew I needed to bring his blanket. His orange, plush, LARGE blanket that he has had since birth that he loves to the moon. I knew I needed to download MANY apps on my phone as well as Disney Junior on my phone (which did NOT work on the Wifi, awesome!). I knew I needed to have at least 3 movies for him to watch and get bored with (he watched 3 minutes of ONE movie, by the way). I knew I needed his favorite snacks and extra water and juice for the ride. I also knew I needed to bring a lot of patience and some Advil (for myself of course).

Well, the blanket thing worked out fantastic but he didn't nap once on the plane (there OR back). The app "Busy Shapes" has been a God-send for us! It not only keeps him busy for quite some time but it also helps with his fine motor skills; and the truth is, I am completely in awe at how well he plays the game. Download it, now! And some crayons and paper (which were given to us by a wonderful man who works for Southwest Airlines and happened to be the only thing I forgot!).

So, how was he? He was actually a little angel. My little crazy person was a wonderful little man. He didn't cry, he didn't get upset, he yelled maybe like 10 times (hey that's good!), and he really enjoyed looking out the window. All in all, don't drive yourself nuts over it. Shit is going to happen! Even though sometimes I wish that I had these "gurus" perfect little children and "amazing" ideas, I think I'm doing this parenting thing just fine without all the smoke and mirrors.

Have a horror story or an awesome story?! Tell us below! 

The Proof Is In The Pudding

Hey babes, I know it's been a while since I've blogged. I actually took a very bad fall and hurt my right leg from top to bottom (nothing is broken thank God!) and I also was on vacation for 8 days (which I will blog about next!). I've been off from the gym for 2 weeks and today was my first day back at it, my knee and ankle still seem a bit swollen and bruised which caused some pain but all in all I felt pretty good. I can still do my jump pull-ups which rocks!

So, if you're an avid follower, I began following the principles of IIFYM at the end of December and began working with Sohee Lee of Sohee Fit and have been with her since. You can read all about IIFYM in my previous blogs but if you have specific questions about it, please ask below and I will try my hardest to get you the best answer. Anywho, for 13 weeks I weighed, measured, and tracked all of my food and lost about 13 pounds. I was diligent and meticulous. It was challenging, but it was/IS extremely important to my success! Tracking is time consuming and some can really struggle with it in the beginning. If you work with it and STICK TO IT, it will become second nature and MOST of the time you won't even need to do a search for the food because you will know the measurement by "eyeballing" it.

Well, when I went on vacation I decided I wasn't going to track anything and I wasn't going to workout (of course I did a lot of physical activity but no structured lifting workouts). I really wanted my focus to be on my family and live in the moment. PLUS I was super curious to see what would happen if I ate what I wanted, within reason of course, utilizing what I have learned over the course of 3 and a half months and putting it in motion. I drank some beer here and there, had a couple cocktails, splurged BIG time on my seafood consumption (lots of lobster!), and had a few pieces of bread and butter along with some pasta, candy, cookies, and pizza! But of course I also ate a lot of HEALTHY foods out there too. Lean meats, seafood, eggs, bacon, salads, and a lot of water. I thought I would gain about 3-5 pounds (most of it water weight, respectively). So, you can imagine my surprise when I got home and weighed myself to find a ONE POUND DIFFERENCE! I gained ONE stinkin' pound while on vacation. ONE! And you wanna know why? It's because I did the work FIRST. I laid a solid foundation built with principles, hard work, discipline, coaching, sweat, and tears! I didn't decide a week before my vacation I was gonna go balls out and starve myself JUST to look good in a bikini, okay?

I made a decision long before the thought of wearing a bikini entered my head, that I was going to do this for me. I NEEDED to do this. I NEEDED to live a better life than one filled with cleansing, two shakes a day with minimal food, living off of green beans and cold chicken! I knew there was a better way. And I found it. Not only did I find it, I stuck with it. Even when I had bad days and even when I veered off of my diet or missed a workout; I hopped back on the horse and kept going. YOU HAVE TO KEEP GOING! This is where the magic happens.

Also, let me just say that for the first time in forever, I felt completely comfortable in shorts and a bikini. And that is a feeling worth fighting for. So if you have been on the fence about following IIFYM, ask me anything and I will help you get started on this beautiful life filled with courage and strength.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

Hey babes!

I have a lot going on right now so while my sweet angel baby is napping I decided to hop on and update everyone really quickly.

First, I just started my 4th month with my coach, Sohee, and I couldn't be more excited. I have finished 12 weeks of hard work and discipline with her and I have achieved a lot of greatness:

1. I can now do a jump chin-up on the high bar with NO ASSISTANCE!
2. I have lost 12.5 POUNDS!
3. I have lost 11.75 inches.
4. I have lost 5% body fat!
5. I STILL do not feel like I am dieting!

Secondly, I have taken on 5 clients for the month of April. I am so happy that they are all willing to learn and understand a new process and I am excited for their progress. I haven't worked with anyone other than myself and my husband for a while so it feels good to have a little side work right now. I have learned eons since college and working in corporate America and feel really confident in teaching others how to lose fat in a sustainable way.

Third, I am gearing up for our family vacation to Orlando and then Vero Beach, FL. So it's been really exciting shopping for my Johnny boy. I can't wait to take a million bazillion pictures! I also took out my summer clothes to get my stuff ready for vacation and I couldn't believe my eyes. Shorts that were once too small even pre-pregnancy FIT and SOME of my shorts that were once skin tight are LOOSE! There's something to be said about the feeling you get when you finally realize that your drive and dedication are paying off. I remember coming home from this family vacation last year and trying to start my weight loss program and NADA. ZILCH. I would lose and gain the same 5 pounds. It was a sad and depressing cycle in which I almost gave up; until I hired a COACH which I find to be such an important step in this process. And here I am like 13 pounds lighter since this vacation last year and it feels really great.

Lastly, I want to say something that is really important to me. I know what it is like first hand to want rapid results. To be so desperate that you do a "cleanse" and starve yourself for days on end all in hopes to get rid of those pesky 5-10 pounds. I know it's hard to come to grips with the fact that this process is just that, a process. This process may take 12 weeks or a year or even 2 years. Like I mentioned in a previous blog, the time is going to pass anyways. Trust the process. And you must understand that a simple cleanse, shake, pill, device will NOT get you the results on their own. You need to put in work and you need to learn how to live in the real world. The real world where there are date nights, family parties, holidays, pizza Friday's if you live in my house, and so much more. You have to arm yourself with the right tools in order to successfully tackle this fat-loss process once and for all.

I am always available to answer any questions that there may be about my philosophy about losing fat. So, please, if there's something you're extra curious about, leave me a comment and I will do my best to answer promptly!