SW Portrait

I am a wife, mother, Speech-Language Pathologist, thyroid cancer survivor, and an ACE Certified Personal Trainer, Health Coach, and Group Fitness Instructor, with additional yoga specialty trainings. I have a passion for health and fitness, especially functional fitness, helping others prevent and overcome injuries. I desire to help others who struggle with their weight and/or thyroid issues to find success and become healthy through clean-eating, chemical-free living, and exercise.


Blog

What is the Biggest Cause for Weight Gain? September 17, 2013

Weight Gain Pic (Weight Gain Pic)Do you struggle with maintaining a healthy weight, or feel like you are doing everything right with eating and working out, but the scales never seem to budge (and sometimes might go the opposite direction)?  If so, you are NOT alone!  In fact, I was right there with you a couple of years ago.  Fortunately, with the knowledge that I have gained over the past several years regarding nutrition and thyroid health, I have found my happy place…and YOU can too!

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Are Your Choices Moving You Closer To Your Goal? September 5, 2013

Attitude & Choices (Attitudes & Choices)I don’t know about you, but I believe CHOICES and ATTITUDE are such an important component in our lives.  In a nutshell, our choices determine the course that we take and our attitudes reflect how we view our daily circumstances.  So, with that being said, I think it’s important to remind ourselves that each day we are in charge of our choices and our attitudes. 

In fact, one of my favorite quotes is one by Charles R. Swindoll regarding our attitude.  It says, “The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, 

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September 30-Day Plank Challenge August 29, 2013

September 2013 30-Day Plank Challenge (September 2013 30-Day Plank Challenge)Do you want to strengthen your core and improve flexibility, appearance, and mood?  Join me/us for a 30-Day Plank Challenge during the month of September.  The plank is one of the best exercises you can do to strengthen your back and abs.  Each challenger will gradually increase time in the plank position over the 30 days of the challenge and the goal is to end with a 5 minute plank.  Motivation and tips will be provided throughout the 30 days.   

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Can We Out Exercise a Bad Diet? July 22, 2013

You Can't Compete with What You Eat (Can't Compete with Bad Diet)For those of you who don’t know me, I am a firm believer in good nutrition and I believe that it plays a HUGE role with our health and fitness…and physical appearance.  In fact, I can tell you from experience that how you eat will directly affect how you feel.  I was not a healthy eater when I was younger, and I was fairly picky and I could not even imagine eating or even trying many of the foods that I now eat.  Now, I crave the healthier options and have no desire to eat items such as white bread or Doritos, etc.

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Body Weight and Diabetes May 21, 2013

Diabetes (Diabetes)Did you know that excess amounts of body fat can increase your risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes?  Sadly, it is true.  After hearing about another family member who was recently diagnosed with diabetes, it has really motivated me to continue my fight to help end the trend of obesity.

Unfortunately, extra body fat prevents the body from appropriately responding to the insulin that is released, which in turn causes additional issues with insulin production and resistance.  This breakdown in proper insulin production causes sugar that was meant for energy to be released into our bloodstream and remain there.  

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Boost Your Mood Through Exercise April 11, 2013

One Workout Away From A Good Mood (Workout and Good Mood)Did you know that a workout can improve your mood?  It can!  In fact, research has shown that it only takes 20 minutes of exercise to give your mood a boost and it can last up to 12 hours.  Twenty minutes!!!  That is all it takes to make you feel better.  So, even if you don’t have time to do an hour workout (which they say is only 4% of your day), then just take 20 minutes to do something active.  Not only will it help you work toward your fitness goal, but it will make you feel better.

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Reducing Joint Inflammation Through Diet February 27, 2013

Joint Health (Joint Health)If you are like me…and starting to get older, you will notice that we need to be a little more careful with banging around our joints.  Although, I think it is safe to say that we should be careful of our joints no matter how old we are because eventually it will catch up to us.  However, as I start to get older (and hopefully wiser), I have learned that our diets can have a HUGE impact on our health – including joint health.

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10 Ways to Boost Your Metabolism February 23, 2013

Boosting Metabolism (Boosting Metabolism)If you are like most people, you want to know what you can do to help boost your metabolism.  However, if you have tried to do a web search on ways to boost your metabolism you probably noticed that there are way too many articles on this topic.  So, in an effort to make it simpler, I have compiled a list of all of the top tips (that included evidence-based results) for increasing your metabolism.  Here are 10 of the most common metabolism boosting tips that I found:

 

 

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Tips for Meal Planning February 19, 2013

Meal Planning (Meal Planning)I mentioned in a previous blog how it is good to keep your pantry well stocked with healthy options to help prevent you from eating unhealthy foods.  However, another key to eating healthy is to have a meal plan for the week.  Having a plan allows you to make sure you pick up the appropriate items at the store and keeps you from rummaging through your pantry to find something to eat.  Additionally, it helps to save you time and money. 

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Am I Eating Too Little/Too Many Calories? February 11, 2013

Calorie Counting (Calorie Counting)The answer to this question is tricky.  For instance, I often have people tell me that when they calculate how many calories they should be eating on a daily basis, the amount seems to be too high and they still feel full when it’s time to eat the next meal or snack.  So, how do you determine if this is your correct amount or not?

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Overcoming Obstacles February 7, 2013

Obstacles (Obstacles)Do you have obstacles in your life that seem impossible to overcome?  If so, are you letting these obstacles control you?  I recently heard a news story about obstacles and how we’re more likely to veer off course if we’re focusing on them. If you have ever driven through a construction zone, I’m guessing you have experienced this when trying to avoid the cones, barrels, or barrier wall.  I don’t know about you, but I find that I have to force myself to focus on the road and what’s ahead of me to keep from looking at the obstacles.

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Stocking Your Pantry with Healthier Options February 4, 2013

Healthy Pantry (Healthy Pantry)The best way to stay on track with your diet and your budget is to plan ahead.  When you plan out your meals ahead of time you know what items you need to buy or have on hand for your daily meals.  However, we all know that even when we have good intention sometimes our plans can get changed or we may not be able to get to the grocery store when we planned.  So, what is the next best option? I believe keeping your pantry and/or fridge (or freezer) stocked with key staples is important.  It is also beneficial to have items that are not only healthy, but can be made quickly in case an event or situation requires you to ditch your previously planned meal for something quicker.

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What Are Your Priorities? January 31, 2013

Priorities (Priorities)I don’t know about you, but it has been a crazy week for me.  Both of my boys ended up with pink eye this week, and if you know anything about pink eye you probably know that it is VERY contagious.  So, as I said before, it has been crazy this week!  Imagine an active and extremely curious little two-year-old boy who is rubbing his eyes and then running around and touching everything.  Needless to say, I was happy when both boys passed the contagious period.  

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I Think I CAN! January 28, 2013

I think I can (I think I can)As I was reading to my little man this morning, I was reminded of a key aspect that we need to remember on our fitness and nutrition journey, not to mention life in general.  So, what valuable lesson did I learn from a little kid’s book?  Well, the book was The Little Engine that Could…and of course, the moral of the story was that even though the engine was small and had never done something like this before, the engine didn’t let size or inexperience stop it…the little engine made the decision to try and kept saying, “I think I can, I think I can….” and it did!

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Natural Syrups for Cough & Sore Throats January 27, 2013

Natural Cough Syrup Remedy (Natural Cough Syrup)With all of the sicknesses going around right now, you might have caught the latest bug.  Well, when our youngest son started coughing yesterday it made me wonder if there was a more natural remedy for coughs and sore throats…and since I am not a big fan of medicines with all of the dyes and artificial ingredients, I decided to do a little online searching.  So, I thought I would share what I discovered in my search…and it appears that a few of the ingredients in one of the syrups might also have a beneficial effect on your weight!  Hoping this helps you feel better…enjoy your day! :)

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Are Your Fruits & Vegetables Making You Fat? January 25, 2013

USDA Organic (USDA Organic)I am sure many of you have heard about the harmful effects of eating foods sprayed by pesticides, but how many of you have made the switch to organic?  My guess is that most will say that it is just too expensive to buy organic fruits and vegetables all of the time.  Well, did you know that these same non-organic foods could be contributing to your struggle with losing weight?  Unfortunately, it’s true.

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Is Your Thyroid Weighing You Down? January 21, 2013

Thyroid Butterfly (Thyroid butterfly)Sometimes it takes more than good nutrition and exercise to see a difference in the scale...or better yet, in inches (because the scale is not always a good indicator of your progress). I went through years of working out and eating right, but I still struggled with keeping my weight where I wanted it to be...you know, that place where you feel comfortable in your own skin?! I honestly felt like I could barely eat anything or I would put on weight.


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No Excuses January 18, 2013

No Excuses (No excuses)Have you “squeezed” your workout in today?  I often hear people say, I don’t have enough time to workout, but is that really true?  Did you know that one hour is only 4% of your day?  So, I encourage you to stop and think about…and maybe even write down everything that you do during your day.  For instance, do you spend time on Facebook, watch TV, etc. – write it down.  Now, think about what your goals are (and not just workout goals, but family and life goals) and determine if how you are spending your time is getting you closer to where you want to be.  If your answer is “no,” then you may want to start making some changes.

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Recovery Done Right: 8 Ways to Prevent Muscle Soreness January 16, 2013

Muscle Soreness (Muscle Soreness)Eight ways to prevent muscle soreness after a workout.

 

 

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The Importance of Rest Days January 11, 2013

Rest DayDo you feel guilty when you take a rest day?  If you said “yes,” then you may be at risk for overtraining.  I used to fall into this category until I started to learn more about the mechanics of muscle adaptation and recovery.  Did you know that rest and recovery periods are actually a time of growth?  It’s true, our body uses the rest time between our workouts to repair and strengthen itself.

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