I am worth it and so are you!

It has been a long two years of putting myself last and taking care of my needs before others.

In my last post "how to never leave yourself behind" I talked about how I finally started taking care of myself and not leaving myself behind, but it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I finally and truly did have enough.

Enough pain in my body, enough of not being able to exercise, enough of eating just because and enough of being a wife and mother who wasn’t truly present in her relationship with her husband and her daughter.

To be honest it wasn’t a huge breakthrough moment, it was just a moment of knowing what it felt like to feel good in my skin and wanting to feel that way again.

So I started slowly just as I had done before. I knew how to get there; it was just motivation and self-care that I was lacking.

I felt that it was time that my body needed strength building exercises that pushed me to where I needed and a little beyond. I needed more stretching and more cardio to work every part of me.

So it started with signing up with some friends to a crossfit gym. I had done crossfit before and what I love about it is that it’s a group activity with a trainer to motivate you and help you. Another plus is that everyone greets each other and if you’re new, people actually introduced themselves and make you feel welcome.  It’s not your typical gym where you check-in, plug in and leave and I so need that.

Then I started drinking a lot more water (alot) more than my 3 glasses a day and I continued having a veggie smoothie with veggies and fruits that made me strong and reduced inflammation.  

I also made sure that with what I ate, I had some sort of green vegetable or salad with lunch and dinner.

I also began scheduling once a month massages and continued getting together with my girlfriends.

I finally really started taking care of me and putting myself first when it came to certain things.

These small but powerful changes have made such a difference in how I feel, how I sleep and I how I treat and act around my family.

Although I may not be to where I want to be quite yet……I know that I will continue making small changes that make me a better woman and overall human because I AM WORTH IT!

So now it’s your turn to know you are truly worth it!

Begin by asking yourself these powerful questions and start scheduling time for you in your calendar:

Q1: What is one small step I can take this week that I know I could do successfully towards taking care of me?

Q2: What am I REALLY commited to doing? (not something you "think" you want to do)

Q3: When do I plan to do this by? (Schedule it)

Q4: What would success look like? (Going out to dinner and feeling confident)

Q5:What would it feel like if my needs were met? (Would you be happier, in a better mood, a more patient mommy?)

Sending you all the love & strength you need to realize YOU ARE WORTH IT!

Gratitude, Nancy

How to never leave yourself behind!

Dodinsky's words were just words until something BIG happened to me.

As a mother,health & lifestyle coach, I was often the last one to take care of myself. 

I needed to help my family and others,find their way to joy and health. 

That's what I do. There is no time for me. 

Besides I would tend to my needs eventually.

Looking back now I saw that even though I "knew better" I often left myself behind to serve others and usually kept the left-overs for myself.

It started about a year ago....intense head, neck and shoulder pain that lasted for 3-4 horrific days. Not to mention the very bad  attitude to go with it! 

Those days were just about surviving the pain and asking myself "how can I just through it.

There was no joy, no happiness and no patience. 

My body felt drained of all it's goodness.

I was miserable and I bled bad energy & unhappiness.

I know because during those days, my 5 year old mirrored my emotions. It was ugly!

So I would nurse myself back to health, taking care of my needs for just those 3-4 days.

Once I felt good again, it was back to trying to be superwoman.

This quotes comes to mind:

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Albert Einstein

In my own mind I thought I had tried everything I could to try and figure out what my body was trying to say. Funny enough I kept trying those same things over and over and the results were the same. I felt insane!

I tried taking certain out foods, adding more veggies, not doing weights at the gym, going to a yoga class here and there  but nothing worked ( or so I told myself).

So I put it off (AGAIN) and told myself I would take care of it later.

Later never came!

Until a year later when my body started screaming at me! 

The pain now started happening every two weeks!

Enough was Enough!

Something had to change!

I had to change!

So I did some research and....I found out that my body was on fire (on the inside anyway).

All signs pointed to chronic inflammation.

So I changed my diet, I began my day with drinking a big glass of warm water to hydrate, followed by a veggie smoothie (then my coffee) and I started taking some minerals I felt my body needed.

I started gently moving my body 3-5 times a week.

I started calling up my friends and setting up time to meet for tea or just take a walk. 

I started making time for more relaxing showers.

And hardest of all: I realized that not everyday had to be packed with a zillion things to do. That my agenda didn't need every minute filled with places to rush off to and a dozen people to meet.

I realized that my husband had given me the gift of being able to stay home to be with our daughter, and that it was okay to give myself permission to spend time on things that I enjoyed and wanted to do.

It's been a month and so far the pain has not returned. Yay!

Changing things has made me a more patient mom, a not so stressed wife, a more listening friend and a Happier more joyful, gratitude filled woman!

Mama, Now it's your turn to feel a little JOY in your life!

It's starts with a small change and a little DIY challenge.

__________ A CHALLENGE FOR THE SUPER MAMA______

Below are some questions that will help you begin to find that so needed joy in your life:

A. List 1 activity you would like to start doing in your life, but are not currently practicing:  (Make it something you really enjoy doing for YOU)

I want to start practicing ________________________________

B. Identify 2-3 challenges keeping you from practicing this activity.

 I am not practicing ____________________ because_______________and ______________________ and blank.

C. List 3 solutions to the challenges you listed?

I could:

1.

2.

3. 

D. Now complete the sentences below.

Today, I commit to__________________________________

I want to do this because____________________________

I will accomplish this by______________________________

You can do it!

Until next time!

Joy & Gratitude to you, my beautiful superwoman!

X, Nancy

ps- I want to hear all about your change. E-mail me here.

Need happy Pleasure? + Mango Recipe!

What makes you smile?

Laugh?

Go giddy with glee?

For some, it’s a walk barefoot through the grass.

For another, it’s a spin on a roller coaster, a solo movie date, or a perfectly ripe mango.

So… when was the last time you did something that makde you actually feel happy?

If it’s been awhile, consider this: happiness lowers stress levels, increases immune system function, and lowers your risk of disease. It also makes life easier.

So want Happy Pleasure daily?

Doing one pleasurable thing per day (or more!) is the most powerful cure for gray, boring, or stressful days. Try this:

• Make an “I love” list. List everything that you enjoy – nothing is too small or too large. If you enjoy it, get it on the list. and make sure you schedule it in!

• Take a look at how you spend your days. When could you fit in a little pleasure? Perhaps you could leave the office at lunch to walk in the park? Maybe you could play your favorite music while doing the dishes? Book yourself a massage or spa day this weekend?

• Repeat daily, or more often, as needed.

So right now, grab a pen and schedule in some daily pleasures this week!

To get you started down the road of pleasure, give this luscious recipe a try and sit down and savor every bite:

Mango Cream

Prep time: 10 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 mango, peeled and diced
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon raw honey or agave nectar (optional)
• 1 cup organic whipping cream or carton of soft tofu or large ripe banana

Directions:

• Process the first four ingredients in a blender.
• Blend for one minute, or until pureed.
• Pour puree into a medium bowl.
• Beat whipping cream at medium speed with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. If using tofu or banana, whir in a food processor or blender until smooth and creamy.
• Fold whipped cream, tofu, or banana into mango puree, using a knife to swirl in a marbled effect. Enjoy!

Until Next time,

Sending you love, joy and gratitude, Nancy

How to Have a Great Day….. Every Day!

Did you know that you can even set an intention to have a great day?

Rather than diving into your morning and hoping you’ll achieve your day’s big goal, why not take a moment and set yourself up for success?

Try this “Setting an Intention to Succeed” exercise used by professional athletes, speakers, politicians, and performers:

Here's what to do:

• Upon waking, lie in bed and think about what you have planned for your day (or, find a quiet spot to sit and contemplate). How is it that you want to feel?

• Think about your desired outcome. Take a deep breath and visualize yourself feeling a certain way or succeeding throughout the day.

• Replay your success several times in your mind. How does that feel for you?

• Next, add other senses, including sounds, smells, and touch. Envision it!

• Lastly, replay the scene again, adding emotions. Feel your elation or your pride at finally finishing a project or getting that hour of movement in.

You can perform Setting an Intention to Succeed throughout the day as you desire it. 

So give it a try one day this week and let me know how your day turns out!

It works.

Until next time,

Sending you love, joy and gratitude, Nancy

Looking beyond their beauty

I was sitting at the gym doing sit ups, a girl walks in: young, lean and beautiful. 

I notice everything about her in a moment of insecurity, that I feel I am not.

Yes, I admit it, I was insecure for that moment and so I did what most would have usuaally done when they feel insecurity:  I envyed and I judged her.

The gremlins start whispering in my ear. They are hoping I will indulge in this thought, which will take me to a place of self-pity, ego and where there is no joy!

I catch myself, Wait! I think for a moment STOP! 

Why am I comparing myself to this young woman who is here working just as hard as I am to feel good about herself???

Why do I feel envy and why am I judging her, I know nothing about her, her struggles or her journey.

My energy shifts to a better place as I silence the gremlins; I start to feel gratitude towards her for being there and sweating just as much as I am.

Then for a minute I start to reminisce, I go back to being 25, to a time when someone envied and judged me for being “fit”.  

They must have assumed that it came easy for me or that I was born lucky.  

The fact was that I worked really really hard and ate a certain way to be and feel the way I looked. 

It made me sad and angry to know that I was being judged by someone who knew so little about me and my journey.

I took a deep breather, came back and gathered my thoughts.

As she sat next me, I just smiled at her lovingly, no longer feeling the way I did when she walked into the room. I felt peace and felt good about being me.

Then I asked myself, why is it that we as women don’t unite and protect each other?

Why is it that sometimes we can’t see beyond what is in front of us and we feel the need to judge, envy or sometimes hate another woman to feel better about our own insecurities?

I ask you, Let’s start a change for the better in each one of us!

Today I challenge you that this week for just 3 days you stop the judgements and the envy when you see a woman that makes you feel totally inadequate.

Instead of mumbling under your breathe of how easy she has it or how perfect she is, send her gratitude and joy for journey she is on.

Maybe even go as far as giving her a compliment on something that you find insecure about yourself?

Because chances are, she is just as insecure about who she is, as you are and you never know when you can change someone's day for the better!

Until next time, 

Sending you love, joy and gratitude!

Self-forgiveness on the elliptical!

Have you ever known you weren’t meant to be average, but never had that AHA moment

Mine finally came at 40!

I was on the elliptical trying to figure out who it was that I wanted to inspire as a health and lifestyle coach.  For some reason great ideas came to me when I was moving.

I so badly wanted to find my niche, my tribe, the people I was meant to help change, but what and who was it?

Suddenly this one thought filled my mind entirely.

A thought that hit me like a brick that came out of nowhere 

(or maybe it was the perfect timing).

This thought wasn’t about my niche or my tribe but about me, and my past!

It was right then and there that the realization of me never before  forgiving myself for being Bulimic and depressed for so many years, consumed my head!

I realized that the shame and guilt of what I had done was still with me and unknowingly affected me every day. 

It now made sense why I felt stuck in so many ways.

But why now? Why had it taken this long?

You can imagine what happened next:  I broke down into tears (still on the elliptical) and cried until I could cry no more.

After my heart had its say,  I went outside for a breath of fresh air.

I sat down and thanked my body for so many years of protecting the pain I had held onto since my mother’s death at 16, my divorce at 23 and the dread of turning 36 (my mom’s age when she passed away and the age that my grandmother passed away too)

I held my body tight, and showed gratitude to it for taking me this far and truly forgave myself and the damage I had done to my body for so many years.

I held my shame, my guilt, my eating disorder and my depression in my hands like a circle of energy.

I showed it my love and thanked it for all it had done, for serving its purpose, one that I no longer needed and then I let it go and watched it disappear into the sky.

 For the first time in my life I felt free. I felt a huge weight lifted, one I didn’t know I had carried with me for so many years.

And through all of this. it was now crystal clear who my tribe would be and who I was meant to help and inspire.

It would be other women like me, who struggle day in and day out with eating disorders and emotional eating  or maybe I should say who struggle with needing to find the way to self-love and self- forgiveness.

Because when I looked back through to all of those years and really thought about it, it was never really about the food.

So next time you catch yourself going to food for comfort, ask yourself without judgements or guilt: What is it that I am really needing in this moment, and what can I do to fill the void that food can never fulfill? Maybe it's forgiveness or love!

Until next time!

My love, courage and strength to you, 

See what I am up to at: www.nancyalbright.com