How to be successful in all aspects of life

Hi there!!!

Whether you want to be successful in business, relationship or my speciality….HEALTH, there are some common themes that you must adhere to in order to grow. So here are my top tips on

How to be successful in all aspects of life

1) Get ready to be uncomfortable.

If you are someone who finds that you constantly resist things that make you uncomfortable, then you are probably also someone that doesn’t reach the goals you want to reach. Why? Because growth means discomfort. And often. a LOT of discomfort.

If you want to get better in business, you have to work on your communication skills. Maybe you’re an introvert and have to push through some major fears.

If you want to work on your health, you have to make changes that are terribly uncomfortable. You must stop bad habits, put mental and physical effort into thinking about and preparing the foods you make. You must invest financially to get testing, hire a coach, etc…. Health is NOT COMFORTABLE (at first).

2) Get over yourself.

In order to grow we must get over ourselves. We obviously don’t know everything or we would have accomplished it all already. Be willing to learn, ask for help, hire a specialist, or start new conversations. If we walk around like we know it all, well….pride comes before a fall. And no one likes to be friends with a know it all anyway. Collaborate, listen, learn, and constantly be growing. Seek out new opportunities and continue to challenge yourself.

3) Be full of integrity.

If you were late to meetings and left projects unfinished at work, you would get fired. Yet we are willing to do this to ourselves constantly.

If you want to have a better relationship, you must keep your commitments, be full of integrity, show up, and be trustyworthy.

If you want to accomplish your biggest health goals, you must have personal integrity. Show up for yourself, Follow through on the goals you set. Get accountability. Finish what you started.

Sometimes this simply means doing what you say you will do, or acting on what you SAY is a priority to you. (actions are definitely louder than words when it comes to our health).

Other times it means hiring a coach or specialist who can listen to you, challenge you, keep you accountable, and push you when it get tough to keep you on track. Often people outside of our situation can see the big picture, identify our weaknesses, and see what needs to be done more clearly than we can! But often this takes embracing step #2 in order to be successful :)

4) Be willing to invest

EVERYTHING worth anything takes investment. The statement “you get what you pay for” really is true. Being a health coach, I see how often people want to discount their own value.

They wouldn't blink to spend the same amount of money on a child, a pet, or a charity. But when it comes to investing in their own bodies, health and future, they get really uncomfortable really fast. And I get it. It’s definitely hard.

BUT every relationship takes work, every business coach that is worth their salt costs money, and any health coach that will be able to take you from point A to point B will be an investment as well.

When I started viewing these costs as INVESTMENTS even though it brought a lump to my throat because of the commitment, I knew it was worth it. It held my feet to the fire. If I felt uncomfortable, I was more likely to put in the effort to take the steps necessary to see the growth and results I needed. And boy did I GROW.

And I see this over and over with my clients. Over the years, those who didn’t want to invest, or invested just a tiny bit of money or time didn’t end up seeing the results they wanted.

But those who were immediate action takers, jumped in with both feet, trusted me, did the work and invested to a point that made them uncomfortable, saw the biggest results and the long term WINS.

Investments aren’t just about money - they are about the emotional value you place on something. A rock might be worth nothing at all - but a rock with a famous artist rendering on it can sell for thousands of dollars.

When you’re working on your health you must value 2 things exponentially. The person you hire, and yourself. When those things align. you will see incredible results!

Change is hard. It’s scary. There are never any guarantees. But if you are ready to get uncomfortable, get over yourself, keep your commitments and be willing to invest, I bet you’ll see some dramatic changes over the next year!!!

To your health,

XOXOX

3 things that trash your gut (and what you can do about it)

Hello friends!

I’m sitting on my hotel patio in sunny California this morning getting ready to attend the Mindshare Collaborate summit! I had some down time before everything gets rolling and wanted to share a few things that get our tummies into trouble and of course….what the heck we can do about it!

Almost all of my personal clients have SOME sort of gut distress whether it be bloating, constipation, stomach pain or acid reflux. Below are just a few things to consider when experiencing some of these problems!

Stress

YES STRESS!!! I put this point first because of ALL the things we want to address, stress is the one that we most want to overlook. We are busy, we live in a world where we want to go go go, drink all the coffee, and accomplish all the things….but stress is really the underlying problem that contributes to the development of disease, but also our seeming inability to heal once we experience symptoms….

Poor food choices

Well, obviously, you knew that I couldn’t mention tummy troubles without mentioning food. I promote #YOUtrition which means there is no one right diet that works for everyone HOWEVER there is ONE food I get hard core with my clients on and insists that they eliminate 100% and that is wheat/gluten.

The overarching principles that work for everyone are:

Avoid gluten like it’s the plague (it’s soaked in glyphosate which kills your beneficial gut bugs and gluten is inflammatory)

Avoid processed foods as much as possible and when needing something quick, choose foods that technically could be made at home if you had the time or inclination ( always read labels to determine this!)

Limit sugar intake. This might be the hardest right?! 3 things you could incorporate right away that make a big difference:

1. Stop drinking soda ( and don’t switch to diet)

2. Stop drinking latte’s and drink black coffee (I like Foursigmatic) or cold brew with a splash of vanilla almond or coconut milk

3. don’t have sugar in your house. Ever. ( This way if you are going out to eat and want a gf dessert you don’t stress about the sugar - it’s treat! But you also don’t have a bag full of white sugar at home just waiting to be used.

Overuse of Antibiotics, NSAIDS and pharmaceuticals

There is a time and place for all of these, but they are grossly overused in a culture where we seek a quick fix and a pill for every ill instead of putting the time and extra effort in to live a healthy lifestyle, get to the underlying problems causing the symptoms we want to relieve, and prioritize nutritional density like our lives depend on it (which they do by the way) :)

So what can you do about it?

Well, LIMITING your stress, ditching gluten sugar, and processed foods, and being mindful anytime you need to use prescription or over the counter symptoms reliever.

If your’e reading this then chances are you’ve been exposed to gluten, sugar, stress and prescriptions so I want to dig a little deeper into a few more things you can incorporate right away

Probiotics

I encourage everyone to use a quality spore based probiotic like Megaspore! Thats my favorite, and if you would like a recommendation, just shoot me your email and I’m happy to set yup an account for you! After stress, and, well, LIFE, it’s important to make sure we are refueling our guts with the good guys.

I also encourage you to begin incorporating probiotic rich foods like kimchi and sauerkraut on a regular basis! YUM. I love some good sauerkraut next to my meat and veggies!

Soothe and Repair

Beyond feeding our guts the good stuff, we want to make sure that the damaged caused from all our past bad habits (hello Mountain Dew and Oreos!) are healed - a great supplements like GI Repair from Innate response is filled with soothing herbs like marshmallow root, aloe, slipper elm, and include L-Glutamine which helps the cells in your gut lining repair themselves!

Bring in the JOY

Stress relief is about so much more than just becoming ZEN and getting into yoga, meditation and mindfulness. It’s a bout BALANCE which means you also need to create a life you live and include things that make you joyful and happy. Laugh more - spend time with friends, watch silly movies, take a hike and connect to nature, and walk barefoot outside!

What tips have you found helpful? I’d love to hear below! Share this post with a friend you think might find this useful!

Making the most of snow days...

Hey Hey Diva friends!

Quick update for you :) January is off to a rocking' start!! I launched my very first Gut Health program #GetGutsyWithMe on January 15th and I'm already getting AMAZING feedback on the program, information, and recipes! This fills my heart with joy and happiness since it's my life's mission to help people make healthy changes in a doable, pleasant, and maintainable way!!

Stay tuned - Get Gutsy will be launching 2-3 times each year and you can expect edition #2  in a few months!

I also chose to jump into the 80Day Obsession program by Autumn Calabrese! This is a beachbody program from the creator of 21 day fix. YES I'm a personal trainer, YES I could create my own workouts...YES MLMs like beachbody have a bad name (because of poor representatives I might add - not because of the products).... but I have seen GREAT success using at home programs, so have many of my clients and friends and heck...it saves me time and sanity to follow a program that's already designed! As I grow and focus on my OWN business, I enjoy popping down in my basement and not having to think about what to do next. #stressrelief If you want to join me just say the word!

I'm VERY pleased to announce that The Tiny Fit Diva podcast will be up and available to stream in February. We are currently working on a few last minute tweaks as well as preparing a few extra episodes for you to be on top of the game before we open it to the public :) GET EXCITED because Patrick and I share our best tips on this weekly show!

 I have many goals for 2018 and one habit I'm slowly beginning to implement is an organized morning. Last year I read miracle morning and I loved a lot of the ideas but didn't implement them right away. As I'm getting busier, I want to make sure my priorities don't slip, so in the evening I have been making a list of to-dos the next day and that includes the first few things I want  to get done in the morning which includes meditation, reading my Bible, and reading a personal development book! 

All in all, January is shaping up to be a pretty darn awesome month and I have more goals, dreams, and visions for the next few years that I can't wait to share with you as they come to fruition.....

MEANWHILE!!!!! It's snowmageddon in OHIO....ok maybe it's not that bad :)  

[edit: the day this is posted it's freakishly warm :P so tuck these tips away to use soon]

I never understand why people get so upset about weather changes. There's nothing you can do about it except adjust your attitude. Personally I think it's beautiful. And it offers an opportunity for extra cuddles, hot chocolate and card games inside :)

Here are my 3 tips to make the most of your snow days:

1) Prioritize together time.

With your spouse, your kids, or your dog...whoever lives with you :) Use the extra inside time to watch a movie together, read a book as a family, play some cards or board games or...TALK to each other :) If you're BRAVE, bundle up in some snow gear and get outside for a walk or make some snow men :)

2) Focus on nourishing yet comforting foods.

In the winter we tend to exercise LESS and eat MORE. We want to stay inside and get less movement, but we also enjoy processed sugar and carb heavy foods ideal for packing on fat in hibernation times. To avoid this, focus on making foods that are nourishing yet comforting at the same time.

Make some homemade bone broth and drink it like coffee (SO GOOD) or make a soup with homemade broth as the base - check out my  previous blog with info on how to do that here

Make some delicious homemade hot chocolate void of the sugar and chemicals you'll find in pre-made mixes...Use this recipe or come up with your own:

• 1 can of full fat coconut milk
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup (or stevia drops to taste)

1. Heat up the milk over the stove.
2. Mix in the cocoa powder and sweetener of choice. Enjoy!

p.s. for a real splurge, add some Enjoy Life chocolate chips either in the full mix or in the bottom of your mug!

3) Tackle a hobby or goal.

Take a moment to write down a list of things you would like to accomplish in 2018. They could be fun things like hobbies, crafts, hanging out with friends, dinner with your mom etc... or they could be business goals you have, things that need to get done around the house,...you get the picture...

Create the list. Make sure if anything on your list requires actions steps to achieve it that you write those out as well. Then anytime you find yourself bored, snowed in, or with extra time on your hands tackle the list.

Here's to a warm and productive January! From my home to yours,

p.s. I'd love to hear YOUR receipt and traditions for this time of year! Share them below!