Before and After

BEFORE Nutritional Cleansing

AFTER Nutritional Cleansing 

Before I started on this journey of health and wellness, I would sleepwalk through my morning, barely dragging myself out of bed to get the kids off to school and wait impatiently for the cup of coffee that I thought I needed to start my day.  That Tinkerbell mug was my favorite and the sentiment on the back was pretty spot on.  Mornings were certainly not magical.  They were exhausting and irritating and even after the "blessed" cup of coffee I would find it hard to focus and muster the energy for the tasks of the day ahead.  

When I decided to do the first 30 days of nutritional cleansing and I read that it was preferable to abstain from coffee to get the best results, I was game.  I was concerned mind you... for my family...and their welfare.  I wasn't sure that everyone would survive if I didn't have my recommended daily dose of caffeine.  But more than that I was determined.  Determined to make a change for my health and not be tied to this coffee mug like it was the last lifesaver on a sinking ship.  So, I gave up coffee.  (insert gasp here)  And I survived.  More importantly, so did everyone in my family.  :-)  

My mornings now are so much better.... I wake up more rested and I am ready to take on the day.  I continue to take my Ionix first thing in the morning and then a delicious, filling, and nutritious Isalean shake.  Poor Tink has been in the cabinet for almost two months now... I have no need for her. I have more focus for the days' tasks, more determination for my workouts (which have increased quite a bit since beginning this journey),  and more energy for the day than I ever had when I was practically hooked up to a coffee IV.  

Before nutritional cleansing I was sleepwalking through life... thinking that I was making healthy choices... thinking I was doing the best that I could do... thinking that I couldn't combat the dreaded 4-0 - that age had taken it's toll and I just had to deal.  After nutritional cleansing, I am wide awake!  I feel better than I have in years, I look better than I have in a long time, I am making healthier choices - striving to do better than the best I was doing before.  I am a month from turning 41 and ready to rock another year of my 40's. 

I have a friend who says - "This is not a dress rehearsal!"  She is so right.... we don't get another chance... another life.... another body or mind.  This is the opening night - the big show.... Are you ready for it? I know that I am. 

I would love to share my "secret" with you.

I have been a "Pinning Machine" lately.... I admit that I LOVE Pinterest.  Instead of binders full of recipes, design ideas and other miscellaneous ideas, I now have Pinterest - one of the best inventions of this technological age.  I don't get sucked into online games...there was a short stint with Angry Birds but that didn't last long.  But I can spend hours on Pinterest and lately those hours have been spent finding healthy, clean, delicious recipes.  There is only one problem, I keep pinning these awesome ideas but don't always try all of them.  I think the board looks pretty and yummy though... don't you think?  

 But it is high time that I start attempting these new recipes.  I think a Pinterest Recipe Party is in order.... I know I am not the only one with one of these "pretty" boards full of great ideas.  We need to start cookin - bring a dish and a recipe and let's taste test these yummy, healthy pins!  Seriously, there are great resources out there to help you "clean up" your recipes and add some delicious, healthy options to your family meals.  Whether it's on Pinterest, facebook pages, or great websites, there is a world of possibility out there for healthy eating.
Almost two months ago I began a nutritional cleanse program and those first 30 days were a game changer.  I started feeling fantastic - I continue to have incredible energy and stamina, my workouts have improved, I lost weight and inches that I didn't think possible, and this has truly become a lifestyle for me.  I continue to use the support of some great products from a company based on organic wholefood nutrition.  I have also started looking more closely at the foods that I eat and give my family.  I am feeding my body happy with foods and nutrition that fuel me properly and the possibilities are endless!!! Today for snack, I had some yummy fresh green beans, rice crackers and hummus.  So yummy!

If you are ready for a "game changer", want to embrace a healthy lifestyle and feed your body happy....let me know.  I would love to share my "secret" with you.  Join me and be "beach healthy".

Lisa xo

A lesson for my daughter....

A lesson for my daughter....

My daughter is 11 years old.  She is so much like me in so many ways and so much better than me in others. I like to think of her as my 2.0 version.  She was born with more innate confidence than I ever had.  When she was just a wee little baby, my mother said she was intimidating. HA!  She was a tough little cookie and remains one today.  She is the athlete I wish I had been my whole life and continue to strive for.  She plays soccer, she runs, she surfs, she can do most sports if she tries.  She is, of course, BEAUTIFUL and I don't just say that because she is my daughter and I don't just say that because she looks that way on the outside. While she is a brown haired, blue eyed beauty, she is also beautiful on the inside - she is smart and caring and kind - funny and curious and adventurous.
We had a conversation the other day about the word "skinny".  I don't like that word. While I have been doing a nutritional cleanse and using the support of some awesome organic superfoods, I have been very careful to remind my daughter that I am not "dieting" or trying to be "skinny".  I am improving my lifestyle, learning to eat better foods to fuel my body properly, and trying to get and remain healthy so I can have a long life to annoy I mean love and be around for her and her brothers.  I told her that being "skinny" doesn't necessarily mean someone is healthy.   We talked about the healthy foods that we eat and why that is important and I reminded her that all of the sports she plays are great exercise that hopefully she will enjoy and participate in for a long time.
She is 11 - so I hope what I said got through.  I hope she heard me and hears and sees my example everyday.  I hope that she doesn't strive for "skinny" but instead strives for healthy, active, happy, and well... perhaps a little badass too.  Because there is nothing wrong with that.  ;-)

Lisa xo

Join me for two June challenges....

Join me for a two June challenges.....

CHALLENGE #1 - I joined a Facebook group called "Month of June 100/125 mile challenge and junk food diary".  Since I am still using the awesome products that I began using with my 30 day cleanse, I feel confident that I won't have "junk food cheats" but I do want to challenge myself to log more running miles.  I am keeping track of my miles on a calendar like this.  Join me!!  

CHALLENGE #2 - I joined another Facebook group called "30 day ab challenge for those who need motivation like me".  I have been feeling so fantastic that I have decided to start adding challenges to my workout.  It's only the 2nd - you can still catch up... Join me for this one too! 

Let's be Beach Healthy and beach ready!

xo Lisa

Let me begin at the beginning.....

June 4, 2014

Let me begin at the beginning...

**I apologize in advance for the length of this post.  I hope you will stick with me for this one and I promise all of my posts won't be this long. :-)**  

I am a mom of three great kids - 11 year old twins and a 9 year old.  I, as I am sure many of you can relate to, poured pretty much all of myself into them since before they were even born.  I remind myself that I was a person prior to being a "mom".  I had other descriptors at different points in my life.  I was a daughter...(I remind myself that even though my parents are gone, I still am).  I was a...cheerleader- yes, I was (I am more of a frustrated athlete who lacked the confidence to leave the sidelines and attempt the field but that is another post I think)  I was a teacher and while I left my classroom behind when my twins arrived, I remain a teacher at heart.  Before having my kids, I was at the gym every afternoon after school kickboxing or stepping with a great group of women. I took care of myself, I exercised and watched what I ate.  Then my husband and I starting trying to get pregnant and things slowly started to change.  I wanted to have children and be a mom more than anything in the world and when that didn't come as easy as it did for other people, I was disappointed and frustrated but determined.  There is a quote by Maya Angelou that says "If you want me to do something, tell me that I can't." - that pretty much sums me up.  I can have a one track mind when necessary, I have been known to be called competitive (most recently by my 11 year old son), and I can be determined to the point of tenacious.  What does all of this have to do with being healthy?  I will get there.... :-)  Once my mind was set on having children I didn't look back - I did whatever I had to do to get there.  We ended up the lucky parents of twins - a boy and a girl and we were over the moon.  People ask me how I did it and I usually tell them two things - I didn't know any different and my husband is an awesome partner and Dad so I wasn't doing it alone.  When our twins were less then 2 1/2 years old we welcomed our third child, a little boy and became the family of five that we are today.  You can understand, I am sure, how my life began to revolve around my family.  I was the mother of three children under three.  At the same time, my mother was diagnosed with cancer and passed away before seeing my youngest son turn 1.  I was heartbroken but I could not fall apart - I had my family to think about.  At that point I added a new descriptor under my name when I became a runner.  Running was one of the few things that I did for myself and it was, frankly, therapy.  I ran and ran... and did eventually compete in and finish an 18 mile run on our island.  But then life started getting in the way again... the kids were all in school, they began playing sports (which I LOVE), and I slowly started to realize that I wasn't spending much time on me.  My father began to have health problems, we lived 4 hours away, and we were not at all happy with the town we lived in or the school our children attended.  I was stressed out, frustrated, and not as happy as I should have been given all of the many blessings in my life.  My father was diagnosed with cancer and passed away in the blink of an eye and after that I took some serious stock of my life.  I was determined to make changes.  I had learned first hand that life is short and you need to live everyday like it is your last.  I was determined to not have regrets.  I was determined to rid myself of the toxins that were stealing my joy.  I started with the people in my life.  I cleaned house - I embraced those relationships that were good for me, worked on repairing ones that needed repair, and let go of ones that were weighing me down and not giving me what I needed.  I had had my own health issues as well that I needed to take care of - whether it was stressed induced or environmental, my allergies had become completely out of control and I felt awful.  I started making changes where I could and worked on getting myself better.  We were lucky enough to have the ability to move at this point and the change of environment helped both my allergies and my stress levels.  We were finally able to move to the beach full time and raise our children where I had always wanted to live.  That brings me to this past year.  We moved, relocated while our house was being renovated and moved once again when it was complete (sort of).  Our children started a new school and met many great new friends.  They began playing travel soccer which keeps us all on the go most days of the week.  I unpacked, redecorated, prepared everyone for school, dealt with contractors, taxied my children around, and spent three days per week as a "single mom" while my husband traveled for work during the week.  While I would not trade any of it, it began to take its toll on me physically and emotionally.  I was tired, I didn't always feel great, and I wasn't happy with the way I looked.  I had turned, gulp, 40 last summer and I was not completely on board with the whole aging thing.  After many months of thinking about it, I decided to make some changes that were just for me.  But in reality they were not just for me.... because as the saying goes, "If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy." I was determined to put as much energy into myself as I have been putting into everyone else for years.  I was determined to make lifestyle changes for myself and my family that would make me a happier, healthier, more balanced mother and wife.  I was still running although I didn't feel like I had the energy to put my whole self into it.  I didn't feel healthy.  So I decided to do a nutritional cleanse for 30 days and takes steps to change and improve my diet, exercise more, and become healthier overall.   As soon as I began the 30 day journey, I started to feel better.  I started to sleep better - I didn't even know that I wasn't sleeping well.  I felt more balanced, more rested, happier, more energetic, and the weight and inches started melting off.  On Day 1 I hesitantly took my picture and sighed.  I wasn't seeing the me I knew was inside and I knew that it was a direct result of me not taking good enough care of myself .  By Day 18, I was thrilled with my progress and by Day 30 I felt like a new person.  This was not a diet but a lifestyle change.  

My journey is leading down a path of better health and since I was already a blogger, I decided to blog about it.  So here I am.... and hopefully you are too.  Hopefully you are ready to make some positive changes in your life that make you healthier, happier, and more whole.  I invite you to visit my blog for inspiration, motivation, maybe some recipes, maybe some workout tips....who knows where this journey will take me and those of you that decide to join me.  As for right now, I am happy with the changes I have made and I really feel Beach Healthy!  I welcome you to feel Beach Healthy too!!  

xo Lisa