Fuel Your Fire

I had full intention of kicking off this week with full workout plans and meal plans for you.... However I woke up at 5 am with a much different idea and approach. I felt it was on my heart to share with you today.....

Most of you know , I am part of a company called Advocare. Yesterday, we had an event and I am more fired up then ever!!!!

We spent time talking about purpose, talking about our "why". The thing is, we should live life by design, not by default. When you get down to it, everything you do comes back to having a strong purpose and a strong "why".  Because quite frankly, when the going gets tough and you feel discouraged, you need a strong purpose that will keep you fueled.

It is easy to get fired up about getting in shape or being healthy, especially around the new year but what is going to keep you going through December? Is it your kids? Is it your family? Is it a race you are running? Is it a competition you are training for? What is the driving force behind your quest???

I think its important to take some time today and figure out you deeper why. There will be, I guarantee it, a point in the year that you will want to quit. I can post workouts every week and meal plans for us to follow but unless you have a "why" that is enough to make you cry, it is going to be challenging to stay dedicated.

Whats my why?? That's a really great question. At 22 years old and in good health already, I have had to dig for a deeper why. Of course I want to look good, of course I want to prove to all the haters that I CAN do it, I want to be the "fitness friend". But reality is, as much as those are great to get me started, when I can barely move because every muscle in my body is sore, I have to have something else to fuel my fire. One of my biggest passions in life is to change the world. I want nothing more then to "change the world". I have been spinning my wheels trying to figure out how exactly I can accomplish that. Did I mention I woke up at 5 am thinking I needed to change my entire blog post for today? Because I did. Yesterday I saw how to lead by example, I saw how I can change the world, one person and one family at a time. So what fuels my fire? You do. Every. Single. One. Of. You.

What fuels your fire??

-XO- M

Inner Strength- Day #1

2014??? Is it really 2014??!!

Chances are, you have been putting your health and fitness goals off for "next year". Chances are you are reading this because A. you are my friend and are being nice or B. you are ready to jump on the health train. Guess what? It is NEXT YEAR. No more delays, no more "tomorrow" is a good day to start. Today is a GREAT day to start. Lets ease into it, lets set up for success, not failure.

This year, I promise to support you, encourage you, and help you through your journey.

Day #1 is about YOU. It is important for you to spend a little bit of time setting some goals, making a plan, and setting yourself up to succeed. How? Well I am glad you asked!!!

*What works for me may not work for you, it may take some adjusting and modifying to find what works for you and your schedule/life*

1. Find yourself a fitness journal. There is nothing more satisfying then being able to look and see how far you have come. I picked a notebook up at Walmart.

2. Take some time to set some goals. What do you want to accomplish in 2014?? Set goals that are specific, measurable, and doable. In 12 months, you can set some BIG goals!

3. If you plan on using a gym, make sure you get your gym bag ready to go!! If you plan on working out at home, set up a space with the things you need to do it!!

(My gym bag includes: a towel, a headband, Spark, Rehydrate, shoes, Ipod, arm band, lifting gloves, a waterbottle, and catalyst)

4. If you are using supplements, get those ready! (I use Advocare- if you want to know about it, email me!)

5. Take some before pictures. Regardless of where you are on your journey, take some pictures to mark where you are RIGHT NOW that you can look back on to see your progress. You may never end up sharing these with anyone and that is perfectly okay, but you are going to have days of discouragement and having pictures to track progress is a big motivator!

To help kick off the new year and releasing a whole blog, I am giving away a box of spark!!! All you have to do is email me your goals for 2014 to be entered into the drawing!! (Must email me your goals by Friday at 5pm (MST)--- thebloomingace@gmail.com)

-XO M

Get Your Boat In The Water

Coming up on 6 months post college graduation and its been quite the journey already....

 All those late night study sessions, those overwhelming mountains of homework, the stress of upcoming exams, the rushing between classes, the finding an empty computer in the lab, the trying to figure out if there was even a light at the end of the tunnel is all a distant history now. *THANK GOODNESS*

Similarly to how I filled every minute of my daily schedule in high school and then college, I seemed to have managed to succeed doing again. However, you better believe I have become an 8 hour of sleep kind of gal. Moving back to where I grew up, being able to spend time with my family including my adorable nephew. I have realized that family, by far, is the most important thing to me.

Since graduation, I have made every effort to treat myself well, to give my body what it needs, and to embrace a healthy lifestyle while pushing myself physically- I've never felt better!!!

Today, I place my flag in the ground, I am telling you RIGHT NOW, I am going big places, I am doing BIG things.

Either you are with me or you aren't. But I am warning you, you want your boat in the water!

What am I doing you ask?? Stay tuned... 

XO Maddie

A Decision To Try

Alright, I have sort of been putting this post off for well, a long while now. I wasn't sure what exactly to write or where exactly to start but day after day in the working world I see it time and time again. The unhealthy eating, the pool amount of coffee consumed, the frozen meal lunches, the going out to eat, etc.

Here is the deal. I believe I was blessed with the life I have been given including a well functioning body to live that life in. However, that being said, it is completely my responsibility to take care of it. I was placed on this Earth for a specific reason and though I do not know what that exactly is yet, I don't want anything to keep me from doing that. Meaning, I need to properly nourish my body and do the best I can to take care of what I have been given.

Lets start right now by saying, I have never been overweight BUT in college, my bad eating habits started to catch up to me. I would workout but I was a daily McDonalds diet coke drinker, potato chip lover, and dorm diner. Meaning, my pants were getting a weeeeee bit tight. BUT bigger then that, I wasn't sleeping, I was exhausted all day, the circles under my eyes were as dark as night. I even was asked on numerous occasions, even by a police officer, if someone had punched me in the face and I had black eyes.

This leads me to where a whole new journey started. January 2012, my sister and brother-in-law came over for football Sunday (a regular family feasting event in this house) but this time they came with their own snacks in hand: celery, carrots, etc. I straight up told them they were out of their minds. Who does that healthy diet crap anyways???? Well every time I came home, I somehow ended up with some lovely Spark packets in my bag upon my return. After a while, I was so entirely drained, my energy was at rock bottom and figured I may as well give it a try. Well, needless to say I started drinking it daily. My daily diet coke runs became far less and even few and far in between. That my friends was success #1.

Success #2 is a bit different then most peoples health journeys. College was extremely hard for me, and exams were even worse. With 50% failure rates and test averages being in the 40% range, who in their right mind wouldn't be nervous walking into those exams??? I am talking sweaty hands, turning stomach, and tears rolling down my face when I realized I couldn't fully answer a single question on the test. Well my sister started throwing around the idea of trying one of her other lovely health products: clear mood or oasis. Being desperate, I agreed. I will just tell you I went from a D and C test average to Bs and even As!!!!!!!

Stay tuned for the rest of my story/success later this week.........

"Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try"

 

Plan to Succeed

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”

-Benjamin Franklin

You see, growing up, we ALWAYS packed our backpacks and lunches the night before. We almost ALWAYS had our clothes picked out as well. Some of these habits followed me through high school and college but it was never very organized. I tried countless ways to be organized in college and other then my school work, everything else almost always ended up a big flop.

Starting a real career job has been a crazy adventure! There are a lot of things that I don't miss from college, like having homework to do until weeeeee hours of the morning. But, I also discovered that I hate having to take time out of my evenings to get ready for the next day, it makes that precious free time too short. I have opted for using Sunday to get organized for the week. Right now, it takes me most of the day Sunday to clean, do laundry, get organized and everything (probably because I am in no rush to do it). While I had many things I could blog about, I have had a number of people ask me how I organize myself, so here ya go!!

But first, I would like to show off a new pinterest success:

A mason jar holder to free up some bathroom counter space!!! What a cute and fun way to have easy access to the things I use everyday while not leaving it all over the counters!

Anyways.... How do I organize??????

1.Planning out my outfits in advance *Already featured on a blog*

For me, only having to iron once for the entire week is the best thing ever. So Sundays after I do all my laundry, fold it, and put it away, I plan out my work outfits for the week AND iron them. This includes: shirts, slacks/skirts, under garments, shoes, as well as workout clothes and pajamas for that night. For many this may be overkill but for me, it just works.

2. Workbag essentials.

 Most days, (if you work in a field similar to most) you will need the same things every day, so pack your bag so its ready for the week! My necessities are: Spark, a blender bottle, water bottle, lunch, planner, notebook to track meals/food, notebook (you never know when you need to take notes!), chapstick, a pen, a flash-drive, wallet, my glasses, my work computer, and an emergency snack! All packed nicely in a Vera Bradley bag (thanks Doud family- this makes a GREAT graduation gift FYI).

3. The gym bag!!!

For me, I like to workout after work so its important to have my bag ready to go with me in the morning otherwise it is far to easy to say "I'll come home after work to change" because we all know, I don't go back out then. SO what is in my gym bag you ask??? Workout shoes, shorts, spandex shorts for under my shorts (I like Nike Combat Pro!), a sports bra (Target is my fav), a workout tank, socks, knee brace, a towel, I-pod, arm band for I-pod, Spark and catalyst (pre-workout), notecards for each day with my workout written down, a pen to jot down the weight used or modifications to my original plan, weight lifting gloves (classy girls do NOT have calluses on their hands!) and then an extra pair of shoes to wear on my way home (you shouldn't wear your workout/running shoes for anything BUT that)!!

4. Vitamins/Supplements

If you are like ALMOST everyone else, you fail at remembering to take your vitamins everyday. Guilty as charged. I almost ALWAYS forget. But, if you separate them out and include them on your daily plan (more on that later) then you are much more likely to remember taking them. I divide them out in a bag for each day! *I will blog more specifically about what products I use another time*

5. Tracking System

Reality is, you need a long term organization system to meet goals, regardless what those goals may be. Mine so happen to revolve around fitness and healthy eating. SO if you read through this blog so far, you may have noticed I mentioned that I write my workouts down on a notecard and that I mentioned a daily plan. You read correct, I have a notecard for each day that I write down my workout. That notecard goes with me and I jot down the amount of weight I used or any modifications I made during my workout. Then it gets filed into my workout binder. My workout binder has dividers where I put notes for different workouts for arms, legs, back, etc. Then in the back, I have a plain white sheet of paper for every week and I tape the notecards to that sheet when I am done with my workout. Then I have logged what my plan was, what actually happened, and helps track progress!!

The daily plan refers to exactly that, I plan out for the week what I intend on eating when. Like my workouts, it doesn't always follow so I have a notebook that I carry with me where I write down what exactly I ate, when I ate it and if I don't feel well. The binder contains recipes and healthy eating guidelines! Similarly to the back of the workout binder, I put my weekly plans in the back of my healthy eating binder.

6. Finances

You need to watch your money. You should be watching your income (how much is being taken out in taxes etc). You should be watching how much you spend on bills, clothes, food, entertainment etc. I personally use an excel spreadsheet to track all of this information. But you need to workout a system for you. I have seen premade notebooks for this exact thing!

Bottom line is, you must plan to succeed. Or maybe you don't. But for me, my week goes much much much smoother when I have things planned out and ready for Monday-Friday when I go to bed on Sunday. It allows me time to workout, hang out with my family, and get snuggle time in with my favorite nephew during the week!!

Have a SPARKLING week!! 

As always, if you have questions, need advice, or tips, email me at: thebloomingace@gmail.com

“If you don't know where you are going,
you'll end up someplace else.”

-Yogi Berra

Real Talk: Make the Most of Your Energy

1 day short of completing surviving 6 weeks in the business world. We have already chatted about the various things I have faced: the gallons of coffee consumed, the everyday "lunch goers", the stubborn pastries that always seem to lurk in the kitchen, and more coffee- its EVERYWHERE.

There is a common phrase used at work nearly ALL the time: "Make the most of your energy".

Okay cool. Go get your coffee, your donut, and settle in for a quick lesson. (After all, this may be your last cup of nasty bitter coffee and your last 500 calorie pastry.)

Make the most of your energy huh? What does that even mean? What energy? Do you wake up everyday dragging, hitting snooze 10 times, skipping breakfast, drinking enough coffee in a day to fill a pool??? Is that you??? Yeah, that's what I thought. Listen close, that was me. Well, that still somewhat is me. BUT here is the thing, I have been doing A LOT of reading on healthy eating, balanced eating, how to increase your energy, how to balance everything, and more. Well it all comes down to one thing........ fuel. Do you fill your car with koolaid? Do you give your baby pop? (if you answered yes to that, we need to make an intervention). No, I didn't think so. So let me ask you a question, why are you fueling yourself with things that your body doesn't want or doesn't need???? Lets face it, technology has come SO far but so has the modification of food. Isn't it sad that you have to decide between regular or organic fruit?? Fruit is fruit, well it should be anyways.

No, I am not a doctor, No I didn't study nutrition. I am just like you, I have the ability to use the internet and the local library to research about healthy eating. Nearly a year ago, I made a BIG change and dropped 10lbs and an overall 10 inches, wowzers! Since then, I lightened the floor load a total of 18lbs and a lot of inches.... More important than the weight was the way I felt. I said it before and I will say it again, what college kid do you know that gets up to workout at 5:30/6 am?? Yeah, not very many (if any). I am not perfect, I ate too many twizzlers on my roadtrip this summer (Cori and I like to refer to our lack of ab definition as "them twizzler abs" from our roadtrip). I went from eating almost no processed food to being a muncher. My body noticed... a lot. I am back to working out and on the road to eating what my body NEEDS. Don't get me wrong, I love a lot of things that aren't persay "fuel" but the key is moderation. I don't need chips everyday, simple as that.

You have to be the one to make the decision. You have to want it. It probably won't be easy. You probably will stumble and fall, but you can get back up. I can't want it more then you, YOU have to want it for yourself. Once you make that decision, IT'S GO TIME!!!!!!!!!!!

Ready to make some changes?? Email me at thebloomingace@gmail.com and lets chat.

“We can't be afraid of change. You may feel very secure in the pond that you are in, but if you never venture out of it, you will never know that there is such a thing as an ocean, a sea. Holding onto something that is good for you now, may be the very reason why you don't have something better.”
-C. JoyBell C


I have been asked to share how I plan out my weekly meals/eating along with workouts, I am currently working on how exactly I want to roll out all of that so stay tuned for blog posts coming soon!!!

What is success?

"I worked 80 hours this week!" 

"I worked 60!"

 "I traveled ALL week"

Chances are, if you work in the business world, you have heard at least one of these statements, if not all of them. Lets take a minute and ponder something....

What does success mean to you?

Does success mean spending 80 hours at work? Does it mean going in early and staying late? Does it mean working your Saturday and Sunday away? If so, well I guess you can stop reading now. If the things that came to mind include spending time outside of work on yourself, family, friends, your spouse, your kids etc then maybe you should read on.... 

As if summer wasn't crazy enough in everyone's life, this summer was ESPECIALLY crazy in my life. Between graduating college, going on a roadtrip with friends, a trip with my parents, a volunteer mission trip, moving, starting a REAL career job, and welcoming my nephew into the world, it has been quite the whirlwind! However, this weekend I took some time and spent most of my Saturday at the zoo!! We had a LOT of fun watching all the animals, laughing at all the exhibits, and taking 350 pictures (okay maybe that was just me). Having a day outside in the sun, walking around, and doing something I enjoy was such a good way to enjoy my time away from the working world.

But really, my point is work life balance. My parents always taught us that if you work hard, you can play hard. Both of my parents have always worked extremely hard but have always made a point to spend time with us growing up. We ALWAYS had family dinners around the table. We ALWAYS spent the weekends together: at home, camping, boating, hunting, etc. Owning their own business, they obviously put in more then 40 hours a week but they always make sure to balance family life with work.

Don't get me wrong. You, especially as a new employee, need to put your time in. You must work hard, be early, and even stay a little late. But you have to keep yourself healthy too. Working 80 hours a week is going to run your body into the ground and FAST! But hey, if that is your thang, don't let me stop you.

In college, I wasn't always the best at balancing school work with a social life but senior year, I finally found what worked for me. I have always been pretty active. Working out always seemed appealing but I was guilty of the "I don't have time for that" the first 3 years of college. But senior year of college, something changed for me. I guess maybe the fact my fast metabolism started to slow down and I gained a few pounds may have been a bit of a turning point but more then that, I was tired of feeling tired. I started getting myself out of bed at 5:40am and to the gym by 6:00am. For a college kid, that is nearly unheard of. But it made a HUGE difference in my day. I was on a schedule, I went to bed consistently, I ate healthier, and I felt SO much better. I have a lot of thanks to my sister and brother-in-law for sparking that change for me.

Adjusting to a full time working schedule without homework at night and a whole different set of challenges have been things I needed to hurdle (you can read my past blogs for some of those). I can confidently say going into week 6 of the working world, I seem to have a handle on my new schedule. I am planning out my meals, my workouts, and my clothes for the week on Sunday afternoons. I get up and make myself a real breakfast, I track my food throughout the day, and I workout after work. Some days it doesn't work out as I plan but for the most part, it seems to be the key. Okay so maybe you aren't as organized as I am BUT I can assure you that a little planning goes a LONG way in having a better week.

You have to find something that works for you. I have noticed that a lot of people watch TV to unwind at night. My Mom likes to sew at night, my coworkers watch TV, some people are internet surfers. I am a gym goer. I like to work of some stress from the day. I like to push myself. I like to be up and moving from sitting at a desk all day. But like I said, you have to do what works for you!!!!! But maybe consider something that betters yourself....

Questions for me?? Email me at thebloomingace@gmail.com

Have a SPARKLING week!!!

“Make the most of yourself....for that is all there is of you.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson