As baby Broke approaches her 6 month, I am so proud and happy at how well she's growing. She eats, sleeps, poos, plays, cries, and does all of the normal baby things that a healthy happy baby girl should do!! I have been doing a lot of reflecting lately, and I as awesome as my baby girl is, me? Ehhhh I tend to put myself near the bottom of my "priority list." I've been super tired all day, a bit moody, and have trouble falling asleep at night. Sure I'm not 100% happy with my body weight yet, but I try to focus on how fortunate I am to have such a healthy baby. I know that if I keep eating right and working out I will get there eventually.
But it kind of woke me up the other day when talking to my mom she reminded about the oxygen mask theory. {When you're on a plane, in an emergency, you need to put the mask on yourself first, before you help anyone else...} Sometimes I forget this. In my mind I rank #1 Brooke, #2 Joe #3/4 Dogs...then comes me. And when I put myself that are down the line, guess what? Nothing ends up happening! I get tired or forgetful of how to properly care for myself, [emotionally, physically, spiritually]. I don't forget to shower or anything weird like that haha, but I just go through the daily motions/grind and just don't feel great.
So what can I do to make myself a priority?
Vitamins & Supplements
Sarah wrote me and asked if I wanted to sample an herbal cleanse through Advocare. While I had to decline that sweet offer, she did offer to send me a free sample of Spark from the Advocare line. I had never tried any of there stuff before and was so excited to try it!
She asked that I share with you on my blog...
My opinion? It rocks! I love the Watermelon flavor and it sure does give you a boost! To give you an idea, since I am still nursing 3 times a day, I do keep an eye on caffeine I take in. On average I probably have 2 cups (or equivalent) of coffee a day. With the Spark, I only drank half of it, to see how much pep it would give me, and wowza! I felt it shortly after.
It has such a nice sweet, but not fake-sweet, taste and it's perfect for the warmer weather. I can definitely see myself ordering some packets in the future. They'd be perfect to mix in a water bottle and go!
If you're looking for a sweet morning or mid-day pick-me-up, Spark would definitely be for you!
I think if you shake it in a bottle it would help the powder dissolve a bit better, if you don't like the grainy texture in your drinks.
Check out Advocare & Spark Energy Drinks here.
As soon as I'm done nursing, I honestly am interested in the cleanses they offer. I know friends who have had great success with it and others not so much. I feel the 'cleanse trend' came during my pregnancy/nursing days and I haven't been able to do any of them. I've never cleansed, so I wonder what it could do for my body!
Since I do eat organic, and I try to eat as many fruits and veggies as possible, I think my diet is "decent". However, I know that even with the healthiest of diets, you can still lack proper nutrients. I've decided to try some much raved about vitamins through Advocare. Some of my favorite bloggers have had such awesome success with it, I am so excited to try it out for myself. I've started taking the Coreplex with Iron and the Omegaplex. I'm excited to see if I'm feeling a little more energy and just a better overall well-being.
Exercise
As I've said before, I make it my goal to "move every day." I was just watching on Dr Oz yesterday that you really just need 10 minutes a day to boost your metabolism and keep things going in good shape. I can do 10 minutes!! The theory was basically 5 minutes of high intensity training (HIIT) like mountain climbers or sprinting, 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off. The other 5 minutes just steady cardio. I've been trying to hit my elliptical that I begged my husband for, for at least 20 minutes. I hate working out in the morning, but if I can just get my booty on that thing for 20 minutes, first thing in the day, any extra workouts I can squeeze in later in the day will be awesome!
I know varying my workouts is important, so while I love Zumba, I also know the importance of lifting weights. I bought Jillian Micahel's Kettlebell workout and I got the 7 lb kettlebell. That is a fairly quick (25) and killer workout for me! I love it.
I still try to do Yoga, especially if I'm feeling overwhelmed or tight. I really want to try Pilates---any recommendations there??
Meals
I still try to eat small meals. I truly believe in the every 3 hours rule. However, sometimes I struggle with
what I should be eating every three hours. Well, again yesterday on Dr Oz, something just kind of spoke to me. I am NOT one to just jump on bandwagons and try a zillion different 'diets'. I know that I love food and I enjoy fueling my body with the right foods. Well, Mark MacDonald was on the show and he explained his ideas as far as eating....not only should we be eating every 3 hours, but at every meal we should have 1/3 carb, 1/3 fat, 1/3 protein. And of course, as many veggies and fruits. I'm not sure when this book came out, but I am looking forward to reading it.
Anyway, I ordered this book and I am really interested to see what else he has to say. I love that Chelsea Handler used this method, and she is a BRUTALLY honest person when it comes to what she thinks!! She said she'd never give up drinking her vodka and enjoying some of her favorite foods. This method makes sense and I cannot wait to read a little more about it.
Believe me, I've done the no carb thing
I'm a total bitch when I don't eat carbs and as effective as that can be, it's never permanent. Especially when you're married to an Italian who loves and needs his pasta.
I'm still loving my Shakeology and even my mom and her boyfriend are using it as a breakfast meal replacement, since neither of them tended to eat breakfast! {shame on you haha but I'm so happy you're enjoying this healthy alternative.} My sister said they just came out with a vanilla, so I can't wait to try that one! PS Right now there is
free shipping on the vanilla until July 7th!!
Order Shakeo here!
Me Time
I am really trying to give myself at least a FULL hour a day where I can read, write, go on a peaceful walk, take a bubble bath, or veg out in front of the television----WITHOUT FEELING GUILTY. That's the kicker. But it's so important to let your mind just relax and stop stressing about life!! I
honestly don't like thinking of my 'workouts' as "me" time, because I'm not relaxing or unwinding. I really like to think of workout out as part of my "job" to feel good/look good. That's just how my brain works. I'm weird. I don't know why!!
Work out your Mind
This of course, should go hand in hand with the "me" time, but I am really trying to be actively aware at how easily stressed out
I can get. From not having my husband's white work shirts clean for him to wear one morning, to feeling like I'll never fit back into my cute cut-off shorts {and look good in them}, family members and I not talking, the house being messy, wanting to be a fantastic mama to our baby girl, not getting enough time for just the husband and I to go out on a date... I can literally drive myself crazy thinking about all the things I want to 'fix' or make better in my life. Focusing on these can cause negative thinking, makes me play the victim card, and in turn, nothing gets accomplish. When you're negative, everything spirals down. So what do I do? I turn to audiobooks. I've said it before, I'll say it again....it's amazing what the power of your mind can do.
My faves include:
Don't Sweat the Small Stuff
100 Ways to motivate yourself
Happy for No Reason
I'll pull up You Tube, pop in a CD or listen on my iPhone. Either way, within moments of turning these
silly self help books on, I'm transfixed and immediately start to feel better. Things look brighter. I become more optimistic. I swear they just begin speaking to you--you hear exactly what you're supposed to. The other morning it was all about how being angry at someone, is awful because in your mind, it's like a snake laying eggs in your brain. It'll fester. Get worse and you'll never get out of that train of thought. I also picked up on "The best gift a parent can give a child is being happy." And of course wife to husband...
Happy Wife, Happy Life. [I may or may not own a tank top that says that, thank you very much Fabulicious aka Teresa Guidice]
Lastly, I have not tried it yet but I saw (again Dr Oz, I know!) Lemon Balm Extract is supposed to help you de-stress immediately.
You can find more abut that here.
So, that was a long post! I didn't realize how much I had to say. I just need to remind myself that it's OK and important to put myself #1 sometimes. Especially since everything runs a lot smoother if I'm on top of my A game.
If you're still reading, I hope you can take some small bit of my ramblings and implement it into your own busy world! Happy Friday loves!
