Living a Fit Life can be FUN and ADVENTUROUS

What if I told you that having a FIT LIFE didn't have to be all about workouts and eating right?  

What if I told you that having a FIT LIFE could  be FUN and ADVENTUROUS?

Do I have your attention now because girlfriend (or boyfriend), I am about to share with you a killer awesome story!

This past weekend, I did something I swore I would never do. This past weekend, I did something that scared the crapola out of me. What is it for crying out loud?  Let me tell you......

I went White Water Rafting!!!

Photo compliments of Google Images

Several months ago, The Boyfriend and I were talking about various outdoor adventures that we thought would be fun. We also wanted to try some new things. Whelp, it came out that he has always wanted to try white water rafting. Me? Not so much. I've had family members do it in the past and I always said "never" and "not me. no way, Jose." However, The Boyfriend has this thing he does to me that pretty much calms my mind and allows me to open up to try new things. (This is a side of me that I lost over the years due that abusive marriage I told you about) Father's Day was coming up and I was on the hunt for the perfect gift to give. When I saw his eyes light up during this conversation I "just knew" I had to get it. As luck would have it, the Universe knew and aligned the stars. I not only found a company that coordinates these adventures but I also found them on a Groupon. Score!!!!  Next thing you know, I'm contacting The Boyfriend's sister, his Baby Momma and checking our work schedule to see if I could make it work. A few days later, I purchased the Groupon, made the reservations and put in the PTO at work so he had off. A few months later, we are white water rafting!  

The Groupon I purchased was through a company in New York called Soured Adventures. They were test driving an adventure with a pick up location in Philadelphia. (Which, in my opinion, had a great turn out of 25 people) The Groupon included round trip transportation via tour bus from Philadelpia to Weatherly, Pennsylvania. It included a packed lunch and of course our white water rafting adventure. The day trip totaled 11 hours and it was the best time of our lives!!!   

Our day started bright and early as we had to make our trip to the meet the bus by 7am.  From there, we had about a two hour drive to our location where we would get changed, suit up and meet the shuttle (old school school bus - a first for me in over 19 years) for a short drive to the Lehigh River. From there, it was a four hour rafting trip with a break for lunch followed by another hour of rafting. Oh and the weather that day....did I tell you it was raining? at times down pouring? and sometimes with crazy winds? Not exactly the typical weather day I had in mind for this trip but rumor has it that it's the best weather to white water raft in. They were kinda right. I mean, aside of about four hours in being totally OVER the rain and wind, it wasn't bad. I can totally see why it would be the better bet, for sure. 

Our raft included five participants, myself included. All of us were newbies. Our adventure involved a majority of Class 2 and Class 3 rapids. Let me just say, I thought I was going to be super terrified but instead I found it extremely exhilarating!!! 

Of course my biggest fear occurred. During one of the Class 3 rapids, I fell over board! You would think I would be scared but I wasn't. I was rather calm. I tried to get back on the raft but there was no luck. I tried a second time and the currant was starting to take me away. Now mind you, when I initially fell in my feet did feel some rocks and ground. By the time I tried again and the currant came, I couldn't feel it anymore. Oh and did I mention that somewhere during all of this I got banged up? My right hamstring took a serious hit to a boulder and let's just say it isn't pretty looking.

Thank you mister boulder under the water for this beautiful, ripe, swollen, ugly bruise.
Gotta love "warrior wounds" though. :)

In the end, The Boyfriend had my back....literally.  I mean, you  know your man has your back when after falling out of a raft on a Class 3 rapid, barely holding onto the raft himself, I'm hit by a boulder under the water that he doesn't even know about my getting banged up with....grabs me by the back of my life preserver, pulls me over and into the raft and says all in one motion "where are you going....10 fingers, 10 toes, and your breathing. Yup, you're alive."  If that's not love and having your back, I don't know what is. What really still has me stumped is how unbelievably calm I was.  Ladies and Gents, he is the only man (or person for that matter) that calms my mind the way he does. Typically, I would have been in uber panic mode. I would have had so much fear but I had none with him -- from start to finish ---- through my biggest fear coming true --- Nadda, Zilch, Zip! Yup, he's the ying to my yang.  And you'd think after that mishap, I'd be ready for the adventure to be over. Nope. I was ready for more. 

At the end of our trip we were wet. We were tired. We were cold. We were ready to turn in our rented wet suits. (Yup, you were able to rent them. $6 for a half suit. $12 for a full suit. I think it was $4 for wet suit booties? I didn't rent them as I had water shoes but The Boyfriend did and I paid no mind to the cost when we ordered it so...) We got changed into clean, dry clothes. We went to the gift shop to check out the souvenir photos. (Sorry. The one shot of our group, The Boyfriend's head was MIA so we didn't think it was worth the purchase) We grabbed some hoodies since the clothes we came with didn't prepare us for cold. We grabbed some coffee and headed back to the bus where we reflected about our adventure as we headed home. 

I believe that our adventure was a 12.8 miles distance. I paddled my heart out. My new friends and I traded places throughout the adventure to relieve our "working side". To say I got an upper body workout would be an understatement. Heck, I got a lower body workout too because the way I paddled/rowed, I could feel the glute muscle and the hamstring muscles engaging. This is one of the many reasons why I love outdoor activities.

They are plentiful. They are fun. They are engaging. You are getting FIT and not even knowing it. You are having FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

If you've never tried white water rafting, I highly recommend it. It's a ton of fun! You meet new people. You get FIT without even realizing it. and it's FUN! Did I say that already????  And although this post is NOT a referral post, I would like to highly recommend Sourced Adventures or some sort of similar company around your area that might offer these types of trips. It's a lot of BANG for your buck and SUPER FUN!!!!! Well worth the price (even if I had to pay full price I would).  Give it a try and remember, being FIT doesn't have to be boring. Find an activity that you love...that has you move and you can get FIT while having FUN! 

Until next time friends.....

XO

Eating Healthy can be FUN

Ever get stuck in the mundane same old, same old menu plan?  You know what I mean. Here you are, planning out the dinner meals for the week and it seems it's the same items you had on your plan the week before last. It's okay. It's normal. We all have those go-to items that we just rotate on the reg. We might do this out of laziness (It takes time to look up ideas on Pinterest - you know, after you have already scrolled through the entire news feed of fun "I have to try that" crafting ideas). We might do this because of budget. In either case, it happens - and - that's okay.

When I plan my meals for the week, I try to make sure that they are as healthy as possible and with variety. This isn't always the case. Actually, I'll pretty much eat the same things for breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch and mid-afternoon snacks all week. Dinner, on the other hand, has to be something different every night. (I also rather not cook two separate meals either. One for me. One for my Littles'.)  The problem with this is, especially if you are fairly new to healthy eating, unless you get creative in the kitchen, it can sometimes be B O R I N G! And what happens when it gets boring? We fall off the wagon. Hey, it happens. It has for me. And then, I got back on.

So, when I found myself starting to fall back into the "rut" of the same old, same old dinner meals I decided to search my news feeds, check out my challenge groups and scroll Pinterest for some new meals that sounded healthy and fun to eat. I am also now at the point in my life where my nutrition is pretty much in check but I want to expand my horizons. I want to play in the kitchen. (Btw, I was NEVER a cook.) I recently learned that cooking can be fun and actually quite therapeutic. Okay, Okay, Okay there is one more reason why --- I wanted to try new recipes for date nights. Really, I mean, look at all those reasons. It's a win-win.   That's when I saw "the post" on Facebook from a good friend about this home delivery service called Hello Fresh.

It was only about two months ago before I started noticing advertisements on highways or the occasional post on social media about these various at home delivery company's.  The concept is pretty awesome but they can also be quite costly. Since I am a newly single Mom to two young ones I have to be very strategic with my funds. I didn't think that I would want to try this type of service only to get hooked on it and then disappointed because I had to give it up. However, just like most things, different companies offer different features and this one was right up my alley.

When my friend told me that she could offer me a $40.00 off coupon on my first order, that I could chose what meals I wanted and that I could even delay weekly deliveries, well, I just had to check it out. This is when I realized Hello Fresh was going to be my Sous Chef. This company offers farm-fresh ingredients so you can feel comfortable knowing that your vegetables are all organic- free of any pesticides, etc and your meats are not pumped of any added hormones or antibiotics or anything of that nature. Not only are the ingredients farm fresh they are also each individually packaged for precisely what you need for each recipe. Each box offers three meals a week (recipes provided) for either a family of two or a family of four. Each of the three meals is packaged separately.

Ingredients that were in the bag for the Apricot Chicken Recipe

Contents of the box - 3 packages of meal ingredients for each of the three meals. These were on top of thin piece of card board that was placed above the meats for the three meals.

What I also love about Hello Fresh is that not only are their products farm fresh but they really put some thought into their shipping.  Instead of using very expensive, very non-environmental friendly ice packs, they used frozen disposable, recyclable water bottles. They really won me over with this one. 

Hello there my pretty.

Used as ice packs

I was so excited to give these recipes a try!  I went and made the Apricot Chicken the other night. The meal took about 40 minutes to prepare. All the ingredients provided were exactly the amount we needed. The instructions were very easy to understand.  I couldn't believe how fresh the ingredients were and how easy it was to create this healthy, colorful, delicious meal. What was even better was that I really felt like a professional chef. (Remember I said I don't cook?)  Now, I ordered the Classic Box for a family of two. After the meal was made we saw we definitely had enough for two meals. I also had plenty of left over of the Swiss chard/couscous side dish (not pictured). About two and a half extra servings. The chicken was just the right amount to fulfill two meals. 

My plate!
Apricot Chicken on a bed of a Swiss Chard/Couscous side

Plenty for the two of us.

As I mentioned above, the end result was a very delicious smelling, very tasty and full of flavor meal that we were quite satisfied with and are still raving about. What I really enjoyed about this was that this was a very healthy, very clean meal. I even tried ingredients (Swiss chard) I've never had before - which was another reason why I was looking into the Hello Fresh. I wanted to expand my pallet with trying other ingredients I typically wouldn't purchase at the store and might not even consider in a restaurant. And you cannot beat three organic, healthy meals for only $29.00 (Free Shipping always) I have two more recipes to try this week and I can't wait. I am sure I will love them just as much as I loved this one. Next week's recipes? Well, I skipped next week. As much as I loved the array of recipes to select from, I am not going to have much time to cook next week so I paused delivery. (Love this feature. No extra fees for doing it either)

My post today was not to be so 'product review' geared but to share my experience into the world of expanding my pallet in a healthy eating world. To let you know that eating healthy does not have to be boring. Eating healthy can be FUN. Eating healthy can be DELICIOUS! Get creative. Throw some ingredients together that you wouldn't normally. It might be a hit! Or it might be a flop! (been there, done that) But at least you'll know. It doesn't always have to be green beans, chicken and brown rice. Put a little PIZAZZ in your cooking. Start small and add some spices. It's really not that hard to do and if you are stuck in a rut like I was, try a first time deal like this and give it a shot. You can always cancel (easy peasy). Now, get your pen and paper handy, grab those fun recipes, get the ingredients and go PLAY in the kitchen and have FUN! (Yes, we had fun while making this.)  Bon Appetit!

In Fitness and In Health,

Kathie 

*The links in this post are my referral link. Not only will you receive a discount off of your order but by you placing an order through my link, I will get a discount on my next order also. Thank you in advance if you chose to utilize it. :) 

2015 >>> The Year I was Set Free

One year ago, I made the scariest and most important decision of my life. I decided that "enough was enough" and I was strong enough to face this head on. I told my now ex-husband I wanted a divorce. I was done with all the emotional, mental and at a very few select times physical abuse. Not only was it taking a toll on me but it was taking a toll on our two children. It was time to take charge of our lives and it began with that one gigantic leap. 

Fast forward a very long, very grueling year of child custody battles and divorce hearings, on January 12th of this year it was made official. I could finally close that chapter.  Since I was able to put that behind me and move forward with my life,  it was time to focus on another area that needed significant improvement - my overall health and well being. 

The last three years prior to the divorce, I packed on a tremendous amount of weight. I am only a five foot body frame so when I say that I weighed 155 pounds, for my frame, that is a lot of weight. It was the highest weight I have ever been. In the past, my highest was only 145 but boy, does that ten extra pounds make a difference. I was unhappy with myself both mentally and physically. Being in a relationship like I had been in took it's toll. I no longer had the love for all things fitness I had before -- and when I did, it was quickly squashed as I was not allowed to leave the house for "selfish" things such as a fitness class at the local studio. I no longer cared how I looked because I was always told I was "fat" or that I should be lucky to be with someone who was a "10" when I was only a mere "5 at best." These are just examples of the things I heard over the years. Naturally, it took it's toll.

Rewind about ten years......I was a HUGE HUGE HUGE lover of all things fitness. I found my love for it at the age of five when I fell in love with gymnastics. It spun right into my adolescent years with softball and cheer leading and followed me clear through college with weight training and training for my first body building competition (more on that another day). I always thought I would be a Personal Trainer some day. All of my near and dearest friends would say they could totally see me doing it. It's what I LOVE. It's my PASSION. I ate, slept and breathed it. I was always talking about it, always motivating people for/with it.  I truly have a passion and heart to help everyone succeed, to pay it forward and show you that you can do ANYTHING, be ANYTHING and DREAM BIG!!! Of course life took different turns and it never happened that I pursued my love of fitness to become a Personal Trainer. When I met my now ex-husband, I was still able to pursue and follow my passions with my fitness activities until he slowly started his manipulating, controlling ways and then before I even realized it....I lost my spark (and put on 40 pounds!!!). Seven plus years of that sort of treatment would do that to anyone, don't you think?

Let's fast forward ahead to current times now, shall we? ;) 

I feel like for the first time in my life I am actually SOMEBODY. I always knew, deep in the pit of my stomach, that I would be a GREAT personal trainer but since that's not in the cards right now, being a coach was the next best thing and WOW! It seems that once I became a Beachbody Coach everything else just seemed to fall into place. I have finally found my place in this world, my purpose for living, my passion, and in doing that I've become the person I've always dreamed of being. I can be that amazing Mother to my beautiful children and encourage them to live healthy and fulfilling lives. I can be that amazing woman that has a positive outlook on life instead of always being so negative (former self the last three years), I can be that amazing friend who is always there to pick you up when you fall down, encourage you to follow your dreams and pass on the gift of health and fitness. 

You see, before becoming a Coach and before Shakeology ... I wasn't the super duper positive person I used to once be and I talked badly about myself. If you talk badly about yourself and can't love yourself ... well, how can you LOVE anyone else!? You can't!

I know it sounds CRAZY ... but I honestly believe that SHAKEOLOGY is one of the main factors in my new positive attitude. YES, a little shake did that for me! I really believe that my life began to change the minute I finally gave in and ordered Shakeology. I felt more energized, less stressed, and more carefree. 

I now have the energy to get in my daily workouts, take care of my children AND NOW coach others!

I have a goal set for 2015 and it is to help, encourage, and witness 50 lives be changed as mine was in earlier this year. My coach set a goal to change lives and I was one of those that she changed.  Now it’s my turn to pay it forward. I am committing to this and working EVERYDAY towards this goal. I only want each and every person that I come in contact with to feel good about themselves, love themselves, and realize their self worth. YOU ARE IMPORTANT & YOU DO HAVE A PURPOSE IN THIS LIFE! Realize that ... I am here for you and I believe in you. I want to be there every step of the way in your journey in finding your happy place again.
 
This whole business is a ripple effect. Most of us coaches didn't just jump in coaching. In fact, we started out in the same spot most of you are in now. Our Coach touched our life and now that we have the knowledge we don't want to keep it to ourselves but share it. In fact it's our duty as human beings to share the knowledge. It's too good to keep to ourselves!!

I have an awesome feeling about 2015!! I know this is MY year! This is the year I have finally found myself again, gained back my life, and in turn use it to encourage others.

Is 2015 YOUR year to SHINE!? ... Is it YOUR YEAR to gain back your LIFE!? ... Is it YOUR YEAR that you decide you have had enough of the Life you are living and use it for what God intended it to be used for!? ... Do you want more in life?

I'm here for you! I'm here to help you make that first big leap into the NEW YOU! Contact me so we can start making 2015 YOUR YEAR! Because it is my PERSONAL goal to HELP YOU achieve anything you have set.

Please don't wait....email me or contact me on Facebook.