Might + Moxie with Kelsi Johnson

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[kelsij]

I have for many, many years tracked book excerpts, lyrics, movie quotes, and other things that have inspired me or caused me to stop and really consider things. I’m here because I want to share some of my favorites with you.

First is a Chinese proverb which says, "The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second-best time is today." I think the message that's most important here is that we’re always capable of envisioning a “better time.” A better time to have learned a new skill, to have tried something new, to have conquered a fear, to have become something you've always wanted to be. There is always going be a “better time.”

 But later we’re going to say, "I should have done it yesterday. I should have done it when I got out of high-school. I should have done it last year." What I love about this proverb though is the idea that the second-best time is today, which should inspire you to say, "Stop bullshitting yourself, stop making up excuses, stop telling yourself it's too hard. The is the second-best time, is right-the-hell now! Right now." So, go after it. Just go after what you want and stop complaining that it's too late.

The next one is from Maya Angelou who has so many quotes that I love, it's really hard to choose. 

But, the one that comes to me most often is, "Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told, “I'm with you kid. Let's go."”. What I love about this is that it speaks to the fact that life really rewards us for having the energy and enthusiasm to conquer those fears. Getting out there in the world and smelling, tasting, touching, feeling, and interacting.

The thought urges us to be out there in the world doing and living fully, not just sitting on the couch with the dogs watching Netflix. As tempting as the latter can sometimes be, it's so important to leave your comfort zone and really experience things—remembering that life rewards that.

The best experiences in my life, some of my favorite memories and funniest stories, are when I have conquered my fears by getting out there and trying something that made me a little bit uncomfortable. I went after something big and scary—trusting that life would reward that.

The last one I’ll share with you today is from a movie called “Almost Famous”. If you haven't seen it you should—it’s really good. The quote is, "The only true currency in this bankrupted world is what you share with someone else when you're uncool."

The thing I love about that sentiment is that it really speaks to the value of authenticity. I think we're so often trying to put on a show and tell people what they want to hear—strangers, acquaintances, friends, and sometimes even family.

The true currency, what you really base the most rewarding connections on, is you nerding out—being “uncool”. In these moments you are saying “This is who I am and I'm not gonna apologize for it! I'm gonna enjoy it!”. That's how the authentic and lasting connections are made, simply being who you are. How cool is that?

Go out there today, not tomorrow, and take bold, courageous moves in your life, and enjoy what makes you uncool.

[kelsij]

Moving the Needle on Your Endless To Do List

“I’ll work on that when I get home.” –how many of you have told yourself that? I used to say it to myself all the time. “I’ll do that tonight,” and throughout the day, I’d be thinking of things or chatting with people and think, “Oh, there’s another thing I have to do tonight,” and add that to the mental list. I realize by the end of the day that I have a lot of things on this to-do list for tonight.  By the end of the night, I find that I’ve only finished one or two things and I’m still looking at ten things on that list—I get frustrated. I think, “What is wrong with me? I’m disappointed that I can’t be more productive and get more done.”.

This is one of the main reasons that it’s so important to get your schedule under control by blocking out time for things that truly matter. A person tends to keep a running list and it can be so depressing because it feels like you're never getting to the end. If you're never moving the needle and experiencing success on a regular basis you’re going about it the hard way. Instead, piece it out and set aside the actual time it’s going to take and pencil those things in and commit to their completion.  When you're able to cross them off your list you may come to realize that it’s more about progress than completion.

First, reality check—you already weren’t getting to the end of the list, right? So, take a chance and make a change—focus on achievable goals and finish them before checking them off. The next time you're thinking about scheduling things for your evening, or what you're going to do this weekend, I encourage you to look and think, “how much time does this actually take”, and put it on your calendar.  

Take it from me, there are few things in this world that I love more than checking something off a list. It just feels good. The next time you're thinking about scheduling things I encourage you to first look and consider the actual time investment. When you commit to something like washing and folding all the laundry in the evening how long is that actually going to take? If you're going to food prep for the week how long is that going to take?

Make an educated guess at how long all of those things actually take—I used to be terrible at this. I would look at all of them individually and think, “Here are all the things I’m going to do this evening—that’s like six or seven hours of things.” Let’s be real, I’m not going to do six or seven hours’ worth of things after I get home from a long day at the office. I’ll maybe do a couple’ worth of things but I’m not going to do seven or eight, so why is it even on my list? Keeping it on the list leaves you feeling like you haven’t accomplished enough. Like you are not enough and like you will never catch up. All those feelings are toxic and none of them will make you more productive.

When you have maxed out the time you can really give in a day, jot down the other item for later in the week. This will let your brain stop spinning on them and give you back a sense of control.

Setting those realistic expectations is a key to meeting your goal and feeling that progress. 

Want more tips like this?  Join my free Facebook community, Live the Unconventional Life for tons more content and free training on how to live your healthiest, mightiest and coolest life.  Life is too short to live to wait any longer.

[kelsij]

3 Strategies to Enjoy Your Summer Holiday the Healthy Way

There are few things better than a summer get together with your people, right?

Unfortunately, these are also the kinds of events that can leave us feeling drained and bloated. Check out these practical and simple tips to enjoy some summer fun without sabotaging your goals.

 Keep the water coming!

Before parties and BBQs I always have at least 2 extra cups of water because you are more likely to consume extra alcohol, caffeine, and sodium all of which dehydrate you which leads to headaches and low energy.

Eat breakfast.

People tell me all the time that they skipped breakfast because they know they are going to overeat. First of all, this means you are going in hungry and that never leads to great decisions. Second, your energy is going to be in a slump which makes it hard to show your people how truly excited you are to see them.

Make you’re your first plate 50% vegetables and fruits.

Fill up on the nutrient-rich stuff first to make sure your body has what it needs to function properly. You can always go back for tastes of some treats but this way you aren’t headed toward the ice cream feeling hungry.

[kelsij]

5 Signs You’re an Emotional Eater

The first time someone called me fat I was in kindergarten. I was 5 years old  being told my body didn’t meet their expectations.

I first tried to diet when I was in the 4th grade and since then I have tried a LOT of pretty much everything. I have reduced fats. I have cut-out carbs. I have tried WeightWatchers, Atkins, and simple calorie restriction.  

While I had some successes with each, I always ended up plateauing or gaining the weight back. Why? Because I couldn’t find an approach that I could commit to long-term.

I’d start out strong following the plan or program 100%, but over time I would start looking for loopholes and bending the rules.

Some of these programs taught me fundamentals about nutrition, but my problem wasn’t not knowing which foods and meals were good choices. My problem was that I couldn’t control my emotions when it came to food.

I “deserved” that pizza. I “earned” that fancy coffee. Blah, blah, blah…and here comes 10 pounds.

Are emotions driving your own food decisions? Here are five signs that you’re not in control:

You eat when you are not hungry

We all do this on occasion, but true “emotional eaters” frequently eat without considering if they’re physically hungry. Emotional eaters will eat whenever food is offered or eat out of habit. For example, having an ice cream every time you watch a movie or having nachos and a beer every time you go to the game.

You lose track of how much you eat

You eat a whole bag of chips or half a pizza without paying attention. You frequently hit the “bottom of the bag” when you had originally planned to have a snack. Emotional eating often leads to unintended binges. 

You have food “FOMO”

“FOMO”: Fear of Missing Out. When you see friends, family, or even a stranger eating something you want it maybe drives you a little crazy”. Your gut feeling is that you deserve your share of the good stuff and you get nervous. If you don’t have it now will you miss your opportunity?

You don’t want other people to know what you eat

You have been known to sneak food while others aren’t around because you fear they will judge you. You worry that you will be judged if people find out you don’t eat perfectly 100% of the time.

 You find solace in food

When you are stressed, worried, bored, tired, sad, etc. you turn to your comfort foods. You feel comforted by indulgent foods that have little to no nutritional value.

After reading through that list are you starting to get stressed and thinking about taking a quick snack break?

Stick with me, because the situation is not hopeless. You just need the right set of tools. You need tools that address your mindset rather than just overwhelming you with science and programs that don’t take into account how you feel about all this.

Not just that— if you are going to fight the battle for “Food Freedom” and win it for good, you will also need a supportive community. I have found this to be true with my clients, but it’s well documented in study after study. Emotional eaters, just like binge drinkers, are most successful when they have a community they can trust and confide in. 

To find out our Food Freedom score, take the quiz.

[kelsij]

You are what you eat, and what your food eats

I hear people say all the time, "Healthy is expensive." I get it- there are some very low prices out there. A five dollar bucket of chicken? I mean, I can't argue with you, that sounds like a deal. I always wonder though, who can raise chickens that cheaply?

You have to think, what are they feeding them? And I can hear some of you thinking, who cares? It tastes good.

What we sometimes forget, however, is that when we eat the chicken, we are eating what it ate. So what does our food eat? If it eats plants, and those plants get nutrients from what is around it- the sun, the air, the water and the soil.

That soil contains vitamins, minerals, metals, organic materials and lots of other important stuff.  But no one wants to eat dirt, right? No matter how healthy it might be it just doesn’t taste good.

Just like chickens come in lots of varieties, so does soil. In a small organic farm, the soil quality will be totally different than an industrialized farm. The plants are like a courier that deliver the nutrients from the soil to your body. When the soil is rich, it transfers all those nutrients to your food.

Our diet nourishes our cells, which contain chromosomes. These chromosomes are made up of little blueprints called DNA. While we all used to think DNA was unchangeable, we are now learning that your choices, good and bad, can change your destiny.

How do we know? Telomeres! Telomeres are the tails of our chromosomes, or as I like to think of them, the fuses. The more stress we place on the body, the shorter fuse. Every lifestyle choice we make- sleep, hydration, nutrition, fitness- either lengthens or shortens the fuse. Too many bad choices can damage our DNA and increase our chances of health conditions like cancer and diabetes.

So how do I go about getting these well-soiled foods so we can keep those fuses from burning up? :)

Option 1 is to go organic. The soil has fewer pesticides and is richer.

Option 2 is to go small. The smaller the operation the better chance that the soil is not overworked and depleted.

What to learn more about nutrition and how to get to food working for you instead of against you?

Check out my Food Freedom Virtual Summer Camp

[kelsij]

When is the last time you gave your body a reboot?

Do you power down your computer every day? How about your phone?  Yeah. Me neither.

I rarely shut down my laptop properly. I close the lid and put it to sleep day after day. Then every once in a while the performance starts to get sluggish. Files take longer to open. Numbers take longer to calculate and I get frustrated.

Inevitably, I will make a comment about how “slow” it is running and someone will ask, “When is the last time you powered down and restarted?” and for a brief moment I will hate them. 

Not because they are wrong, but because they are right.  I can go on about how it’s not a good time to restart but they are right. I can say I have too many deadlines but they are still right.

My computer needs a minute to reorganize its thoughts - to file things away that aren’t needed and empty the recycling bin.

Every couple of months, my body needs this too. So in a couple weeks, I am giving my body a moment to collect itself. I am focusing on fruits and vegetables and couple of supplements to help my body reset.

Is your body needing this too? 

Are you feeling tired? Bloated? Irregular? 

Do you have inflammation? Brain fog? 

These are all common distress signals that your body is sending you to say it needs a little TLC. 

Are you interested in joining me?

On May 18th I will kick off my 3-day whole food cleanse and follow it up with 7 days of clean eating and workouts to help you ease back into your day-to-day life without losing momentum on all of those good new habits. 

Ready to rock this?  Order your toolkit now @  http://bit.ly/resetrecharge

Want to learn a little more and find out if this is the right program for you? email me at [email protected] 

[kelsij]

3 Tips to Stop Taking Work Home

Today I want to talk about work-life balance and share three tips to help you leave your work at work. For those of you who are newer to this group, you may not know that I have a day job in the IT industry. So, I’m a consultant, and then I also run my coaching business—that’s two jobs. Whether you are working 9-to-5 or working a side-hustle from home, these tips will keep work stress from creeping into your personal life.

Why am I talking about this? I find that there are so many people I know and work with who end up taking their work home with letting it run their whole night. They’re going home, and you're already in a bad mood. Then you're kind of crappy to everyone around you. You’re stressed and making bad decisions, whether you’re eating poorly, ordering crazy things online, or staying up way too late to get some of the night back for yourself.

How do we fix that? How do we minimize some of that so that it’s not happening daily?

First, quit your job. Go into business for yourself.

Just kidding.

Being an entrepreneur is a great experience. You get to pick who you work with, set your hours, and the sky is the limit on your success. But in the short term, if you're not ready for that yet, here are a couple of real life things that you can do.

 Stick to a schedule

A lot of times when we’re having a really bad day it’s due in part to staying late to put extra hours into something, whether someone expected you to or not. Try your best to stick to a schedule for when you traditionally leave work. This is even more important if you work at home because there is a tendency to stay ‘plugged in’ all the time.

If you're in your groove and you feel fantastic, or you have an important project you sincerely want to keep going on, I get that. If that’s not the case, you need to be careful with how much time you're putting in because you’ll end up feeling resentful.

Your company has a specific expectation of what you're doing and the rest, you're just gifting to them.

Wouldn't you rather be using those hours for something that lights you up inside? Something that brings you closer to your goals, or simply makes you feel good?

Create positive transitions

Next, I want you to create some positive rituals for transitioning between your job and your personal life. For example, every day when you leave work you listen to a podcast. If it’s something you enjoy it will calm you down and bring you back from the day. It’s best if it’s something that takes at least a couple of minutes so that you actually have some time to mentally transition from one place to the next—from one role to the next.

 No work on your phone

We tend to put our email on there because we want to be “on it”, like any good employee. But you end up, as my partner would say, “breaking yourself into jail”.  Similar to staying late without being told to, you've put an expectation on yourself that everybody else didn't have to begin with..  You’re not getting paid to be worried about your job at 10:00 p.m.

You can check your email when you get home if that’s what you want to do as part of a positive transition, but then turn off the computer and put it away. You're done for the night.

Admittedly there are certain jobs or positions where you can’t take your email off your phone because it’s a requirement of your job. The easiest solution, in that case, is to make sure you delay notifications or how often it checks for mail in the evenings. Another option is to schedule just a few times that you'll check it. This isn’t the best solution but if it’s a job requirement you’ll have to compromise. Just make sure it is an actual requirement stated by the workplace, and not one you have assumed.

If all of that seems like too much at once, then a small step towards moving email off your phone is keeping the app on a separate screen. For example, if you have an iPhone, you can put it on the next home screen. This means that you have to take an extra step to get there and check it.

The people with great work-life balance have boundaries. When they say they are stopping, they actually stop. They know that they’re not accomplishing anything and it’s taking away from the things that they really want in their life. It’s taking away from the time and the energy you have for their passions, the time and the energy that they have for family, that they have for whatever it is that they want to accomplish in life.  

Now it’s time for you to realize that you're robbing yourself of that and make the change.

[kelsij]

Why Tomorrow Never Comes

Oh the promise of tomorrow. 

“Tomorrow I am going to catch up on laundry.”, “Tomorrow I am going to dig out the guitar and try to teach myself how to play for the 5th time.”, “Tomorrow I am going to start going for long walks with the dog.”. We all fall victim to this pattern—don’t we? 

I can tell you right now that “Tomorrow Kelsi” is freaking amazing AND she would be so impressed by “Tomorrow YOU”. We would have a fabulous time hanging out we would and feel so fulfilled. We would make the time to slow down and appreciate the small wonders in life. Every moment would be primed for Instagram and we would get SO MANY LIKES. 

That will never happen though. James Bond says, “Tomorrow Never Dies”, but the truth I that, tomorrow as we imagine it will never get here—"Tomorrow never lives”!

It never lives because we won’t let it. We don’t make space for it. We don’t plan for it and we don’t prioritize it. 

Why not? 

Placing things with tomorrow is the most comfortable move. Tomorrow is full of hope and promise. Tomorrow doesn’t feel behind schedule yet. When we triage our schedule it’s not even on the radar. “Future You” will be able to handle it. Plus “Future You” can’t talk back or say “no”.  When tomorrow finally comes on it goes. Tomorrow becomes this weekend, and then next weekend, and then next month. Success fades out in the distance. 

This will keep happening until you choose to breathe some life into “Tomorrow YOU”. 

“How?”, you might ask.

First, take 10 minutes to dump all those ambitions into one place. Make a physical list. Don’t edit yourself by what is too small, too impractical, or too silly. Write it all down. 

Now look at that list and find the one thing that excites you and/or would lower your overall stress level if accomplished. Circle that one because we are about to make it happen. 

Now let’s get that lofty goal within reach by breaking it down into achievable little actions. 

The first way to do that is using “time blocking”. I use this a lot to power through things I don’t really love doing but know will make me feel better once done. 

For example, I loathe processing mail. I usually pick out the urgent stuff the leave the rest for “Future Kelsi” to sort, recycle, or shred. (Very terrible habit. Not recommended) 

When this catches up with me, and it always does, I make a deal with myself to put it on the calendar. I will break it down into 20 minutes a day. Every day when I get home, I will sort and shred with a timer. When the bell rings I feel great because I moved the needle which gives me a little momentum to get back at it the next day. This process of time blocking is great way to chip away at the bigger projects. 

Another option for breaking down that lofty goal is to think of it in steps. What is the first tiny step you would need to complete to move the needle? If we think back to the guitar—I  need to find my guitar and all the accessories that I bought while feeling ambitious. I will put that on the calendar for Thursday night because it is an easy weeknight task. What’s next? I need to decide on using a book, course, or YouTube sensation to learn from. That will take me a little bit longer, so I might put that down for Sunday morning. Starting to see how this works? 

In both examples I am turning this lofty ambition into a bunch of smaller achievable pieces. I am pulling “Tomorrow Kelsi”, into “Today”—little by little.

Bottom line: I feel like “Tomorrow Kelsi” and “Tomorrow You” would totally hit it off, but they will never get to realize their awesome combined powers unless we prioritize and plan for their success. 

Put time into your schedule for those lofty goals by treating them like appointments. You would never stand up a friend, right? So, treat this like a date with yourself and show up!

[kelsij]

The Truth About Sleep Debt

Sleep debt. I think you are probably all, at least emotionally, familiar with it. Some think that if you're under-sleeping day after day you’re borrowing energy on “credit”, and it’s possible to pay that borrowed energy back at a more convenient time.

The truth of the matter is that you can't really like bank sleep for another day.  Sleeping a lot on Sunday doesn’t guarantee the energy to sleep less next Wednesday. It's just unfortunately not the way that your body works, or most importantly, your brain. Your brain is ultimately the debt collector and its performance will be one of the first things impacted by a lack of sleep.

Your brain is just a muscle, just like any other muscle, and it can't keep going without a proper amount of sleep. Just like your legs need a break after a long run to recover and rebuild, so does your brain. You’ll first start process things slower, you start forgetting things, lose the ability to pay attention, and experience mood shifts. It all happens because you're not getting enough sleep daily and you're not giving your body the rest that it needs.

The good news here is if you are chronically under-slept, which I know so many people are, you can make up for that in just a couple of weeks. While your body may have been working with less for months to even years, it doesn't take that long to reset itself. If you start providing your body with adequate rest every day you will start to feel a significant difference in as little as two or three weeks.

One final thing I want to leave you with if you're one of those people who says “I only sleep four, five, or six hours a night and I feel awesome.”—if you are legitimately that person, I think you're amazing. But I would ask you to consider this—if you feel like you're a badass on the sleep you’re getting now, what do you think you'd be able to accomplish if you gave your body a full seven to eight hours?

Want more stuff like this? Join my free Facebook community, Live the Unconventional Life for tons more content and free training on how to get the energy you need to live your healthiest, mightiest and coolest life.  Life is too short to live to wait any longer.

[kelsij]

5 Ways to Improve Your Mondays

Mondays can be tough when life in the fast lane feels more like life in oncoming traffic. It’s no wonder so many people hate Mondays. 

But you know what that attitude costs you? Assuming an 8-hour workday that is over 400 hours of energy-draining, dead-end, negative thinking every year.

The science on negative thought patterns is pretty scary. Each time you think negatively you basically install a new express lane in your brain, making it even easier to make those negative associations the next time. You are literally programming your brain to be unhappy. 

You are spending 400 hours draining your own energy with negativity. 

Four. Hundred. Hours. Want to get that time, energy, and positive outlook back?

Try these 5 simple strategies.  

Look over your calendar on Sunday so that you are prepared for Monday. 

That sinking feeling you get when you realize you have meeting that you forgot to prepare for can be prevented. Make a Sunday practice of looking over your commitments for the next week and adjust them as needed. 

Set out your stuff. 

Clothes, breakfast, and a big glass of water. Nothing throws your morning off like racing around trying to track down a clean pair of socks, or not being able to find the shirt you are looking for. 

Set your head right for that day. 

Listen to a motivational podcast. Read some personal development content. Listen to a song that pumps you up. When you are happy you secrete serotonin and that gives you a natural energy boost that can set the tone for the rest of your day. 

Don’t check your email until you are ready for your day.

The stress drains your energy before you’ve even had your coffee when you wake up and start scrolling your email right away. Keep your morning simple and calm. There will be plenty of time to get caught up on work once you are prepared for the day. 

Give yourself something look forward to. 

Start a tradition that you enjoy taking place of Monday drudgery. Maybe it’s a standing lunch date with a friend. Maybe you treat yourself to a fancy coffee on your way to work. Maybe you pick a Netflix guilty pleasure and only let yourself watch it. Get creative! Make Mondays a day you look forward to. 

Want more tips like this? To get my very best join my mailing list. 

[kelsij]

The #1 Reason Diets Don’t Work

Your motivation is all wrong.

I grew up as kind of the “fat kid”. I always felt that I was a little bit overweight. I was a little bit slower than everybody. Even though I played sports—I played soccer for a million years—I was never the fastest, sometimes the strongest, and never the skinniest. I tried a couple of times to lose weight and it felt like it just never worked for me, but it was working for everybody else.

The failed attempts to get where I thought I needed to be left me feeling really deflated, and then I started to accept that maybe that's just who I am.

Maybe I'm just the “fat kid”. Maybe I just need to be “cool” with that.

But when I did that, when I started to accept that maybe that's just who I am I had started to give up on myself a little bit at a time. I realized now that this was when I started saying no to things automatically, without even thinking about it, because they were things that would challenge me physically, or make me uncomfortable, or make me feel like I was going to make a scene.

For example, friends and family had wanted to go whitewater kayaking and I was an immediate, "No, that sounds terrible!", because I was worried about falling out of the boat. What if I couldn’t get back in the raft? Honestly, anything involving a swimsuit or shorts was an immediate “No.”. I had very low self-confidence.

I resigned to where I was. I spent my time playing in areas that were all very safe—in the areas that I had a good chance to feel smart, funny, and capable. I kept my paths to success so very narrow and scripted that I was never challenged and as a result, not growing as a person. This continued for a really, really long time.

Sometimes a change of perspective can be what a person needs to take another look at who they are. 

This realization really took hold when, as many teens do,  I took a giant leap into the unknown.  I moved to Ecuador as an exchange student. It was the first time I realized how much I had been holding myself back. I was saying “No” to life before it even had an opportunity to show me what I was missing.

The perspective gained by seeing how different life could be helped me realize that I was just making my world way too damn small. When I eventually returned home I spent a good amount of time really thinking about what I had learned about myself and how I had been self-limiting.

Thinking about what’s next—"How am I going to make my life bigger?”. How could I get more life experiences out of my days and my years? How could I make sure that I'm not just droning on in this conventional rat race—because what's the point of that?

Then I had a second breakthrough. I got really sick. It was discovered that I have an autoimmune disorder, and on top of that, a chronic condition called “Idiopathic Hypersomnia”. It's basically a condition that means I am tired all the time. My brain and body constantly think and feel like I haven’t slept for days.

When I was first diagnosed, I started to do the research and realized a lot of people who have that condition end up losing out so much because they're just too damn tired to do anything—regardless of how much they might want to.

The result can often be a huge effect on their social life, their job, and physical fitness. Just when my travels had opened my eyes my diagnoses made it feel like my world was getting even smaller.

That diagnosis was the brink- and it’s then that I decided for myself simply, but powerfully, “Fuck that.”.

I needed to have a bigger life. I needed to go out and experience things. I needed to go meet new people, and I needed to live fearlessly because life is way too damn short to live any other way. This moment was so powerful that I was able to waste no time embracing change in my life.

It was then that I decided that my weight was holding me back from being the person that I wanted to be. It factored into so many of the things that I wanted to go after, and now I had the added challenge of a chronic condition!

But what I needed wasn’t some short-term small picture ‘diet’, I needed to do something to support my life, I needed a lifestyle change. This isn’t something small like working on my muffin top because the summer is coming, and the layers aren’t in fashion or getting into this swimsuit this week. I needed to change my life so that I could live longer and get more out of it.

That’s the difference. When you finally commit to change for you, for your health, and longer-term, a better freaking life. That's when lasting change happens. When you can commit to needing to live your life differently so that your body isn't holding you back from growing as a person so that your fears aren't holding you back from experiencing new things.  That is what lasting-change looks like.

If you've been struggling with weight loss in the past, either by working out or simply making more healthy food choices, I would ask you to pause and reflect. Why did you start and has what you want out of it changed?  Don’t focus on the superficial—it’s not pounds, and it's not inches. What kind of life do you want?

Even if the why starts with "So that I can get into this bathing suit."—dig deeper. What does that bathing suit allow you to do? Does that mean that you get to go party with your friends and you feel fantastic and amazing and confident? Maybe that’s your “Why?”.

Because understanding the “Why” will lead to the emotional commitment you need to make the big changes that support real progress. Emotional commitment to getting what you want, need, out of life is what's going to keep you coming back after you stumble, time after time. Because the truth is, you are going to stumble, a lot. 

We are fantastically imperfect creatures. The point is not never to falter. The point is to keep getting back up, getting wiser and coming back to the path.

Ready for the #2 and #3 reason diets don’t work and the action steps to help make sure your plan is bulletproof? Awesome! Join our email list and I’ll send them over as my FREE GIFT to you.  

Let’s do this!

[kelsij]

Mighty Green Enchilada Soup

My Mighty Green Enchilada Soup has become a fast favorite. This soup takes less than 10 minutes to prepare and then a quick 20 minute simmer to let the flavors come together.  It has all the New Mexico flavor I love and it tastes like has been cooking all day. Besides spices, there are only 6 ingredients which means you can head straight to the express lane. I added tofu and spinach crank up the nutrients and add a creamier texture but the way these ingredients come together, no one would ever guess. One serving has about 30% of your protein, iron, vitamin C and fiber for the day. 

Mighty Green Enchilada Soup Serves 6-8

Ingredients 28 oz, Green Enchilada Sauce 16 ounce, Silken Tofu 4 cup Low Sodium Vegetable Broth 1 bag, Spinach (10 oz) 1 can (16 oz) Black Beans Low Sodium 29 oz, White Hominy 4 tbsp. Ground Cumin 3 tbsp., Spices, garlic powder 2 tbsp. Ground Dried Oregano Optional: Green chili powder to taste

Preparation

In a blender combine tofu, spinach and enchilada sauce and puree. Depending on the size of your blender you may need to do this in batches.

Add mixture to large pot on medium high heat and stir in broth.

Place your black beans and hominy in a colander. Rinse them in cool water until the run off is clear. This will reduce the sodium and keep your soup from browning too much.

When the soup starts to bubble, add the beans and hominy to your pot

Stir in the cumin, garlic powder and oregano. I love spice so I go a little heavy, you may want to start with a little less of each and taste as you go.

Reduce to low heat and cover for 20 minutes. You can enjoy right away or let it simmer for a couple hours, stirring occasionally.

This soup reheats well and is great the next day! It doesn’t last long at our house but when we do have leftovers we take it for a quick deck lunch. 

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10 Fresh Ideas for Leftover Cranberry Sauce

Oh, the looming holiday leftovers.

Cranberry sauce is one leftover I don’t mind because cranberries have a TON of antioxidants and they are anti-inflammatories, both of which support the longevity of your body’s many parts.

Because I favor a pretty basic cranberry sauce recipe it’s easy to add to a bunch of stuff.

1. Add it to plain Greek yogurt 2. Top your oatmeal with it or put it in your refrigerator oatmeal the night before 3. Use it as a topping for pancakes or waffles 4. Add it to a homemade salad dressing (olive oil and red vinegar is fine) 5. Add it to your morning smoothie

6. Throw it in a cocktail-shaker with some vodka or gin—topping it off top with club soda 7. Mix with club soda and 1 tsp apple cider vinegar for a tasty homemade soda 8. Make a Cranberry Negroni—mix equal parts gin, ice, Campari, vermouth, and cranberry sauce with a cocktail shaker. Garnish with orange or lemon peel. 9. Add it a quesadilla 10. Top crackers or toast with a thin layer of goat cheese and a dollop of cranberry sauce

FYI: Cranberry sauce keeps well in the freezer. Freeze cranberry sauce in an ice cube tray or Ziploc bag to enjoy later.

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Overnight Refrigerator Oatmeal

You can throw this together while making dinner in the evening and breakfast will be waiting for you in the morning. Both oats and Greek yogurt are energy boosting foods, that when combined in a mason jar, make for an easy and healthy grab-on-the-go breakfast.

The best part about this stuff? There are no rules—add whichever flavorings you like to the base or experiment to discover something new.

Basic Refrigerator Oatmeal

Ingredients 1/4 cup old fashioned oats 1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt 1 tsp dried chia seeds 1 tsp honey or agave

Preparation 1. Put the ingredients in the jar in the order listed, cover and shake to combine the ingredients 2. Place in the refrigerator overnight 3. Stir and enjoy

Here are a few other combinations to keep things interesting:

Berries

Sprinkle of cinnamon

Berries to fill the jar

Ginger Apricot

3 dried apricots, diced (or ¼ cup fresh)

1/8 tsp ground ginger

Horchata

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

¼ tsp cinnamon

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Why Hitting ‘Snooze’ Will Screw Up Your Day

The snooze alarm. It’s a feature available on most alarm clocks and phone apps that we’ve all come to know and love, but the snooze alarm is making your life harder. In the moment it feels great when you get a chance to grab a couple of extra minutes of sleep in the morning—you might feel like you’ve stolen those moments from the daily grind—like you're already winning. The reality is that you’re setting yourself up to fail.

Each time you’re hitting snooze you're teaching your body that every biological signal it had thought was an indication to wake up, is actually an indication to go back to bed. Over time, your brain stops sending you all the proper waking signals since you have built a habit of ignoring them. 

The long-term result is a body that wakes up groggier than if you had made a habit of getting up the first time. Not only that, you might start to sleep through your alarm altogether.

Long story made short, those ten extra minutes of sleep are costing you much more than they are worth. You’ll get more energy for each day if you to break up with the snooze.

The challenge: As soon as you hear your alarm clock in the morning, you turn off, and you get your day started.

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Pumpkin Energy Bombs

What if pumpkin pie could be a health food? These little delights will convince you it’s possible.

I tried a similar recipe last fall and, I won’t lie, it was terrible. It didn’t have the right texture or level of sweetness. My taste tester was nice about it but I was really disappointed and a little nervous to try again.

This version though is an awesome afternoon treat that won't undo the good choices you’ve made all day. 

Prep time: 10 min

Ingredients

1 cup raw cashews

1/4 cup canned pumpkin purée

1/4 cup almond flour

3 Tbsp coconut sugar*

2 Tbsp chia seeds

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice 

Preparation
 1. Throw everything into a food processor and pulse until the dough starts to form. 2. Roll into balls. 
 Can be enjoyed immediately or stored in a sealed container.

* I like coconut sugar because it has a bit of a caramel flavor and a lower glycemic index than regular sugar.  Feel free to substitute real maple syrup, honey or stevia.

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Do you have the room to grow?

I planted this avocado seed, and it’s been sitting on our kitchen counter and growing in its SOLO cup for about six months. I kept meaning to replant it but it kept falling to the bottom of my to-do list. Despite not putting it outside, it's got plenty of leaves, and its color is healthy.

The other day I was looking at it, and I thought, "You know, while it looks healthy it hasn't grown much lately.".  I took it out of its SOLO cup and what I saw surprised me—all the roots were just tangled and looking more like a tumbleweed than an organized system. It was just a mess. I thought, " is this the same thing that happens to us when we stay in a place—sticking to the same routines for too long?”

When something is comfortable, we tend to want to settle in—like a warm shower in the middle of winter.

We know our surroundings.

We know what the risks are.

We know what the rewards are.

We stay in this predictable but limiting place. But eventually, our growth slows down, the same way my little avocado tree's growth did. It doesn't happen all at once—but slowly over time.

You might not even notice it.

When you come up against the boundary of your comfort zone, you take the path of least resistance without a second thought.  Instead of growing out, you turn in and all that potential becomes a mess of paths not taken. Like the roots of my plant, going in and out and over and under each other, our emotions and beliefs become this frustrating mess rumbling just under the soil.  The tension builds because the world is continually changing and we are trying to stand still and take up as little space as possible.  

Do you need a bigger pot?

Are you bumping up against boundaries, whether they are physical, emotional, or brought on by the people in your life? Maybe your job, your obligations, your family, or your friends?

What are you doing to challenge those norms and push yourself into a broader space?

Give yourself the space you need to grow by going beyond the comfort of your personal barriers—try something new, and to stretch out a little bit. Again, not just physically, but emotionally and mentally, stretch out, and in time you will discover that you can be comfortable in a bigger—richer—life.