In my coaching group we were tackling the idea of guilt and shame and how it affects each person. Each person had  a different story and example, but much of it tied back to food.

Often food is the "solution" to guilt and shame.

There is often a spiral associated with these feelings. Guilt, as in I did something bad, and shame, as in I am bad, each feel icky within us. We don't like those types of feelings, and so we seek a solution. Often times the solution is momentary and puts us in a worse spot.

Here is how the shame spiral typically goes:

1. You take an action that doesn't align with your values
2. You have a 'negative' emotion that follows it
3. You connect with the 'negative' feeling
4. You seek a way out of the feeling
5. You take an action to solve the feeling (often something that doesn't align with your values)
6. The spiral starts again!

Have you ever used phrases like:

"I was bad this weekend."

"I did not behave myself after the waitress asked if we wanted dessert."

...

Yeah?

It’s true.  I’m going to ask you to step outside of your own situation for a minute and observe our food from a different angle.  I’m going to focus mostly on breakfast cereal but most processed carbohydrates have at least some of this feature.  First, breakfast cereal is not a health food.  It is processed carbohydrates in a box.  While this is true, there are millions of kids surviving mostly on breakfast cereal.  A bowl for breakfast, a bowl when they get home from school, and maybe a snack before bed.  Shoot, my childhood had its share of breakfast cereal.  It was a staple of my diet too. 

We have a nutrition program we use with our clients that is unlike anything I’ve ever seen.  I have never seen any others breakdown that many nutrients.  Usually it’s Calories, Carbs, Fat, Protein, Fiber, Salt, and maybe a couple more.  It scores you in 26 nutrients.  You need to...

The fire in the Notre Dame cathedral is a tragedy on a grand scale. It is one of the most visited tourist attractions in the world. It has seen the rise of mankind through the middle ages into the renaissance. It saw the bloody transition of France from monarchy to a fledgling democracy. It survived both world wars. And today, despite an absolutely massive fire, the two bell towers and much of the stone structure continue to stand. 

The cathedral was started in 1163. It is over 850 years old. It is a cultural icon and has become a deeply cherished part of not just French culture and history, but world history.

Each of us has our own history and tradition that we carry with us. We are each the result of generations of cultivation and care. Much like the cathedral, some generations were better stewards than others. Despite all the trials that have come before, you are here today.

If Notre Dame had been completely lost it would have been a tremendous loss. (The current...

Looking for a healthy alternative with all the Christmas flavors? You must try this. Lots of veggies but tastes like a gingerbread milkshake!! This really satisfied me!

PUMPKIN GINGERBREAD SMOOTHIE

(serves 2)
Ingredients:
½ cup canned pumpkin puree
1 scoop of vanilla protein powder (I use a plant based one)
1 frozen banana
1 cup frozen riced cauliflower
½ tsp pumpkin pie spice
¼ tsp ground ginger
1-2 tsp. black strap molasses
2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk

BLEND AND ENJOY!!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Per 1 serving
185 calories
27g carbs
13g protein
4.6g fat

Blessings,
Sarah

There are all sorts of ways that people try to lose weight and get healthier. From what I've seen, there is one thing that separates permanent results from temporary results.

The willingness to be a continual learner. 

So many people start off in our bootcamp classes, and many of them have no direction or idea of where to start. We provide resources and ideas and opportunities. And many people take full advantage of what we offer. 

What separates the impressive, sustainable results from the flash in the pan weight loss that many experience is the ability to continue to grow on the journey.

This weekend I'm headed off to continue growing on my own journey as a person and as a fitness professional outside of Washington, D.C., where the blossoms are in bloom!

I NEED to step outside of my comfort zone and get coaching, advice, and knowledge from other sources in order to continue to develop and improve at something that is important to me.

Is your health important to...

If you want to stick with a habit for good, a simple and effective way you can do this is keep a habit tracker. We have created one -DOWNLOAD HERE- to help you establish your new habit.

Many people believe feeling happy is the only measure of happiness.  While that is an important measure Martin Seligman believes there are 5 core elements of psychological well-being.  Basically, these 5 things are what make life good.  Happiness then is not the absence of misery but these 5 factors being present in your life! 

PERMA

Martin Seligman

Martin Seligman spend years studying suffering and unhappiness as a psychologist when he realized there is a whole other side to this problem.  He began studying happiness and human flourishing.  He is now considered one of the top positive psychology experts.  PERMA is the word he uses to describe the 5 factors of human flourishing.  These factors are:

P = Positive Emotion

E = Engagement

R = Relationships

M = Meaning

A = Achievement

Let’s look at these individually. 

Positive Emotion – This is happiness as we think of...

THERE IS NO I CAN’T” is in huge vinyl letters on our studio wall. This is one of the first things Jeremy challenged me on when we met. I have taken that statement to heart. Realizing HOW powerful belief in yourself is. To NOT put limits on possibilities. To go for the hard instead of hiding behind “I can’t”. 

Well about 100 Calories at least. Give or take for body size etc. This is a rough estimate to help you get an idea of how much movement is required to lose weight. There are 3,500 Calories in a pound of body fat. This means it could take 35 miles to burn 1 pound. 5-miles a day 7-days a week. That’s a lot of walking or running!

As the weather changes we have more opportunities to do this. If you can combine great workouts, extra movement (like walking), and more awareness of nutrition you can do VERY well in your weight and health.

Just a little something to think about.

About the Author:

Jeremy “the tall trainer” Biernat is a Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Strength Coach, has his Bachelors in Exercise Science, and enjoys writing, speaking, and inspiring people online and in person. See his new book!  More importantly he is a husband, father, and follower of God. His practice is in upstate NY (Canandaigua) where he...