A New Beginning!

Well, it certainly has been a long time since I have added a new post and for that I apologize. That being said today is a new day, a new year and once again a new beginning for all of us and with that comes a new post with many to follow in 2013.

I cannot believe that that holidays have come and gone as well as 2012, time passes so quickly. I for one am ready for a fresh start and welcome it with open arms.

My goal for this year is to take my fitness to the next level and really challenge my body. I personally have come so far and am very proud of my accomplishments but also know that I can do more and I am ready!
Today I am also celebrating 2 years as a vegetarian. People ask me why I decided to become vegetarian and it was simply because I was trying to get healthy and my daughter had been practicing vegetarianism for 4 years and I thought why not give it a try.
When I first started I thought I am going to attempt to do this for one month and continue from there if I am feeling good and feeling satisfied and that was 2 years ago. I have absolutely No Regrets with my decision and my body has never felt better!

My other goal for this year is to continue to give back with my volunteering. I turned 49 in November and my gift to myself was to dedicate this year to more volunteering because I get so much joy from it and from simply giving back.

Lastly, this year I am taking time everyday to recognize the good in each day. With all of the sadness and tragedies of last year it is so important to recognize the good and yes there really is good in each day. Whether it is simply enjoying that first cup of coffee in the morning or a congrats on a  job well done or a smile from a stranger if we recognize the “Good” then the “Bad” doesn’t seem Bad.

May this new year bring you health and happiness to you and yours!

Happy New Year Everyone!!

Cheers to “Our”  Good Health!

I did it and so can you!

I went from a size 14 and would have had to buy a 16 in the near future to my latest purchase of a size 4 skinny jean. Something I thought I WOULD NEVER see!

Keep up the hard work, give yourself a break if you have a bad day and get back on track the next day and you will get there I promise!

10 Steps

10 things that you can add to or adjust in your life that WILL make a difference in how you feel about yourself.

Life can be Crazy!

Take the time to appreciate all that you do have even when times are tough and also take the time to smile at a stranger you just might make their day! For me knowing that I made someone else’s day makes my heart sing! 🙂

 

Life can be Crazy!

Finally another entry!
I know it’s been a while and I am sorry for that but WOW Life can be Crazy!

Since my last post I have taken on a second job in the evening a few nights a week so needless to say that has changed my schedule a bit.
I also volunteered last weekend at The Dempsey Challenge and let me just say this if you have never volunteered what are you waiting for?  It is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done and YES it has changed my life!

I began volunteering a few years ago at The Patrick Dempsey for Cancer Hope & Healing where I give cancer patients, survivors and caregivers mini spa foot treatments. It’s a few hours a month and if I can make their day brighter or better it is so worth it to me & it always amazes me at just how grateful people are.

At The Challenge this year I saw two of the gals I had given a treatment to.
Marc and I were at our post and everyone who was volunteering introduced themselves and were sharing their stories and how they became involved with The Challenge. One lady was saying she had moved here a  little over a year ago with her husband and shortly afterwards she learned she had breast cancer.
As I looked at her as she spoke I recognized her eyes.  I reached over and tapped her on the arm and said “Do you remember me?  I gave you a foot treatment at the center.”  Her eyes lit up and said “Oh Yes Kelley I do” as she wrapped her arms around me to give me a huge hug. She then immediately took off her hat and said “I am done with treatments and feel great and look , my hair is even growing back now.”
It was such a pleasure to see her again and to know she had made it through the tough year she had ahead of her when I met her last Fall.

Later that afternoon I was standing outside of  the Gritty’s beer tent where I was stationed making sure people who were enjoying their free beer for participating stayed in the tented area. I called myself  “The Beer Nazi.”  : )
Another women came up to me and this time said “Kelley do you remember me? You gave me and three of my girlfriends foot treatments last year.”  I said Yes and we gave each other a huge hug.  She said I saw you yesterday in the cafe and I pointed you out to my friend and reminded her who you were and we so wanted to give you hug right then but we could see how busy you were and did not but I had hoped I would see you again and here you are.  She also told me how things had been for her and that the worst was now behind her and yes she also showed me by pulling off her hat that in deed her hair was growing back!

It warmed my heart to see them both again and to know that “WE” both The Dempsey Center and all of the volunteers are helping to change people’s lives as they go through something more difficult than any of us can even begin to grasp.  This was the first year I opted not to participate in the challenge but decided to volunteer instead and I am so glad I did and will continue to volunteer (after I run the 10K) for many years to come.
Life is finally beginning to settle down again after what has been a crazy and stressful Fall. I have come to realize that sometimes when life is at its craziest it makes you realize just how fortunate you are and crazy life or not I know that I am Very Fortunate and for that I am also Very Grateful!

On another note I have decided to challenge myself by doing The Brazil Butt Lift DVD series and see if I will in fact see the changes everyone raves about. Stay tuned!!!!!

A new day, a new week and a new you!

Good Morning!
Here we are at the beginning of yet another new week.
My question is “where has this year gone?” I cannot believe we are heading into mid October already.

Personally, I love the beginning of a new week because it is a welcome fresh start.
Perhaps you had a crazy weekend and weren’t able to get the exercise in that you had hoped to or perhaps the brownies you made for the party ended up calling Your Name to Loud and to Clear. Whatever the case may be keep in mind that tomorrow is a new day and another fresh start.

Every week I take a few minutes to look back at my past week to see what I had hoped to accomplish and what I actually did accomplish. I also make new goals for myself. Usually most of my personal goals are exercise and diet related.
That being said I hate the term diet because I believe that if you say diet you are setting yourself up to fail because you/I feel we must stay within the guidelines of the program and heaven forbid we make a slip because we then feel as though we must yet begin again and often we decide not to.
This is why I choose to consider my eating plan a lifestyle change and since I have let go of the word diet the weight came off and thus far has stayed off. In doing this nothing is off-limits. Everything is allowed just focus on the portion size rather than saying “Oh I can never eat that again” because we both know we probably will and when we do there it is again…GUILT!

So many people ask me what my secret is and it’s actually very simple.
I am a vegetarian (2yrs this coming New Years Day) and Yes it has changed my life!
I do eat eggs and some dairy as well as fish occasionally but for the most part I eat fruits, veggies, beans and whole grains. I also try to Eat Clean 99% of the time. This means I stay away from processed foods or anything packaged. When I do eat something packaged i.e. whole grain breads and wraps I read the labels top to bottom. I look for items high in fiber with little to no artificial ingredients. I would rather eat real food then something that is fat-free and full of chemicals that either make it fat-free or extends the self life. If food is processed or has a long shelf life think of that as it tries to make its way through your body. No Thank You!  More on that later.

So on this Monday I will go over what I did for exercise last week and what I accomplished and how I want to improve further.
I encourage you to do the same. Perhaps you started walking a mile each morning, this week increase your distance or perhaps your pace. I also encourage you to add some weight training to your workouts because  it will make a huge difference. You will feel stronger, improve your posture and just feel better.
I love the website http://tribesports.com and I use it regularly.  It is a place where people from all over the world create and do challenges of all types from 50 sit ups everyday for 7 consecutive days to running your first 5K or marathon. You can encourage people to achieve their goals and challenges and they do the same for you. Take a look it’s free and best of all motivating!

 

Happy Monday!
Cheers to “Our” Good Health!

 

Thank You!

Thank you for all the Love & Support thus far.
I am looking forward to what lies ahead!
So much more to come!

My love for Avocados continues grow more and more each day!
Stay tuned for some great recipes and remember “Avocados are a “Good Fat” and are also great for you skin.
Eat them and enjoy them! YUM!

And away we go!

Hello and Welcome,

For quite sometime now I have wanted to write a blog and I am finally doing just that.
In my blog I want to share things with you that I have learned while adapting to my new lifestyle as a Vegetarian which include my successes, my fitness routines, favorite foods, recipes and so much more.

I hope that you will join me and follow blog.

Here’s to Happy Blogging!

Cheers to Our Good Health!
Kelley