ROLL OUT! 
The Benefits of Foam rolling 

The great exercise guru Jane Fonda would often utter the phrase, “no pain, no gain” in her 1980’s workout videos. And yes, I had them all on VHS! The idea of no pain no gain, stems from the belief that in order to achieve something worthwhile,  you must endure some hardships or struggle. Welcome to the world of Foam Rolling! 

Foam Rolling
Foam rolling is a technique that can be used to promote myofascial release, which can, in turn help reduce or eliminate trigger points in the muscles. Utilizing a “roller” before or after an exercise routine is a form of self-myofascial release (SMR). The concept is to release fascia that has gathered together for a big old knot party in your muscles. These fascia party-goers love to get close to one another and “stick” together, causing you pain, inflammation, and the ever so painful “knots”.  


The Fascia Partiers 
Fascia is present all throughout the body. In fact it’s a three-dimensional connective tissue with multiple layers just hanging out in your body, waiting for a party! Those deadlifts you crushed yesterday, your fun little jaunt walking the dog, or the plank challenge you “accidently” signed up for…the fascia peeps are ready to get the party started! Fascia tends to stick together in the party we call our body! If we regularly practice myofascial release, we can break up the fascia party without having to call the cops or in this case, a massage therapist or a physical therapist which can be costly. Instead, I’m crashing the party and I’m bringing my friend the foam roller along for the fun! 

BENEFITS 
Here are five key benefits of incorporating foam rolling into your health and wellness routine:

1. Reduces Injury and Speeds Up Recovery
Foam rolling can break down adhesions and scar tissue. Breaking up the fascia will improve blood flow to the muscles which helps promote healthy tissue and therefore can improve the recovery process 
 2. Improves Flexibility
Static stretching is awesome, but adding in a foam roller takes it to a whole new level. Foam rolling enhances your flexibility by putting a bulls-eye on the fascia thus releasing tension and therefore improving range of motion.
 3. Reduces Inflammation
Foam rolling can help to flush out metabolic waste products also known as those fascia partiers that are partying rent free in your body. By reducing inflammation, you are more likely to have less tightness in your muscles.
  
4. Improves Posture
At some point in your life, you may have experienced back pain. A regular routine of foam rolling can help improve not just your performance but it can result in improved posture. Improved posture can lead to better movement and performance overall! 

​5. Mental Impact
No doubt there are numerous physical benefits but foam rolling can also have a positive impact mentally.  Foam rolling releases tension in your body giving you more self-confidence in your day-to-day routine as well as fire you up to go out and crush your next workout! 

Fun Fact:  Did you know that in addition to supporting the body’s structure, fascia is one of the primary water storage units found in the body!  That means in addition to foam rolling, HYDRATE!!!! Drinking water will definitely rain on the fascia party parade! As the fascial fibers become unstuck, the fascia will begin to glide more comfortably across each other.  Over a period of time, this process can lead to healthier tissue. Even our fascia party goers can become happy, healthy, hardy tissue!

It’s no secret I like to workout. However, I’ve struggled with over working out, too much cardio (how is that even possible?!?!) and forcing myself to take “rest” days. Why? My workouts are my therapy, it’s where I can go physically and mentally to get my Queen Elsa on and “Let it Go!” and forget about any stress, anger, sadness, or struggles to just focus on me. Working out is my safe place. Plus, I workout because I want to feel good and look good.  Even when the pandemic hit full swing and gyms closed, I never stopped working out. It just looked different, I didn't "let myself go" with my diet, yet I gained a good 15+ pounds.
So what in the world was going on??? The frustration set in, the depression set in, as did the realization that this might just be my life. I hit a rut.  Exercise became a chore and I just did it because it's what I always did and it was my routine. However, my workouts sucked because I fatigued quickly, recovery was slow, and the worst part, no matter how hard I worked, zero, zip, zilch, none...NO RESULTS. No weight loss, no toning up, jeans were tighter, shirts were snug, and the tipping point...One of my students asked me if I was pregnant. 
I've been here before, I've cleaned up my diet, switched workout routines, I've lost weight and felt better, felt healthier.  However, for some reason, this was not working this go-round. I broke down. I was at my heaviest weight I've ever been, I felt horrible physically, mentally, and emotionally. A few months prior to my breakdown, my amazing, long-time friend, Aimee Labrecque Whiteman told me about Arbonne's 30 days to Healthy living. I resisted, I've done "programs' ' before and they worked for the most part but were not sustainable. Primarily because of the following factors: it was financially a strain, cooking was a major component, from meal prepping to grocery shopping trying to find compliant brands, to the fact that I am not a cook and in fact I hate cooking or just too restrictive for what I like to call "life", I always struggled to “stick with it” even with results. 
But Aimee said some keywords that opened my eyes...She said, "THIS IS NOT A QUICK FIX. THIS IS NOT A DIET. THIS IS A LIFESTYLE AND YOU CAN DO THIS" 
And thus began my Happy Healthy journey with Arbonne's Nutrition products. It's been about 90 days and yes, I've lost weight but for me, it was more about developing healthy habits that are sustainable and fit into my lifestyle. Is it easy? No, and if it was then everyone would do it, but is it worth it? 100% Yes. Is there cooking? Yup, but it’s cooking 101 and even I can do it. But here is my biggest “win” with Arbonne, I’m back to my happy workout place with an added component: nutrition. My workouts were missing this key component. I am now fueling my body with nutrition that I need to maximize my workouts. I feel stronger, I feel energized, and I can complete a workout without fatiguing or feeling like I’m working out just to workout. Am I where I want to be? Nope but I know I'm on the right path. 
​click here for an overview of the 30 day Healthy Reset #thankyouArbonne  


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January 1st, 2019, the day I changed my diet. Check that, the day I threw out the playbook, started from scratch and completely revamped any and everything I had previously put through my digestive system.
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Let me drop some stats:
It's been 448 days (but who's counting?!?!) 
I've lost 23 pounds
I've had 0 Beers
I've had 2 slices of Pizza (and paid mightily for it)

Food Challenges: 
Here's something you cannot quantify: you can't put in a stat sheet the countless times I cried because I read a label and discovered, nope I cannot eat that, it has gluten. Then the times I wanted to throw a temper tantrum because I found the most amazing cookie but oh wait...it's gluten free, dairy free, but "may contain tree nuts".
And then  those times where it's nut free, gluten free, I'm almost home free but there's that dreaded "milk" ingredient.
I have the trifecta of food allergies: no nuts, no dairy, no gluten - no problem, ummm tell that to my sweet tooth!

Life Challenges: 
It's been a challenge. It's been a struggle. It's been frustrating. It's been eye-opening, but most importantly it's been life changing... for the better. Physically, mentally, and emotionally.
The dropped lb's has been sweet, but fitting into those jeans or shorts that I haven't worn in years is even sweeter.  I hate stepping on the scale, for me it's about how I feel mentally. And mentally, I'm a new person. Prior to this change, my safe place was no longer safe. My safe place being the gym. It became a chore because I was working out like a beast but did not relish in any results. In fact, I felt like I was getting fluffier with each squat, row, or deadlift. "it's just muscle" is what I kept hearing or "well, you are 40 something, it is what it is; hormones, pre-menopause, it's life." Or here's my favorite, "you are fine, you look great." If you could see me now, I'm rolling my eyes and doing an inappropriate gesture. I REFUSED TO ACCEPT IT.  And I didn't.

Fast forward to today and I've truly only just begun on this journey. I'm proud of how far I've come, but, despite, indulging in a few sweet treats, I'm far from done.
I truly believe, however, this cannot be done alone. I'm so thankful for a Crossfit community who supports it's members of all shapes and sizes, ages and genders, RX level or scaled. And for my dear friend Eat Thrive Move - Dawn Cameron, who provides AMAZING meals customized for my special diet. I'm thankful for my spin community and for those who loaned me cookbooks and provided guidance as to what I can eat beyond trees and branches.

I'm thankful for 45 days of Whole30.
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And of course, my biggest fan, my biggest supporter, my #rideordie who stands by my side through pizza cravings, cooking disasters, and grocery store tears, Markell Blount. I feel blessed to have such an amazing partner to be with me through the up's and down's of this journey.

The String Bean Conundrum

All of a sudden it happened...I had a hankering for string beans! Wait, what?!?! String beans, hold up, I have a wicked sweet tooth, why am I craving the goodness that is string beans!  Perhaps this plant-based life is working! 

It all started when I went to this one particular grocery store which is known for it's organic aisles for days, vegan choices galore, healthy salad bars, and all the Kombucha your heart could desire in every flavor imaginable! It was there, that the string beans caught my eye ...

Dawn Cameron of EatThriveMove
Let me digress with a little back story, I have become quite the reader...albeit I'm reading food labels, but I've learned about all sorts of goodies that find there way into our food. I call them goodies because boy oh boy do they make the food taste yummy, however, those goodies are NOT so good for your body. So, I've spent countless hours in  the grocery store reading labels and understanding that if you can't pronounce it, it's probably not good for you. Along this short journey thus far, I've learned a plethora of information thanks to the wisdom and sheer talent courtesy of Eat Thrive Move's Dawn Cameron,  Nutrition Therapy Consultant and culinary trained chef. 
Check out her expertise right here  → EatThriveMove

Back to the string beans, in my container they went after I read the label of course, the only ingredients: string beans, sea salt, and pepper. They were delicious! 

Then about a week later, it happened again, the string bean craving! Off to that same grocery store I went... and there they were again in all their glory- I started to put them in the container but noticed more ingredients! Last time it was just straight S-beans with a lil salt and peppa- this go round -  canola oil, some sugar crap I couldn't pronounce and some other ingredients that made me go "hmmmmm".  There were more "goodies"  I couldn’t pronounce without asking Alexa so I just walked away, tail between my legs, pouting, no string beans for me today, I mean C’mon "Grocery Store" it’s string beans why you gotta do them like that!

Moral of the story, reading is fundamental not just for your brain, but your body as well. 
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Glutamine, flaxseed and poop oh my! Welcome to the healthy habits challenge! This challenge is a challenge I’m participating in at my gym. I was hesitant at first because the challenge started after the New Year
and there is a lot of pressure on New Year’s resolutions and such.

However, let me preface this post with this little nugget of truth:
This is NOT a New Year’s resolution, this has been a healthy lifestyle adjustment.  It’s 6 weeks and has nothing to do with how much weight one can lose, or inches, or all the aesthetics that go with many of these challenges. It’s about incorporating one healthy habit each week. At the end of the challenge, you’ve incorporated 6 healthy habits into your life.

The challenge was created by Dawn Cameron, a professional chef, and nutritionist and owner of Eat, Thrive, Move. After reading and educating myself on what the challenge entails, my #rideordie #partnerincrime #accountabiltypartner #swolemate, #husband and I decided, let’s do this.

Here are the guidelines:
Every week for 6 weeks, add one healthy habit to your routine.  
My thoughts: I was reluctant because I didn’t know what the challenges were and I was thinking they would have to do with something that is not easily maintained. So often we go on diets or new exercise regimens and they aren’t sustainable and we wind up reverting back to what is comfortable. However, after receiving the challenges, I discovered this challenge is do-able and it's something you can maintain without upending your entire world!

Challenge #1
Upon waking up, drink 12 ounces of water. My thoughts: I would drink
water for the most part in the morning but not like this. Now I’m making sure I do;
I’m more cognizant of it. I make sure that before I eat anything, do any exercise,
even before I brush my teeth, I’m dropping some serious H2O into my system.
In fact, I even “water prep” the night before! #notjoking - To be honest, after a week, I’m digging this healthy habit. It’s simple yet I feel like before I even get my day started I’ve accomplished something! I know I drink water throughout the day but now for some reason, this means something. It’s kind of hard to explain. Crazy but it just feels good!

There are opportunities incorporated within the challenges to help you.

Opportunity #1 - Learning about poop...that’s right, poop. We attended a Digestion Seminar by Eat Thrive Move where we learned all about digestion and what you put in your body is integral to your overall health.  And your poop tells the story that you truly are what you eat; that can be a good thing and a bad thing! For me, it’s been bad!  I’ve always had a sensitive stomach, but I never really read labels or worried about what was “in” my food, until now. I’ve read more labels in the last two weeks that all told I’ve probably read a mini novel!

The Digestion Seminar taught me that digestion is key! I know that gut health is definitely a buzz word and it seems like wherever you look, commercials, social media, magazines, etc., there are pills, powders, and magic potions promising to get you healthy.  

What your poop is telling you
There is no quick fix, I feel like we all know this yet, we want instant results; I am included in that “we”. I’ve tried everything and anything. Shoot, the last year I didn’t eat “bad” I didn’t eat perfectly “clean” however, my body decided what I was eating sucked, for lack of better words. I couldn’t figure out why those pills or shakes that promised you would lose weight and feel better didn’t work. Why was I actually PUTTING ON WEIGHT!?!?  And how the hell is everyone else dropping pounds like it’s nothing yet here I am doing everything the program says and gaining weight! It’s because my body rejected it. I had to get to the root of my gut and by the root it meant drilling down into my digestion. My body wasn’t digesting food properly, it wasn’t absorbing the nutrients or using anything I was eating for what it was supposed to do which was provide nutrition. I’m talking about chicken, turkey, protein shakes, none of it! Enter the plant-based life and educating myself on digestion and nutrition.
Healthy Habit #2 starts Monday - Stay tuned!