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Top 10 ways to keep your Moxie - EVEN while on vacation! So how do you survive and ENJOY your vacation without abandoning your training program or leaving your Moxie tucked in your suitcase back in your hotel room?  Plan using my top 10 tried and true ideas: 1. Don’t abandon ship! Still track your food and journal.  Take a picture of your vision board to keep your goals in mind.   This is a lifestyle change, not a temporary thing .  You do it daily - and yes -even on vacation!    2. Check out restaurants ahead of time to see what your options are so you can start mentally planning your meals before you sit down.  Know how you want your food prepared and what to ask for “on the side.” 3.  If you are planning to splurge a certain location for dinner, plan the rest of your meals to be lighter .  Smaller breakfast and snacks throughout the day along with staying active will help you enjoy that meal without the guilt.   4.   Eat mod...

"A champion needs a motivation above and beyond winning." - Pat Riley All the fuss with the Biggest Loser got me to thinking.... In my former days I was tuned in every season to the weight loss wonder show, enticed as I watched contestants embark on their weight loss mission.  They were doing what seemed unlikely and impossible for me.    "It must be tough," I thought to myself, "to be away from life and dedicate oneself to getting healthy with unlimited help from trainers, healthy food options, dieticians, doctors, and staff." Sign. Me. Up.  Three months away from my job, parental and other responsibilities, and the relationship that I knew deep down inside was part of the reason I was eating myself to death?  Done.   To be away from everything and quiet my  mind long enough to make lasting changes?  Oh, just give me the chance - I could do it in the three months.  I envied the contestan...

ob·sta·cle (noun)  a thing that blocks one's way or prevents or hinders progress. An obstacle is something, material or nonmaterial, that stands in the way of literal or figurative progress. Identify  yours - and you be able to conquer them!

As a self-proclaimed "fit-foodie" I have had a "love/hate" relationship with sugar.  Yup...a relationship with sugar.  What?  Here is why.... When I am "in the food" (or BELOW THE LINE for all my clients) I am searching for sugar laced food.  Intentionally or not, the foods that give me the trouble are carbohydrates.  I have yet to binge or overeat on a steak or a whole chicken.  Just can't do it.  But the cookies....I STILL am reluctantly stock those in my kitchen as the box's life is potentially threatened.  Eating more sugar - makes me want more.  It is a difficult cycle to get out of once I start.  Seems silly, but honestly it is harder for a foodie than you might think.  When I was dieting (STILL BELOW THE LINE), I was constantly looking for the sugar content in the foods I ate - worried that I would go over the recommended limit.   Obsessed with AVOIDING it,  I purposely  ate nasty thing...

Moxie isn't just for weight loss and transformation, it is a required characteristic to overcome nearly every challenge we might face.  That has never been more real in my life than this last week. My year started out with the best possible scenario - back on track with health goals. And delighting in the best news - a surprise pregnancy!!  I was thrilled at the adventure of experiencing a fit pregnancy and turning 40 at the same time.  It was a chance I had given up on nearly 9 years ago,  I was so full of hope as my wonderful husband and I began making plans for our new little arrival and all the possibilities that came with it. Postponing my half marathon, scheduling doctor visits, moving rooms, and adjusting to baby mode began.    Then just as quickly as the surprise came, it stopped.  Like 1/3 of all pregnancies, mine abruptly ended and in a matter of hours I was empty.  Literally and emotionally.  Nothing.   Over the next few days ...

I typically don't by magazines off the shelf except for one time.  Prior to my transformation, I always bought the January addition of People Magazine.  It contained the success stories of other people who had lost over 100 pounds. It always gave me hope. It was proof to my doubt-filled heart and mind that it WAS doable. They were real people with real results, and I scoured their stories hoping that whatever they had "caught" that changed their lives was contagious. It has been 6 years ago this month that I "started" for the last time.  I have never looked back, and I have never regretted it.  This video is my story put to music.  Something I have wanted to share, but have only decided to do so now.  I hope that it brings the same inspiration to you that those success stories in the People Magazine brought to me. I hope you get to "start" for the last time....very soon!

Working in gym, I get to see a variety of people from all walks of life and how all those people share the common thread of fitness.  It is my personal experience that the "face" of fitness is NOT always the perfectly chiseled body with every muscle in tip top performance.   These seem to be telling us, this is how "to be" and if you aren't here, you don't "measure up" to our standards and therefore must be making excuses as to why you don't.  I shuddered at the post making headlines in the fitness industry of "What's Your Excuse" by self-proclaimed fitness enthusiast Maria Kang.  Don't get me wrong those gym enthusiast work hard to achieve goals, and I absolutely applaud them for it.  I shudder because it only tells ONE kind of story.  To be labeled as "fit" you must look, feel, and act like....." regardless.  Daunting when you think about it.  I am always intrigued by the not so common faces of fitness - thos...