WHY BRAIN + GUT HEALTH BECAME MY PASSION... and true calling
ER VETERINARIAN TURNED BRAIN + GUT HEALTH COACH?
Um. I bet you read this title and was like… what, the what? Am I right? Because it’s my life and even I didn’t see how this twist was going to unfold. But, I’ll try to share with you the bullet points as the WHOLE story is a wee bit too personal to just throw up on the screen in words and if being truly honest, it’s still a raw which is CRAZY as it began almost 6 years ago!
Let’s start at the beginning, shall we?
Spring of 2013, I was wrapping up the second year of my emergency/critical care residency program in veterinary medicine. And I was pregnant… with twins which was a complete surprise and blessing. For those folks who ask:
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Twins do not necessarily run in our families… the hubster’s great aunts or something were twins and I have distant cousins that are twins but that’s it.
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The twins were conceived naturally… which is a tad bit private but I get a lot of...
BOOK REVIEW: Body Love by Kelly LeVeque
The other day a friend commented on a post of mine on social media asking if I had heard of the “FAB4Smoothies” because some of my recipes were quite similar.
Now. Honestly, it wasn’t the FIRST time to hear about the “FAB4Smoothies”… I heard about them and their creator, Kelly LeVeque over a year ago on a Rachel Hollis podcast. Then again recently on another podcast, although, I can’t place it right now.
Anywho.
THIRD TIME IS THE CHARM… so I searched on Amazon for her book, BODY LOVE and snatched it up! This past week, I wrapped it up and placed the book on the shelf… but not before I tabbed a few pages, highlighted and tried a LOT of the recipes!
HERE’S MY REVIEW
Tidbits you might want to know… Kelly LeVeque is “celebrity favorite health and wellness consultant” which is...
WHEN STRESS SLIPS ME BACK INTO OLD HABITS... YIKES!
STRESS KICKED ME IN MY LADY BITS
Wow. Talk about being REAL with the title… when stress kicks me in my lady bits. And this wee bit of a blog post is all about being real with you but mostly with myself. See. In January, I realized I needed to start focusing on my health… I noticed my gut was a bit unhappy with my life choices: not sleeping, not eating enough calories, not drinking enough water, getting anxious over things I have no control over, saying “YES” to things that weren’t my focus or getting TO my goal!
So. I designed a plan…. something doable. Focusing on what I could control which included:
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saying “NO” to things that weren’t healthy for me or my goals (business, personal, family, relationships, faith goals)
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drinking MORE water and hitting my water intake goal (ie. at least 1/2 my body weight in ounces: so my 140lb frame needed at least 70oz of water throughout the day)
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focusing on self-care and doing...
Focusing on Self-Care with HERBAL TEA BATHS
PUT ON YOUR OXYGEN MASK
Have you noticed there is so much wisdom from those flight attendant’s safety videos? Make sure to know where the exits are BEFORE an emergency hits. Figure out how life-saving tools work BEFORE you need them. And place your oxygen mask on BEFORE helping others, otherwise, you’ll pass out before helping anyone.
It’s crazy how much wisdom is in those videos and I’ll be honest it wasn’t until a dear friend told me to “put my own mask on FIRST” otherwise, I wasn’t helping anyone that it dawned on me — the truth in the airplane safety videos.
Actually, the friend said something a wee bit more clever and insightful…
“You simply can not adequately take care of others, if you are not FIRST caring for yourself... fully.”
NOTE:
As an emergency veterinarian, twin mama bear, wifey and wellness coach hosting a FREE community (Brain + Gut Health Explorers), I definitely...
WHY I STILL HAVE CHOCOLATE ON MY WELLNESS JOURNEY…
First off, who needs a reason to eat chocolate… am I right? But here’s the thing. Yep. You knew there was a catch, didn’t you? You gorgeous thing, you! The catch is this. I’m not talking about chocolate that you find in your typical over-the-counter candy bars or snack items. Those typically have MILK chocolate which has a higher sugar content and less of cocoa. The chocolate I’m referring to is dark chocolate (85% cocoa or higher, if you can stand it).
See. Dark chocolate + cocoa are a source of flavonoids which are pretty freaking amazing… and in images of the brain via MRI, doctors have SEEN how cocoa intakes improves blood flow to the brain (particularly the hippocampus, aka. memory center).
I read this in the book, The Better Brain Solution by Steven Masley, M.D. who also stated that he recommended daily cocoa or dark chocolate for years as it “improves blood pressure levels as well as insulin sensitivity and it decreases the...
CHARCOAL: My Favorite Beauty Ingredient
YOUR PORES LOOK HUGE!!!!
This was the response my hubster gave me when I asked him how my skin looked after using my weekly activated charcoal mask! In his defense, he thought this was the appropriate response... he didn't realize the goal was to actually MINIMIZE one’s pores. Poor guy… good thing he is cute.
Anywho.
I'm a wee bit embarrassed to say, that I didn't really have a skin care routine until AFTER the Gillies, our twins were born. And we are coming up on their 6th Birthday!!!! SIXTH!!! That’s a different panic attack for another day. Back to the story, before the Gillies were born, my beauty routine was simply water and the body wash we were using at that time. YIKES!!!
It wasn't until the twins were born that my hormones went a wee bit whacko and I had to truly focus on a skin regime. #twinmomlife But this was such a blessing... because while on the hunt for products to reduce my apparently ginormous pores, I realized that a slew of the products on...
NOURISH BOWL RECIPE: focusing on my plate and not calories
Recently.
I discovered the need to stop focusing so much on NUMBERS and really shift my attention to the TYPES of foods I was nourishing my body with. Maybe you are like this as well… you focus so intently on HOW MUCH calories you eat or get overwhelmed with macronutrients. How much fat? How many carbs does this have? Ugh. Do I need more protein?
It’s all too overwhelming and if I’m being honest, it’s a slippery slope for me… because once I start tracking numbers, it’s ALL i think about and my attitude towards food starts to become a tad bit aggressive instead of realizing food is a gift to my body — it gives you the ability to HEAL and NOURISH your body! How wonderful is that, am I right?
Anywho. One of the goals I set for myself on the 2019 WELLNESS JOURNEY is to shift my focus away from counting calories and macronutrients (eeek!)… and look at my plate — is it loaded down with leafy greens? clean protein source? healthy...
MY TOP 5 HEALTH HACKS FOR 2019!
After our road trip to the Deep South to visit family, I realized the focus of 2019 needed to be on my overall wellness and being open with the tribe in regards to my own transformation.
And what better time to share with my tribe in Brain + Gut Health Explorers Community just 5 things I do each day for my overall health... these may be things YOU do already + maybe you have health hacks that YOU think are vital... share, love. The more you know, the more you can grow.
plus. I’ll be hosting a LIVE Masterclass in our community where I’ll recap these 5 Health Hacks and introduce 5 more (a total of 10 HEALTH HACKS) to help you live your most vibrant + productive life in 2019!
And yes. I wrote this blog on my iPad while the hubster drove us from PNW to the deep South… just 5700 miles round trip in 100 hours. BOOM BABY! We survived… and here’s proof, I was somewhat productive and not sleeping in the passenger seat.
Anywho.
This year, my...
HOW I SNEAK VEGGIES INTO MY KIDS (and hubster's) PLATE!
Okay. If you follow me for even a wee bit, you know I love a good green smoothie... loaded with healthy fats + dark berries. Majority of the time, I am blessed that our 5yr old twins (aka. the Gillies) enjoy my love for a good green smoothie as well. I know. I know. I am blessed.
However. Every once in a while the Gillies get a wee bit sassy which they inherited primarily from their daddy-o… and they do not want to have a green smoothie.
{ gasp of horror }
Right? Anywho. If you need a break from dumping kale or spinach in a smoothie... let me share with you this tidbit I stumbled upon from a friend (ahem, Cin I'm talking to you).
CAULIFLOWER.
Yes, sweet love. You read that right... cauliflower and I add it in their smoothie! Seriously, what can this veggie (which I would usually avoid) NOT do... first a cheesy sticks, then a pizza crust and now a veggie source in a smoothie.
Here’s the details on the recipe…
GROCERIES:
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cup of cauliflower florets or even...
Stop Flaking on YOU!
yesterday.
you said tomorrow, love.
{ boom }
The conversation I had with myself this morning as I laced up my shoes... bundled up and headed out for some trail running. Seems like I kept putting off something that fills my cup... running outdoors... and it hit me this morning, I keep flaking on myself!!!!
Each time, I postpone an appointment or skip out on getting my hair cut or bail on that hot yoga class... I’m saying, “there’s something more important than me + my health at that moment.”
Ouch. Right?
Let me say that again in case you skimped over that last part…
“Each time, I postponed an appointment or skipped out on getting my hair cut or taking that hot yoga class... I was basically telling myself, there’s something more important than me + my health at that moment.”
But what’s more important than your health, love? I can’t take care of the kids... my coaching clients... my life or business...
Take me back!
Hey Love!
So glad you are here! My passion is serving women entrepreneurs to create the impact they desire without sacrificing family time or energy... through performance hacks, business strategy and biohacks! Let's bust the myth that mamahood + entrepreneurship can't co-exist... cause it CAN!
