The Bridal Architect- Health and Fitness Coach for Brides To Be Dorian "Gambit" Johnson

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Use This Strategy

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So you answered B within The Badass Bride Brigade

Just as a reminder, that means you said “wanting to improve body image and/or feelings of confidence for your wedding” best describes where you’re at.

Ask and ye shall receive, that comment entitles you to this video below.

 

Download Bonus Badass Bride Guide Prompt

4 step Framework

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What’s good excited to-be wed?!

By requesting this training, you’re declaring that you’re ready to step into The Best Badass Bride version of yourself by ditching diets, enjoying empowering exercise and busting body image issues. I’m here for it!

I created my 4 step Best Badass Bride Framework to walk you through how to do just that so you can drop up to 2 dress sizes in under 90 days without excessive exercise or giving up your favorite foods.

 
Click to schedule your Badass Bride Building session
 
 

You doin the damn thaaang! One more step.

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To access your Free 3 Day Fit Bride Formula click here to be redirected to my FREE Facebook Group

3 essential skills every bride-to-be needs for confidence

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There are some people, real or fictional that are always associated with that “tool”.

Tommy Pickles and his screwdriver.

Woman Wonder and her lasso.

Ash Ketchum and his cap.

via GIPHY

 

*Okay, I chose all fictitious characters but you get the idea.*

These tools, in essence, are an extension of their identity and define who they are, or who they want to be.

They somehow amass some powers and rise to whatever occasion that has the audacity to confront them.. whether an infant leader, Amazonian Goddess or Pokemon Master.

With their tool, they get shit done.

Tools are resources that help you to overcome challenges. In most cases, the more challenging something is, the more resources, skills(or tools) are required to knock it out the park.

*Challenge of wedding confidence for the bride-to-be enters the chat*

In what I’ve come across, this is a universal goal for every bride-to-be but it looks differently for each. Despite the differences, there are unifying factors *ahem tools* or in this case, skills that facilitate the process and make it a reality.

And contrary to popular belief, these go far beyond external appearance.

When you are able to add these tools to your toolkit, and ultimately life… Transformations happen.

And that’s cool.

So, here are the 3 essential skills every bride-to-be needs for wedding confidence.

Skill 1- Curiosity

Killer of cats? Yes.

But also a critical skill to improving your wedding confidence. When you’re able to act curiously with yourself, some pretty magical things are bound to happen.

First off, you’ll be able to diffuse any and all mean ass thoughts that could enter your head.

You know those mean thoughts I’m referring too. I call them the “not enoughs”.

“I’m not thin enough.”

“I’m not pretty enough.”

“Not confident enough”, etc.

Let’s look at these through the lens of curiosity.

When you’re curious, you lower threatening emotions and thoughts.

Curiosity works better than criticism for changing.

Skill 2- Compassion

Think of a goal you have for your wedding.

It could be feeling more confident,

Building lean muscle,

Feeling totally zen, or

losing weight.

Whatever it is, imagine you need to nail every single thing perfectly to meet that goal and if you don’t…

“You’re too lazy”,

“You don’t want it badly enough”,

“You’re stupid”, or
“You’re unmotivated.“

Sit with those feelings for a bit…

It sucks, right?

The self-criticism spiral starts and you feel full of shame for failing “yet again.”

Self-compassion fixes that and is a major key.

via GIPHY

Compassion researchers identify three parts to self-compassion:

Self-kindness,

Common humanity, and

Mindfulness.

When you’re in touch with these three, combined with being curious, you begin to seek out solutions and make things better instead of harshly criticizing and feeling worse.

Instead of thinking;

“I’ll never feel confident for my wedding.” You think, “I’m not feeling the confidence level I want yet, but how can I start getting there?”(there’s curiosity creeping in.)

Rather than staying comfortable and no longer progressing, you allow yourself to step into discomfort to push your limits to grow like trying on something that might feel like a bit of a stretch now but exposing yourself to the sensation(and if not ready, it’s a “not yet.” not a “never.“)

Instead of thinking;

“I need to be perfect.” You think, “I’m consistently doing what needs to be done and focusing on progress and the process. How can I keep this up?”

Which actually brings me to the third skill.

Skill 3- Consistency

Consistency is the most slept on skill here for improving wedding confidence. Every other skills gets built atop when consistent.

Without consistently practicing the first two skills, nothing really sticks. You’re unarmed.

Without his screwdriver, Tommy is trapped in the play pen.

Without her lasso of truth, Wonder Woman ain’t gettin the true deets of the shit going on, and

Ash loses another gym battle without his hat.

Is this simple? Of course it is.

Is it easy? Not so much.

Most people can start something, and can even endure it for a good amount of time but where it starts to fall apart is when what’s trying to be kept up isn’t sustainable.

Long consistency is better than short intensity

One way to accomplish the goal of wedding confidence is to break the big goal down to skills, practices and actions.

How a Bride-To-Be can start feeling more confident for their wedding

See how all these skills work together?

How can you consistently be self-compassionate?

Where can you consistently be curious?

Overtime, you’ll be able to facilitate that ultimate transformation to becoming more confident for your wedding while doing more of the things that make change easier and likely to stick.

 

 

 

5 Simple Ways To Boost Wedding Workout Motivation

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Wedding Workout Motivation is kinda kooky, right?

Motivation in general is yet another nebulous term that everyone knows what it looks like, but not how to acquire it.

Or to keep it.

Or even, what it looks like for them, contrary to what I just said.

You know a motivated person when you see them.

“She’s so motivated and on her shit!”

“She’s such a motivating person!”

“I wish I was as motivated as her to *insert thing you’re looking to be motivated for*”

It’s common to want to partake in exercise and nutrition changes on the road to your wedding.

Whether you want to lose weight, build muscle or a combination of both for your wedding- you’re here looking for the motivation needed to kick it into high gear.

So, to make this as valuable as possible in the shortest amount of time, here’s a listicle(ugh, I hate listicles) to help you take action to motivate yourself.

Cool? Cool.

1.) Remember your signature color

In Legally Blonde, Elle went dress shopping for what she thought would be a super special night with Warner. To her friends surprise, she ended up going with a Blue Dress, rather than a pink one. To that, a retort was made “I don’t understand why you’re completely disregarding your signature color!”

Now, Elle’s night didn’t go as planned. It actually was horrific. 

Am I saying that if she didn’t disregard her signature color, it would’ve went swimmingly?

Well, no. But it sure makes you think, doesn’t it?

That being said, are you disregarding your signature color?

Meaning, are you completely ignoring your strengths and preferences when it comes to your wedding workout motivation?

Motivation is a result from action, not the other way around. 

If you have a fitness goal to meet and lack motivation, but love coordinating your workout garb, play into that strength!

Pick out your fun shoes, top and leggings and let how you feel in your outfit motivate you to move.

Perhaps you lack motivation about eating healthy because you’re so bored with your normal meals. Spice it up!

Even if you don’t like to cook, there are plenty of strategies to eat in a way that supports your goals, while taking into consideration what you enjoy.

Lastly, what do you love doing?

Are you a hiker? Break out dem boots and hit the trails.

A kayaker? Throw the life vest on and start paddling.

A tennis player? Get yo Serena Williams on.

A dancer? Bust some moves.

The point being, don’t disregard those signature colors, prioritize them.

When you can fuse movement with passion, you no longer feel the “dread” of a workout, in fact, it’s motivating to take part.

Doing more of what you like is not disregarding your signature color, it’s highlighting it.

It’s flaunting it.

Owning it.

This is sure to motivate you into taking action by adding in something enjoyable to you.

2.) Post for Proof

“Pics or it didn’t happen”

Now we’ve heard the term and likely used the term, despite knowing it’s not necessarily true. I unfortunately don’t have a photo of the time I met Kelly Clarkson in a Toys R Us, but it in fact did happen and I bet you’re probably like “yeah okay” as you’re reading this.

*I was too nervous to ask for a photo then saw someone after me take a picture with her and I was upset*(extra bonus lesson- ask for what you want.)

It’s pretty much a fun way to say “You’re full of shit unless you can show me you’re not full of shit.”

If it’ll help you, post yourself somewhere after completing a fun moving session, even if it’s a story that goes poof after 24 hours.

I mean, you’re already gonna be in your super duper fly gym outfit as per point 1. You’re not gonna waste the opportunity to take a photo AND move, are you?

Think about it… Posting the proof will:

  • get you a great selfie,
  • provide a sense of accomplishment for completing your workout, and
  • give you the opportunity post something and keep yourself accountable.

3.) Pick a Badass Bride Playlist

Music is my thing. There’s also a fun recurring meme in many iterations where it equates the absolute worst thing on earth with getting to the gym, only to forget your headphones.

Worst thing? Well, no.

But it ranks pretty highly on the shit scale.

Music has magical powers, it can:

  • tell you a story,
  • understand you in a vulnerable moment, and
  • get you hyped as fuck.

Lacking Wedding Workout Motivation?

I dare you to play a bass heavy song while you search the depths of your soul looking for this elusive motivation to “find you.”

I can’t guarantee you’ll actually use that song to move, but I can guarantee you won’t sit still.

Since you’re not sitting still, you might as well get on up and do some physical activity.

Side note: Not a workout playlist, but I’ve compiled a playlist to help you cultivate feelings of confidence for your wedding day available as a bonus from The Badass Bride’s Confidence Code.

4.) Take one step at a time

If the end goal is go to the gym for a workout, that could be too daunting. So let’s reverse engineer this.

Okay, alllllll the way at the end is the gym, cool.

Before actually getting to the gym, you had to drive to the gym.

You didn’t start driving to the gym until you started your car.

Car got started after you got your workout garb on and filled your gym bag with towels, water bottle, protein shake, and of course, your headphones.

Gym bag wasn’t packed until you got up off the couch.

Now that was a lot of stuff from couch to gym, right?

Instead of focusing on the end of “getting to the gym”, take the next immediate, easy step right in front of you.

You got into your gym clothes, packed your gym back AND started your car.

Now the only thing to do is go.

5.) Schedule it

Now this may seem super fucking simple(because it is), but think about this…

You’re engaged and you have a wedding to plan, exciting right?

If you don’t know the date as of yet, ideas are kinda just floating in your head.

You know what sounds good and what you’d like to see, but you’re more in the what I call “entertaining things” stage.

You’re filling up your Pinterest board and gathering #weddinginspo to eventually, act on it.

Once you know the save the date, you workin workin cause you now have a deadline.

The entertaining stage graduates to the commitment stage because as you get closer, you need to make sure shits in line and accounted for.

That is Parkinson’s law in action my friend.

The date gives you a timeline to work off and simply by scheduling it, you start taking action.

Let’s look back at your wedding workout motivation.

Do you wake up thinking “I need to workout today but I’m not feeling motivated.”

My clients sometimes think that, and despite feeling a “lack of motivation”, it still gets done because they put their workouts into their schedule instead of hoping motivation finds them to get them started.

Interestingly enough, they often feel an elevated mood after completing their workout.

“I’m glad I showed up today instead of cancelling, I feel energized” is something I’d hear.

You can still take action toward your goals without feeling motivated.

It’s just hard to start.

But after you begin, you feel more motivated to keep going. And that’s the trick, getting started.

Use all the resources you have to make it as easy as possible to start, and add scheduling it to your bag o’ tricks.

Remember,

Motivation is the game of hide and seek that you’ll always win because motivation ain’t checkin for you, you need to find it.

With that said, here’s a quick recap of the are the 5 simple ways you can boost your wedding workout motivation.

Don’t disregard your signature color

Cause if shit ain’t fun, it won’t get done.

Post for proof

“Pics or it didn’t happen” can be a great accountability boost to have you take action

Make a Badass Bride Playlist

Music has the power to get you hyped to get moving, so use it.

Take one step at a time

because you can’t do step 5 at the end before doing steps 1-4.

Schedule it

because there are 7 days on the calendar and “someday” ain’t one of them.

Want free workouts for you to be able to schedule?

Hop into The Best Badass Bride Brigade Facebook Group where I post Workout Wednesday’s.

It’s just up to you to schedule it, make it easy!

How to Smash your Wedding Health and Fitness goals

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What’s Your Wedding Health and Fitness goal?

Could be fat loss, or wanting to lose x number of pounds.

Perhaps muscle growth? Where you’re looking to sculpt your shoulders and back to accentuate the dress you plan to wear.

Maybe it’s just feeling full of vitality, energy, happiness and good vibes so you can feel your best on this day of matrimony and fun.

Whatever it is, if you declare any of the goals I just shared and stop there, it’s incomplete.

In fact,

It’s why you likely won’t smash your wedding health and fitness goals.

Setting a goal like that, then stopping is the equivalent to saying “I want a horse carriage at my wedding!”

Then, doing nothing.

Or, magically expecting for it to show up.

Saying Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo to all the pumpkins and mice in the world won’t do a damn thing unless you have a Fairy Godmother(or the resources and systems) to help you achieve your goal.

It takes consistent skills and practice to achieve any goal and see any change but the beauty is, you can start right where you are with what you have.

So, how can you smash your wedding health and fitness goals?

Glad you asked, here’s the 4 steps to doing so.

1.) Marry your behaviors, leave outcomes at the altar

The goals of fat loss, muscle growth or general health are what’s known as “outcome goals”.

Outcome goals are the finish line and where you want to end up, usually ending in a number, such as; “I want to lose 10 pounds.”

However you’d like to look, feel and show up for your wedding day, would be your outcome based goal. 

What is good about these, are, they give you a target to aim for. When you reach that number, you know you’ve accomplished the goal.

Yay!

But, remember I said they’re incomplete.

Outcome based goals don’t tell you what actions to take and we can’t control outcomes.

Behaviors on the other hand, share what we’re willing to do(or not do) to accomplish a goal. 

Behaviors are the actions that lead to accomplishing the outcome goal, (which, fills in the gap of actions needed to take that outcomes leave out.)

Since we can control our behaviors, and you choose what you’re willing to do, it’s generally a more positive experience in moving toward your goal.

Not to mention a much higher rate of success.

So I repeat, marry your behaviors and leave outcomes at the altar.

If you’ve been in this thing called life for, I don’t know, at least past 5 years of age… I’m sure you’ve gotten familiar with the idea that “shit happens” in life.

Think of “shit happens” as outcomes.

You can plan a night out with your bridesmaids to a nice restaurant or bar.

You can throw on your nicest threads, doll yourself up in make-up and be ready to hit the town…

Then it rains,

or you get to the bar and its ridiculously crowded, or worse,

an annoying ex is there and does not let their presence be ignored.

“Shit happens?”

Yeah, big time, but that’s the nature of outcomes and despite well intentions, you can’t control outcomes.

You can, however, control the behaviors that lead to the outcomes you want.

In that same example, the outcome(or what you want) is a night of fun! So what can be done if/when shit happens?

It’s raining, so maybe wear an outfit you still feel great in that provides protection from the drizzles.

Favorite bar crowded and ex hounding you? Maybe bar hop, or even try a new place altogether cause fun, no matter where, is the outcome here.

So, when outcomes beyond your control rear their ugly head and get in the way of your wedding health and fitness goals.

Like getting stuck at work,

Kids getting sick, or

You getting sick.

Think of the behaviors you can control and marry them to help you smash your wedding health and fitness goals.

2.) Bouquet Toss All or Nothing and perfectionism

If you’ve ever tried to do the exercise and eat better dance for weight loss, you might’ve taken on the “all or nothing” approach.

You know the deal.

  1. “Be really good” and resist any and all things that even resemble an indulgence, and
  2. Go super hard in the gym every day, pounding your body to the pavement.

But what happens when this incredibly high standard can’t be sustained?

Say, you have a cake tasting during when you normally go to the gym and by the time it’s over, the gym closes before you got your workout in.

Or, say you’re on an engagement shoot that went a little longer than anticipated and afterwords you get hungry and eat out at a nearby restaurant.

If you’ve done this dance, these very real events could’ve just derailed you and knocked you off your groove.

You didn’t get to the gym, “so you failed.”

Or you ate out when it wasn’t in the plan “so you failed”

In the end, you think that because you weren’t perfect, you “failed.”

Time to bouquet toss that all or nothing, perfectionist mentality to smash your wedding health and fitness goals.

Did you catch something interesting about those two scenarios?

Yeah, those are outcomes.

The gym closing and the shoot going longer than anticipated were beyond your control.

yet another reason why marrying behaviors and leaving outcomes at the altar is better for smashing your wedding health and fitness goals.

You already know what happens when you go into a goal expecting perfection.

You inevitably eat something that doesn’t support your goals or you miss a workout and feel like you blew it.

But here’s some good news.

You don’t need to be perfect to smash your wedding health and fitness goals

When you go into a goal without expecting perfection, you inherently give up the all or nothing mentality so when an obstacle does come up, you don’t feel shame that makes you want to quit.

You simply adjust and choose a behavior that you can do when life throws a curveball.

When you bouquet toss all or nothing and perfectionism, you release so much pressure from yourself because who’s perfect?

You’re not a bad person or a failure if you miss a workout or have dessert.

In fact, in many cases, they’re great to incorporate and are actually two pillars of The Best Badass Bride Blueprint.

Skipping a workout is practicing Majestic Movement, and allows for your body to recover and rest(so you can continue seeing results).

Enjoying a treat(and then moving on) is practicing Nourishing Nutrition because you should be allowed to indulgence if you have a particular hankering without feeling guilt or shame.

Imperfection doesn’t make you a failure, it makes you human and allows you to move toward your wedding health and fitness goals more easily because you’re not setting yourself up for a fall.

3.) Break Goals down to skills, practices, and actions

Now that you know behaviors give you control and share what you’re willing to do, let’s make sense of how you can add this into your life.

Remember that Outcome Based Goals lack the “how to” and actions you need to take to accomplish them.

So let’s fikiki break it down

via GIPHY

Your goal is ultimately what you want, we get that. But have you ever broken it down further?

Say your goal is;

Losing weight for your wedding, 

Improving confidence for your wedding, or

Learning how to eat better for your wedding so you can improve your health.

You need to determine what skills, or what abilities you need to accomplish your goal.

Maybe you need food shopping and meal prep skills to eat healthier?

Perhaps you need time management skills so you can allot specific time to moving during the week.

Get the picture?

Cool, but we ain’t done.

After you know what you wanna move toward(the goal,)

and know what you need to get good at to accomplish the goal(the skill,)

you need to add practices to build the skill.

Using the same skills above, let’s drill down to practices that may help build the skill.

A practice for food shopping would be to take inventory of what you already have cause you don’t need to buy another damn bottle of vinegar, you already have like three….

A time management practice can be to actually make time to move, instead of just saying “I need to go to the gym” and hope the motivation fairy dropkicks you out the door.

Goals are met when you break them to skills that are broken to practices that you consistently act on, which, brings us to the last part.

Actions are the “doing” to form the practice that build the skill(s) necessary for your goal.

The thing about actions are, they don’t have to be this ginormous, intimidating, scary, audacious thing to drive progress.

It’s actually better if they’re small, and able to be done on a daily basis.

So like, do that.

Actions to practice building the skill of time management so you can lose weight for your wedding could be;

  • doing audits of your time,
  • actually putting movement into your schedule(cause the motivation fairy ain’t comin), and/or
  • keeping a time diary/journal..

Gonna skew off a bit cause I’ve been super serious for a couple of paragraphs… I’m someone where if I see a word that reminds me of a song, I bust out into singing so I’m now obligated to sing Alicia Keys’ song “Diary” cause I won’t tell your time secrets…. Your time secrets are safe with meEEeeeEEEeeeeee”

Actions to practice building the skill of food shopping so you can eat in a way that improves your health for your wedding could be;

  • go in with an actual plan/grocery list, and/or
  • buy nutrient dense food option

Pick what’s easy and that you can do, consistently.

Also note that these actions, are also behaviors, meaning, you control them.

These actions, when done consistently become habits.

These habits, when done consistently, help you smash your wedding health and fitness goals.

*Did you notice how consistently I mentioned consistently?*

4.) Follow The Three Pillars of The Best Badass Bride

The pillars of the Best Badass Bride is my way of helping Overwhelmed Brides-To-Be ditch dieting, enjoy empowering exercise and bust body image issues so you can confidently enjoy your wedding day happier, healthier and more excited than ever(by making choices you feel good about.)

Smash Your Wedding Health and Fitness Goals by incorporating the 3 pillars of The Best Badass Bride Blueprint

Here are the 3 pillars, from most important(Body Joy Bravery) to least, but still important(Majestic Movement)

Following the pillars will allow you to smash any of your wedding health and fitness goals in a way that’s in alignment with you, your values and priorities so you can feel your most empowered, authentic self on your wedding day.

How I look at it, when it comes to your wedding health and fitness goals, they;

  • need to be realistic,
  • doable, and
  • something that you can follow consistently(there it is again).

Without consistency, nothing else matters.

This is why;

starting with actions, to

then build habits for your practices, that

become skills

will help you smash your wedding health and fitness goals.

Didn’t do any of this before? That’s probably why this whole things feels so damn hard.

See why it’s just that much more effective than outcome based goals when you follow this 4 step formula?

So, let’s recap…

Marry your behaviors, leave outcomes at the altar

because no matter how much you may try,  you can’t control outcomes….

Bouquet Toss All or Nothing and Perfectionism

They’re not required to help you get to your goal(s), plus, operating that way makes you feel shitty, full of shame, and wanting to quit. Why sign up for that?

Break Goals Down

A goal on its own isn’t enough. It doesn’t tell you anything more than what your target is, but when you can adopt the skills, practices and actions that make the goal a reality, you have your steps to take.

Follow The Three Pillars of The Best Badass Bride

If you’re having trouble knowing what actions, practices and skills are required to help you smash your wedding health and fitness goals, you can follow the curriculum of The Best Badass Bride Blueprint.

Here’s to you smashing your wedding health and fitness goals!

“Dorian offers modifications for abilities”- Jennifer D

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“There are several great things that I have experienced with Dorian”- Stacie

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See what Donna had to say

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“I would never thought in my life that my body would be as toned as it is because of him” – Jen

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“I told everybody that I can when I train with Dorian, he’s the complete package” -Sue

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How To Reduce Your Wedding Stress

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Wedding stress has a set of unique obstacles outside of regular, everyday stress.

As we all know, stress is pretty debilitating.

It negatively affects physical and mental health and makes you feel shitty.

Likeeeee, “I don’t even wanna do the things I enjoy doing” shitty, or

“I want to just remove myself from people that I love” shitty.

It also negatively impacts your ability to focus, think, sleep and workout and recover.

If you’re looking for wedding weight loss, being too stressed will stop you in your tracks.(and the kicker here, exercise actually helps to relieve stress but if you’re too stressed, your workouts suffer)

Stress is pretty much a time out you wanna take in life, but can’t.

But stress during wedding planning?

Ya know:

On top of your other responsibilities,

Obligations, and

priorities, you might even forget your own name you’re so damn stressed.

It feels like it’s not not fair…

Also, very rude.

Like life, can you read the room please and chill?

Allow me to borrow from Alanis Morissette’s “Ironic”

“It’s like rain on your wedding day

It’s a free ride when you’ve already paid”

Stress is getting a bunch of shit you’re not asking for when all that you need, relief, is so hard to grab.

via GIPHY

If you’ve started trying to remedy your wedding stress with no avail, watch the video below because;

  • You deserve to take back the “I can do this” feeling and get re-excited for your wedding.
  • Your fiance doesn’t deserve to get throat punched because you’re stressed and don’t have a productive means of dealing with it(although, I can’t definitively say that).
  • Workouts suffer greatly when stressed and you want to get back to moving (and recovering) efficiently and effectively, and
  • It will make the Fireman super happy.

So watch the video for the Fireman

The Introverted Bride Guide To Blissful Confidence

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You are soon to be an Introverted Bride!

But the traditional wedding day as shown in media might make an Introverted Bride as yourself feel uneasy, anxious or even completely out of character. 

You want to get married, yes.

But a WEDDING? Oooooof.

Like “a grown up Sweet Sixteen with liquor and cousin/friend hookups and chocolate fountains?”

I mean hey, that sounds super fun to me.

But this is your journey and what you want, which, may not be that insanely awesome thing I just mentioned.

Calling the shots and having people follow your lead isn’t the role of an Introverted Bride.

There seems to be this weird disconnect in your role because;

-you’re not a fan of the spotlight and the first dance or continually speaking with guests seems like it’ll be hella weird

-being a Bridezilla is literally a parallel universe where you’re in hell, and

-you just wanna get married

Here’s a quick guide for you to help navigate being the Introverted Bride you were born to be with unwavering confidence, so you can enjoy your day as you see fit.

1.) Live Your Truth

What a powerful position to be in. When society tells you to zig, but you zag.

Just because you’re an Introverted Bride doesn’t mean you’re any less of a bride.

It’s not better or worse, it’s just different.

Different in a way that reflects your desires, interests and reality.

Being grounded in a place that allows your values, authenticity and special sauce to shine is a MOOD.

A true feat.

Acting just like The Best Badass Bride.

You’re not going to need external validation or feel pressure to act a certain way to fit a role.

Isn’t that a pillar to confidence?

To comfortably and colorfully be yourself, without regard to other’s opinions or judgments?

If you would rather be that Introverted Bride who isn’t;

  • needing receptions on the moon,
  • bouquets arranged from flowers plucked from the Garden of Eden or
  • cake boss-esque creations with a topper depicting you on your first day years ago, then live that truth!

Be okay with behaving how you see fit, it is your day.

2.) Know introversion isn’t about lacking confidence

I’m sure you’ve associated being an introvert to obviously hating people or fearfully cowering at social settings at some point.

So an Introverted Bride will obviously cower at their own wedding, right?

Well, that’s a common misconception about introverts.

The psychological definition of introversion is the tendency to be concerned with one’s own thoughts and feelings rather than external things.

So sure, all the bells and whistles or accouterments that come with traditional weddings may not grip you.

You’re likely more concerned with how you’ll feel on your big day and what being married signifies.

The common misconception is probably fueled from the perspective of how extroverts view introverts.

This also falls under living your truth.

With this slight perspective shift on what introversion is….

Do you even lack confidence?

When you’re aware of your own personality, it speaks to how you can it use it as a strength rather than a hindrance.

So how would being concerned with your own feelings instead of external things look like as an Introverted Bride? 

Write a list of all the things through that definition.

3.) Keep that bridal party small to mitigate overwhelm

I feel this one is a pretty obvious one, but deserved to be included.

Since you get to decide who is and isn’t in your party, it’ll probably serve you to keep it more intimate, right?

If you even want one.

If things get too crowded, overwhelm and anxiety could Creep like Radiohead and menacingly stare at you…

All day…

*like a weirdo who doesn’t belong here*

Because of your own doing.

So, don’t do that!

An Introverted Bride can keep cool by selecting that ill squad of Bridesmaids, ones that don’t fuck up wedding weight loss 

The Introverted Bride guide in 3 simple steps

Live that truth

Know what introversion really is

Don’t put yourself in a possible overwhelming position by keeping that bridal party small or removing it altogether.

Want to bounce ideas and other concerns off other engaged women?

The Badass Bride Brigade is the supportive, welcoming environment to do so.

You are cordially invited and we’d be honored with your presence.

Click the picture below to join!

Fuck you society! How to be confident on your wedding, no matter how you look

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You’ve likely pictured how magical your wedding would be since you were a little one. You also likely dreamt of being confident for your wedding in your amazingly luxurious attire.

“I want to have a fountain that shoots chocolate and have unicorns fly me in on a glittery carriage as the person of my dreams anxiously awaits to take my hand in marriage as fireworks go off in the background and we retreat to our castle.”

I don’t know too much about the first two but it seems like an ideal wedding from a kid’s imagination, right?

I mean, getting married is THE ultimate fantasy, correct?

You’re a princess on your wedding day.

At least, that’s how popular movies depict it princesses and weddings.

That you need saving from a man to be complete, right?

Fuck that archaic statement and perspective!

The fact that you as a young, impressionable mind began the mental footwork towards a very important life decision that would be made DECADES later shows how society has a hand in programming your wants and desires.

Have you heard these specifically or in any iteration?

“You should want marriage.”

“That’s not lady-like, you should be more like *insert behavior*”

“You should learn how to be a mother.”

“You’ll never find a husband that way.” (Not to exclude the LGBTQ+ population, this is just the narrative that society has been preaching; another problem in itself.)

Any or all sound familiar?

All these messages are planted in your brain and normalized.

What you tell yourself and are consistently exposed have the ability to become your identity.

Images and ideas(even false ones or ones not rooted from fact) get continually reinforced and can scarily enough, become a part of you.

It may not be what you truly want, but that’s what you’re “supposed to do.”

So you relent.

Society says white picket fence and “two and a half kids in the suburbs is the ultimate goal,” for everyone.

Well, how is that fair?

How does that even make a lick of sense?

We are all uniquely different and as such, lead different lifestyles.

I have different goals and aspirations from you, and you from the next person.

How are your desires for your life less “realistic” or “socially acceptable” just because what you want out of life disagrees with what you’ve been conditioned to want?

I’m here to let you know it’s still very much valid, and I support you wanting to screw off.

Autonomy is the best trait for a Bride-To-Be to have in my opinion because you deserve to do more of what will make you, not society, happy.

If an overwhelming majority of media, either print, video, music or social constantly pushes their agenda on you, it could start to rattle your core and make you question yourself.

You might begin to feel your life is scripted by an unknown patriarchal screenwriter who refuses to let you adlib and march to your own beat.

How can you feel confident for your wedding that way?

Where it’s said being your most authentic and unabashed self is frowned upon.

That everywhere you look is an image or idea contrary to you and yours. Be it;

“You don’t have the right body type.”

“This is a man’s world, you have to play the game.”(Which implies there’s an actual game, with winners and losers.)

“You need to be a mother, how dare you not want kids!?” or,

“You say you don’t want them now, but you’ll change your mind”(Which socializes women needing to want children.)

“Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.” (Which implies there’s only one way to have a relationship, and it’s either heterosexual or you’re wrong.)

“Don’t rock the boat. Don’t voice your opinion”(Which implies you shouldn’t take up any space and should just do what you’re told.)

Among many other confining, controlling structures.

You might even think “if you can’t beat em…”

Well, fuck society and the mold it tries to put all womxn in.

It’s particularly prevalent to engaged womxn.

From assuming you want a dress and how you “should” look, to traditions, to hair and make-up. It’s so much, it loses sight of what a wedding is about!

You and your fiance and love and shit.

My goal is to help empower you to feel as confident for your wedding as you can be, free from societal clutches.

It might look like losing weight for your wedding.

It might not.

Perhaps it’s wanting to build lean muscle for your wedding,

Perhaps not.

It might just be wanting a way to feel a sense of belonging in the body you are currently in.

It’s not my job or society’s job to define it for you.

But before any work can be done, I must first ask…

What does being confident for your wedding look like to you?

Not to be confused with self-esteem. (Self-esteem contributes to your self-confidence but is different. Self-esteem is how we value ourselves and perceive our value to the world.)

As I’ve just stated, this is very personal to you. We all have a different view on it, so get clear on it.

Write down your definition of confidence as it pertains to you.

Second, list the attributes of someone you admire that has confidence. What about them oozes confidence?

Lastly, ask yourself what could you do, be or achieve if you had all the confidence you needed? These all help you to create a personal confidence creedo.

You might have limiting beliefs in certain areas of your life. Those same beliefs put the vacuum to your confidence and suck it dry.

You may be very confident in your abilities or job! For example,

You walk up in that bitch, standing tall and demanding the room once you get to work.

You picture an anthem going off as you strut in(Like “I’m Every Woman” that shit is montage material and you FEEL that) and people take notice.

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You aren’t dared messed with. You’re respected, admired, and questionably, coveted.

On the flip side, what if you may not be as confident in social situations?

How you present in your behaviors, body language, how you speak and how you think about yourself gets picked up on.

You might be curled over instead of standing or sitting tall.

Maybe you cower and hope no one speaks to you instead of boldly initiating conversation and making your presence known.

Perhaps you might dread for it to be over so you can escape instead of spreading your power and making the best of it.

Very different scenarios right?

Confidence is that thing that manifests in every aspect of our lives, so it makes sense to cultivate it to serve us.

Higher confidence allows you to get more out of life so you can aspire to The Best Badass Bride, and just general badassery.

As humans, we’re drawn to the confident.

The confident get perceived different.

When you lack confidence, others lack confidence in you.

Who would you want in your circle? “Every Woman” or “Cowering Carrie”?

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So, what the hell is confidence and how do you become confident for your wedding?

Confidence, according to Merriam Webster, is a feeling or belief that you can do something well or succeed at something.

Your level of confidence naturally defaults to your current feelings of yourself and your abilities. This once again calls back to your childhood environment and if you’ve had a nurturing upbringing or a more rocky one.

The good thing is you can start to feel confident for your wedding right now!

You can start to change the belief in yourself right now, no matter what you’ve been through, in time for your wedding!

The goal here is to increase that feeling of you doing well and succeeding.

Succeeding at being a The Best Badass Bride.

The more confident you are, the more in control you feel and the better you perceive your life to be.

Here’s How you can Start To Feel More Confident On Your Wedding Day, no matter how you look

1.) Embrace imperfection

“When perfectionism is driving, shame is always riding shotgun”- Brene’ Brown

The first step in becoming more confident for your wedding is to accept that nothing is 100% and to embrace what is working.

The sooner you can realize that perfectionism is a fairy tale(and not a good one), the sooner you can shed the ways of The Overwhelmed Bride-To-Be and accept yourself for who you are.

You give yourself the ability to really thrive in life.

Good enough is good enough.

Your best is good enough.

If society tells you you’re not good enough, being in the position to say “I am good enough because I’m doing the best I can” is the ultimate fuck you to society.

When you give it your all, you’re winning.

Periodttt.

Your partner, close friends and family love you just as you are, which leads to point two.

2.) Support Others

You can boost your self-confidence by being supportive!

By supporting others, you feel uplifted and valued by sharing your magic sauce.

When your “drip” gets used to help other people grow, it makes you realize you’re good at something.

Being good at something increases confidence!

This empowers you to do other challenging, but worthwhile things.

Side bonus- you instantly feel better about yourself cause you helped out!

Got the fuzzies? Good.

Onward to point three

3.) Use Positive Self-Talk

Positive self-talk goes a long way in building your confidence.

As someone who needs to fit in a wedding attire, it’s easy to dissect all the “flaws” you have and become fixated on them. Instead of getting frustrated and angry about something you have, why not shine the spotlight on what you love about your body?

Might be a feminine curve.

Might be your radiant and alluring eyes.

Might be your seductive smile and lips.

Might be your work-ethic, something not related to appearance or the physical!

What are those things that you wouldn’t change about yourself? Make a list of them.

Now take it a step further.

Why do you like what you like?

Not “I get a lot of compliments on it”(although, that can help.)

What do YOU like about it? How does it add to your life?

Do you feel sexy and confidence in your favorite outfit because your curves complement you and you can just relax in it, without feeling uneasy, tightly wound or scared of judgement?

Do you love your legs because they’re strong enough to help you walk upstairs and support you?

Do you love your butt because they make your favorite pair of leggings or palazzo pants really pop so you feel confident?

Do you love your hips because they in fact, do not lie?(I just had to)

Do you love your eyes because you give a gaze to your partner and they just absolutely crumble and go mind-blank and you love the power that comes with it?

You can feel confident in your body.

You can feel confident in other areas of your life.

You can learn to love your body and heal your image, despite society’s conditioning.

Even taking the negative out of what you say to yourself helps. Because if you constantly tell yourself;

-” I’m unworthy of belonging”,

-“I don’t deserve success”, or

-“I can’t lose weight for my wedding“

Your behaviors will take orders from your thoughts.

Negative thoughts and feelings bring you down and lower your self-confidence.

If you can’t go to positive yet, replace the negative-talk with neutral-talk and observations.

That takes the sting out of harsh self-criticism.

For example, saying “I have cellulite” instead of “I have gross cellulite” is a step in the right direction.

4.) Visualize your day

Okay. so wedding bells are ringing and love is in the air.

It’s the big day and it’s show time!

How are you gonna feel in your big moment?

Actually visualize it.

Visualization exercises are done by athletes, speakers and even surgeons.

How do you want to feel as you’re walking down the aisle? Are you radiantly beaming and can’t help but smile because of your excitement?

Are you waiting to get to that point where your veil gets out the way and your spouse gets that first glimpse of you and makes the “OOOOH DAYUMMMMM” FACE?

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Really picture yourself slaying on your wedding day and being so care-free, confident and uninhibited while you venture off into this exciting new phase.

When you picture how you’re gonna look and feel as you become a lawfully wedded, it builds into your conscious mind that you already have the ability to be that ideal image of yourself! Do it daily!

Confident? Good!

5.) Stop trying to please everyone

Once you let go of people pleasing, you can cast off the heavy armor that weighs you down.

You can really begin to live.

Once you act in a way where your values are in tact and you can be your most authentic self, you can be confident..

Because you can live independent of people’s input.

It won’t have as much bearings on you.

You won’t look for the constant need of being externally validated.

And here’s the thing

It is okay to disagree with others

It is okay for others to disagree with you

You can still peacefully coexist.

If you don’t think that 90’s R&B and New Jack Swing isn’t the best music genre, that’s fine… You can continue being wrong.

What’s your favorite music genre?

How do you feel when someone says something you absolutely love, sucks?

Or says something is so much better.(when it so isn’t)

You hear it.

You feel it.

You disagree peacefully(or not)

But either way, you stand up for your opinion.

Them not caring for your music preference doesn’t break you. You don’t need to please them.

As long as you are in alignment with what you value, and what makes you feel most alive, valuable, loved, cared for and provides a sense of joy…. A contrarian opinion holds less weight, ideally none.

Now this may be an oversimplifcation for having to deal with family members that don’t agree with your lifestyle choices versus socierty.

But when it comes down to it, it’s your life and your business. If there is a problem, it’s a reflection on them, not you.

A lot of touch points happened in this blog post, dating all the way back to your childhood. When you think back, you will likely find that in a way, what you “want” isn’t what you want.

This ever moving target of conventional standards and conditioning can make you feel less than, uneasy, unworthy and lacking confidence.

Confidence comes from within, yes.

But we need people supporting us as we become more confident.

As they cheer you on, it grows, but it starts within.

Join The Badass Bride Brigade Facebook Group to get that support from Brides-To-Be just like you looking to slay their wedding day, as confident as can be.

 

3 Surprising Ways a Strong Pelvic Floor will Rescue Your Wedding Day

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In recent years, the pelvic floor has been gaining prevalence in our culture.

But what is it? Why does it matter? And…. It can help “rescue” my wedding day?

Oh yeah, big time! There’s a stigma with pelvic floor health. For some reason, it’s referred to as “dirty”, uncomfortable and “forbidden”.

See, the lambada is forbidden.

The forbidden city in Beijing is, uh, forbidden.

Love? They say it’s forbidden.

But NOT pelvic floor health!

Newsflash!!

Many different areas in your life get affected by the pelvic floor.

Prioritizing pelvic floor health will enhance your quality of life.

Read below to learn 3 ways how developing a strong pelvic floor will make enjoying your wedding easier.

Reason 1- Less Lumbar Pain

An overwhelming majority of the American population has back pain.

Like, SO many people.

31 million Americans experience low-back pain at any given time. You don’t want to be one of those people and you certainly don’t want back pain to afflict you whilst rump shaking on the dance floor at your reception.

There are a couple reasons that make back pain uniquely different for you as a bride on your wedding day.

1.) You will likely wear heels during your day.

Hey, you might not. But know that heels force your back muscles to work even harder!

Not to mention your feet…

Your feet absorb a force of 26,000 pounds, which, is the weight of two African Elephants.

Ya know, the largest land mammal..

TWO OF THEM.

But wait.

With a mere 2.5 inch heel, the load gets increased by 75%

And a 6 inch?? Ooooof

We love “6-inch” by Beyonce and The Weeknd and how the theme of womxn empowerment is depicted through the symbolism of an almighty womxn’s heel.

via GIPHY

But to wear?

On an occasion where you stand for a ridiculously long time, then walk Michael Myers slow…

You need all the help you can get to reduce low back pain!

Take pictures in the heels(if your shoes are even visible) then throw them off and get comfortable.

Oh, and aim for heels with a cushioned insole.

2.) You’ll likely be dancing.

If it weren’t for our spine, we couldn’t shake tailfeathers, bust moves, or “kick off the Sunday shoes”

via GIPHY

The human backbone is very strong but with other specific wedding day factors, its integrity gets compromised.

You’re stressed(both good and bad)

“WOO I’M GETTING MARRIED. THIS IS EXCITING AF”

But

“I really want my wedding to be smooth and seamless… What if it’s not? What if something goes wrong?”

Then the what if stampede starts to run amok and suddenly, out of nowhere, Mufasa is dead and it’s a tragedy.

Let’s try to save Mufasa(well, for the sake of this metaphor.)

Stress causes muscle tension in the back, which compounds with your heels and how long you stand.

So let’s strengthen your pelvic floor.

(Secondary goal, let’s save Mufasa)

Reason 2- Better Bladder Control/Less chance of urinary leakage

Have you SEEN a bride(or more accurate, the bride and bridesmaids) take off that wedding dress, JUST SO THE BRIDE CAN PEE?

Yeah, all hands on deck for that one.

There was even an item called the Bridal Buddy that featured on Shark Tank for that exact problem.

A strong pelvic floor can limit you needing to assemble bride squad to dismantle your armor, er uhm, dress.

Your pelvic floor muscles support the bladder and bowels. So not just the front but the back door has better control.

Less bathroom breaks mean you have more time to enjoy your wedding! Duhh.

Reason 3- Intensified Pleasure

You are now married.

As the old axiom goes, “first comes love, then comes marriage…”

What’s the last part? Something about a baby carriage?

Well we know how babies get made, you ain’t surprising nobody.

DO THE DEED for the first time as a married couple.

Pleasure from intercourse gets intensified with a strong pelvic floor.

Dem muscles are rhythmic, wanna dance, and got a mind of its own. (Well kind of, some contractions are involuntary so.. yeah, mindless)

Better sex?

If that’s important to you, developing a strong pelvic floor will make sense when the lights go out.

So there you have it!

A strong pelvic floor will;

  • lessen lumbar pain,
  • improve bladder control, and
  • intensify sex.

All which, will rescue your wedding day to make it more fun!

Sounds groovy right?

Take care of that pelvis, Elvis.

 

See James and Erlene’s Results

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With 3 months to get wedding ready, I coached James and Erlene on how they can achieve both their healthy living and fitness goals.

See what they had to say

The Best Wedding Diet That Will Make You Worry Less and Eat More(and see results)

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“What’s the best wedding diet?”

If I had a quarter for every time I got asked “What’s the best wedding diet for fat loss”, I’d have enough quarters to play Pac-Man from level one until completion after getting game over like 40 times, and still have plenty of quarters left for gum balls and laundry…..

For my entire family..

For a month

So yes, I hear it a lot, but I understand why.

Nutrition is a very confusing topic and seemingly new things emerge on a consistent basis.

Keto, Paleo, Atkins(banana fana fo fa fatkins)

Quinoa, bone broth, kombucha, matcha.

So many diets, so many options, so little time.

And superfoods?

“Now there’s a such thing as SUPERFOODS?  So it IS food… But better? ‘Super’ implies regular foods, are those not labelled super lacking something?. So are my regular foods enough? Am I still able to get to my goals on a non-superfood diet? Am I doing damage by eating my regular food? Is the best wedding diet comprised solely of superfoods?”

Did you make up a scenario like the one above in your head?

With information like this, it’s hard to grasp onto something that 1.) is fact and will help, and 2.) that you can realistically sink your teeth into long term.

And that’s another important factor to a successful diet, it needs to be something you can consistently follow.

If you can’t stick to something, you won’t see results. It’s that simple.

Just as you were consistently dating someone and are now engaged, your eating and healthy living habits need to walk on down that same aisle.

If you eat 2 healthy meals, you can’t expect to get to your desired end goal instantly, right?

On the same ticket, you didn’t just go on a 2 dates and say “yup, we getting married”, right?

You consistently saw them and spent time together.

You consistently put in effort to cultivate your relationship and a bond.

And overtime, you got engaged.

Same thing with diets.

Eating those healthy meals, taking care of your body with exercise, and other habits overtime is what gets you to the end goal.

But let me let you in on a secret….

I hate diets.

Let me just say that diets DO encourage you to have adequate amounts of proteins, carbs, healthy fats, fruits and vegetables.

But that’s really it.

Those are what I call obvious rules.

I’m sure your partner treats you with respect, values you, provides undying support, love, affection and makes you feel like a million dollar bill. That’s also obvious in the confines of a relationship, right?

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So where things fall apart both in relationships and diets after obvious rules are presented is what’s put into practice.

Diets are mechanisms that encourage you to remain in a caloric deficit by restricting food intake and variety. They also have a laughably low rate of success.

Why?

Diets;

  • Deprive you of what you want.

You know your favorite meal/indulgence? Yeah, you’re not allowed to have it.

  • Don’t teach skills.

You need to eat every x hours but you need to stay late at the office.. What do you do to make the best decision on the fly? (They also don’t work with your schedule or take into account any last minute changes or adaptations.)

  • Are NOT sustainable long term.

When you drastically cut calories to stay in a deficit, not only do you likely get grumpy and want to punch the first person who looks at you funny in the face, you also change your metabolism. This change will alter how your body regulates fat loss(or gain).

Cutting too many calories too quickly will cause your metabolism to become resistant to weight loss and you’ll lose more muscle than fat while in that deficit.

So if diets suck, what’s the best wedding diet?

I’m gonna let you in on another secret

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There is no BEST wedding diet…

For everybody.

Unfortunately, people are too unique and fluid to be expected to stay in a box with unflinchingly rigid guidelines.

But that’s not to say there isn’t something you can do! You can practice what I call “Nourishing Nutrition”, which is pillar 2 in The Best Badass Bride Blueprint.

Let’s go back to how the best wedding diet parallels your relationship.

You’re engaged to your partner and as much as you love them, they come with rather annoying idiosyncrasies.

They might make weird animal noises and sounds for fun in a time you want quiet.

A hobby of theirs could very well be “to annoy you”.

They may work too much.

Or possibly have a laugh that makes you look around and pretend like you don’t know them cause HOLY SHIT, THAT’S A STRANGE LAUGH.

You might think “your jokes are SO corny lol why do I love you?”

Their quirks are literally endless but the point is,

They could be so off-putting to someone else, but be the best fit for you.

You can say the key to a successful relationship is the formula for the best wedding diet.

A diet(and relationship) that

-is easily sustainable long term

-Doesn’t deprive you of what you really want and need and values your preferences

-works with you and all that comes with you, and

-you’re not constantly second-guessing if you’re doing things right

Diets are inherently flawed for reasons listed above.

If something is broken from the start, it won’t work no matter your best efforts.

You don’t enter relationships that are DOOMED from the start.

So pick what works best for you.

What are your favorite proteins, carbs, fats and fruits/vegetables?

Eat them in the proper amounts consistently and overtime you will accomplish your healthy living goal(s).

That my friend, is the best wedding diet.

Are you needing help with knowing how to eat in a way that supports your goals? 

Grab The Best Badass Bride Bible and you’ll learn how to practice Nourishing Nutrition so you can ditch dieting and improve your relationship with food.

How To Stop Bridesmaids From Fucking Up Your Wedding Weight Loss

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“If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends”- Spice Girls

 

You absolutely know this amazing line from the most perfect pop song ever devised, you’re probably singing it right now.

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I’m also sure you let your fiance know this is an unflinchingly rigid rule because you and your girls are a package. (I’ve certainly heard it in my relationships.)

Friends create such a special bond and provide support on various levels. Your friend’s support manifests as;

social satisfaction(wine nights, dinners, coffee dates, just hanging out and enjoying company)

advice for important decisions(usually like “what do you think of the person I’m interested in?” or “what do you think of me going for this job?”)

Advice on less important decisions(“Would you wear this?” or “I think *insert thought* , what do you think?”, or something else utterly stupid)

a shoulder to cry on(when you feel like your life is over, they remind you it’s not and reignite your positive outlook)

Even in some instances,  a bailout until your next paycheck comes.

These are just some ways you are supported by friends and there are countless others.

So your friends mean a great deal to you, obviously, and your bridesmaids are the best of the best.

So meaning level has just been UPPED!

Your bridesmaids know you have dress fittings, cake tasting, sample menus to try and fun cute engagement photos to take… All of which you want to look and feel great for and remain compliant on your wedding weight loss journey.

You’re in bride mode and ready to start eating better, adding exercise and adopting a healthy lifestyle.

Great!

Your changes have been going on for a good amount of time.

Your friends and bridesmaids are supporting you as you moonwalk down the badass bride-to-be dance floor.

But then…

You’re out to dinner with friends where they try to, what it seems, coerce you into having dessert or a drink. At the very time where it doesn’t fit with weight loss.

But you’re not faltering as you’re focused and committed!

“I shouldn’t. I have a dress fitting coming up.”

“Not tonight, I already had a cake tasting this week.”

“I have a photo shoot with the photographer tomorrow and don’t want to look bloated.”

All great responses that should be viewed with respect for your decision. But sometimes, someone just doesn’t relent.

Here come the peer pressuring phrases.

“Just one bite is okay” (Guilt trip?)

“You need to relax” or “you need to loosen up.” (these are commands, not requests)

“Treat yourself, you deserve it!“(this particular phrase is a dangerous one, psychologically speaking)

Situations like this can get to be a bit much and hard to deal with.

You don’t want to offend anybody and you still want to make choices that support your goal(s).

So how do you get your bridesmaids to not fuck up your wedding weight loss? Here are three methods in which to do so.

1.) Find ways to bond with bridesmaids not revolving around food.

Food has been woven into traditions, holidays, routines and rituals for as long as time.

Birthday dinner(because what better way to celebrate another lap around the calendar than to do something you do everyday anyway, but because you were born on that day, it’s special?!)

Taco Tuesday

Wine Wednesday(want to learn how to keep your wine and still see results?)

Christmas time? Make a SHIT TON of cookies

The days of the week can now dictate the menu, that’s power! But it doesn’t stop there! Let’s take another look at some scenarios.

Pregnant friend? Let’s have a baby shower but also have a shit ton of food.

Christening? Awesome, let’s have a ceremony…. Then food.

Welcome back from college! We’re having dinner with the family.

These rituals can be cultural or just traditions you live out with friends and family.

It’s nice to bond with those closest to you.

Yes, it’s also fun to partake in delicious food from time to time but those things aren’t mutually exclusive.

Also, isn’t the time spent together the more cherished memory?

Not the wine.

Or the tacos.

Nor the Christmas cookies(I know, how dare I.)

Don’t lose sight of the special times by being engorged in food.

(and please don’t think I’m anti-Christmas cookies or food at functions)

Focus on the stories that are told and the memories created with your bridesmaids.

Think about if that could demand a little more focus.

It’ll be easier to ward off food and stay compliant.

If you still can’t resist, you can still sensibly indulge by being mindful of what you eat/drink.

If you are up for trying something new, think what else can have the same or similar effect!

This leads us into method 2

2.) Implement a New Tradition with your bridesmaids

This one at first may be a little difficult and even counterproductive to the first point. Think of how you can co-mingle existing activities with more healthful behaviors or just improve an activity altogether.

Say you meet your bridesmaids for coffee and get one of those tantalizing treats on display too.

Why not still chat, but on a walk?

Or a hike?

This is a great way to increase your non exercise activity and still get some bridesmaids bonding. The more healthful behaviors you implement, the more likely you’ll get to your goal!

Wine night is very fun. Ya get ya gossip on, watch shitty(but entertaining) reality TV and once again, enjoy the time with your friends.

If you have a designated wine day of the week, try swapping it with a healthy cooking competition!

Invite a couple of your same cork dork friends over and have a cook off!

Find one or two recipes you wanna make(Or grab some from my Eat Better Recipe guide and pass them off as yours. Shush, I won’t tell!) and double or triple the recipe.

In a couple of hours, you spent quality time with ya homies and you all have delicious and healthy food for the week, a lot of which you didn’t even need to cook.

Two stones and one bird(wait, that’s not right.)

Think of those fun cooking stories just waiting to happen! Just make sure everyone won’t need the oven at the same time cause the competition may get heated.

What else can you think of where you can take a pre-existing tradition and make it more aligned with your goals?

3.) Take a Step Back

Yes, taking a step back and viewing the entire picture will let you know that your newfound change isn’t your friend sabotaging you….

Of course they want to support you. It could just be something they’re not aware of. Consider this.

While you’re on your wedding weight loss journey and start changing your actions, it threatens what’s in place.

This could piggyback off the first point of trying to bond with things other than food or be something different altogether.

Wine night isn’t as fun without everyone drinking wine.

Going out to the bar with friends ready to take shots as you order seltzer changes the dynamic.

You saying “I can’t, I’m going to the gym” while your friend was excited about potential plans she had for you can be a damper.

You want to handle these situations with compassion and openness.

Remember, when you start to do things to improve your behaviors, it threatens what’s already in place.

It also makes your friends shine a light on themselves, possibly causing feelings of guilt, shame or comparison. Especially if you’re improving something they’re sensitive about right in front of their face.

Just as you don’t want them to flash a trigger food in your face and tease you, you don’t want them to feel worse about themselves by flashing something in their face either!

Up close, it may seem like your bridesmaid is trying to fuck up your progress. But when you take a step back, they may just need to tell you what they want, what they really, really want.

So you tell them what you want, what you really, really want.

And hopefully you both can really, really, really wanna zigazig ah

(Which in this context, means a compromise and mutual understanding and respect)

via GIPHY

 

When it comes to your bridesmaids and being on a mission to lose weight for your wedding, you are bound to be tempted.

But how you handle these can drive you closer to your goal but away from your friends and vice versa.

We use food for everything!

Revolving your outings around things other than food can ward off temptation and triggers.

Healthify your traditions! 

You can completely change what you do or make what you do more healthy. The important thing is spending time with your mains.

Take a step back. 

This method requires you to be more aware of what’s going on. But in doing so, you can preserve your friendships and find a common ground that doesn’t threaten your goals or make your friend(s) feel guilty or shameful for your positive changes.

You now have powerful tools to keep you consistent on your behaviors while also enjoying time with the ones you love most.

I believe the Spice Girls referred to this as “Spice up your life.”

 

 

 

How to See Wedding Weight Loss with these 4 simple laws

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Howdy Bride-To-Be,  if you’re here, odds are wedding weight loss and looking good on your big day is your goal.

Now, I strongly believe that you can look and feel good on your wedding, no matter your body type.

I also believe that you can still love yourself and want to look different or perform different.

That said, if weight loss is a goal you have for your wedding, follow these 4 simple laws.

In fact, say “I do” to these laws.

You know when you say “I do” after you strut your stuff down that altar?

You look into your partner’s eyes(ideally, someone crying. But good crying!)

and you make that commitment to your partner? Commit to doing these too(good news, they’re simple!)

Law 1- Eat less than what you burn

What you eat and how much you eat are THE most important factors when it comes to wedding weight loss. Given that weddings are on a specific date, you have a deadline to adhere to.

I get that.

But to achieve that goal in a safe manner, you need to stay in an energy deficit.

Or consuming less than what you’re using

One of the easiest ways to reduce what you’re eating(without thinking about it too much), is to listen to your body.

When you’re hungry, your body does a couple things…

-Stomach rumblings/pangs

-Sluggish and lethargic feelings

-You might suddenly become irritable af or “hangry”

If you experience those, that is a red flag waving in your face that it’s time to eat.

So what should you eat?

Go for nutrient-dense options.

As you’re eating and you start getting full, stop that shit.

Stop eating. Even if there is still something on your plate. Save it for later.

At that point, you are full. So no need to continue. You’ll likely be good on comestibles until the next meal time(or hunger cues)

On the flip side, if you continue eating to the point of stuffed, you’re consuming extra calories.

That is in opposition of your wedding weight loss goal.

Another way to easily reduce what you’re eating is to portion it out.

Portioning meals makes it easy to meet nutrient and calorie needs, without counting or weighing.

Adjust your portions depending on your goals/needs.

For the sake of this blog title, let’s look at weight loss.

When looking at your plate, rank protein high, then either remove some carbs or fats from your meal. If still hungry, adjust the protein intake to a little more.

If defined muscle is important to you, you need to be more calculated in what you eat.

Too little protein in a deficit = losing muscle mass

Too little carbs in a deficit = workout performance and recovery suffering

Too little fats= mucked up hormone production/regulation

Can you say “I do” to eating less than you burn?

*imagines you verbally saying “I do” where I could hear*

All those opposed? We ain’t worried bout the opposers!

Law 2- Get yo sleep on

Sleep ain’t only a way to feel fresh and ready to tackle the next day.

Think of it as a behind the scenes process to improve a fuckton of functions;

From mood,

stress,

energy,

recovery,

appetite

and over 100 other functions and behaviors

sleep ain’t nun to fuck with.

A similar notion has been adopted with  the Wu Tang Clan

During sleep, you burn a shit ton of calories(or energy) just to keep you alive and kickin’

For example, one process during sleep is muscle recovery. This process takes energy(or burns calories) to undergo.

Less than 7 hours of sleep? Stop that shit and Get yo sleep on!

There are so many relationships between your sleep and how you feel, perform and operate. Even how you are as a person.

Creativity levels get swayed when sleep deprived. As well as immune function and memory

So please, for the sake of you. Badass, amazing you… Say “I do” to gettin ya sleep on”

Law 3- Stressin’ Less

Nobody WANTS stress but it’s inevitable in the lives we lead.

Stress sends attacks at your willpower. When your willpower gets compromised, behaviors that don’t serve you are appealing, such as emotional eating.

The more stressed you are, the more likely you are to feed your emotions with food that may not serve you.

The eating is a way to “deal with the stress”. So it’s important to look for ways to deal more adaptively to stressors that can help you arrive at your goal.

Some people exercise. Some people meditate. Some people read. Some people have a spa day. Some people look for distractions. Some people yell retail therapy!

What works for you? Focus on an activity that you enjoy and take care of yourself. It may be the thing you need to take you from a trigger food or scenario. Trigger foods can open the floodgate to overindulging, which, obviously, is more calories.

Contingent on your relationship with food, succumbing to a trigger food may cause guilty or shameful feelings to arise.

Which then cycles you back into emotional eating again.

When stressed, try to relax.

Control and slow your breathing. It helps to calmly soothe the body, which can strengthen your willpower. That puts you in a better position to deal with the struggle situations.

Say “I do” to stressin’ less!

Law 4- Implement Strength Training

Okay, we know that exercise is important. So why is it last?

Well, from law 1 “Eat less than you’re using”, we learned we can already be in a deficit and see wedding weight loss.

BUT.

Once you combine law 1 with law 4 here, you gon be in a great spot!

As a reminder, if you’re looking for a leaner look, it matters what your food consists of. Eat more proteins, carbs and fats in the appropriate amounts to optimize performance and body composition.

Okay, strength training!(Not cardio.)

Strength training helps to;

build and preserve muscle,

improve bone density,

keeps your heart healthy and

can improve mood and increase confidence

Picture yourself on a gym floor…

You completed an amazing lift that you thought you couldn’t before. Or performed a movement you thought was only for Instagram models.

You’d probably feel pretty fucking good about that!

“Wow, I managed that. I did that. I moved that weight. That was ALL me!”

You start to feel confident in yourself and your abilities. You become empowered to try other things in different areas of your life.

What else can get accomplished in your work life?
How can you strengthen your interpersonal relationships? 

How can other areas in your life flourish as a more confident badass?

Hit the weights 3-4 times a week and focus on compound movements.

A compound movement recruits more than one major muscle group or trains a functional movement pattern.

For example, a pushing movement such as a push-up or bench press. A pulling movement such as a row or a lat pulldown.

Compound exercises extend your calorie burn and give you the biggest bang for your buck.

Why?

They work more than one muscle group! Compound movements are also time effective. Ahh science.

There you have it!

The 4 simple laws that help you see wedding weight loss.

The 4 laws of wedding weight loss

70% of engaged women are looking to lose weight for their wedding and the average amount is 15-20 pounds.

If you need help in getting started by practicing Majestic Movement, enjoy this sample Majestic Movement workout by clicking the link.

Let me know how it works out for ya! 

 

So You Wanna Build Defined Muscle In Your Wedding Workout Plan? What You Need To Know in two steps

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You know the results you want from a wedding workout plan.

Strapping shoulders perhaps in a strapless dress.

Bangin’ biceps and toned triceps!

A core firm and tight and a back to match

You want your most visible areas in your wedding dress to POP.

You can picture it now!

Making your way down the aisle with eyes on you, but no insecurities follow.

In fact, you’re not walking.. Your confidence is allowing you to float and sail up to the altar.

You’ve thought about wanting to add muscle to your body, but have some concerns.

Which is totally fair, especially if you’re new to exercise.. So here’s what you need to know

So, defined muscles….? And how it fits in your wedding workout plan

Defined muscles are simply muscles sans a layer of fat atop. It’s that simple. You may have heard sexy terms like;

Toned

Jacked

Firm

Chiseled

Sculpted

Shredded(shredded is for cheese and chicken that goes into burritos)

This is reason ka-jillion why conventional weight loss culture annoys tf outta me.

With language that seems different, it can get confusing.

No matter your preferred nomenclature, it’s all muscle.

If you’re a newbie seeking defined muscle for your wedding, you may worry about how you’ll look after lifting.

A popular concern I’ve heard women voice is the fear of getting bulky.

You may have a concern that you’ll start to get a bulky build after lifting weights and building muscle. Often when you think of lifting weights, associations of massive individuals with impaired flexibility come to mind.

Like, can’t scratch their back massive.

Or you might think of someone who flexes and suddenly their sleeves rip onto the floor.

You may even think of someone so massive, they can’t walk through a doorway without a side shimmy.

If you have that fear, I have awesome news for you!

Lifting weights alone will not result in that non-ideal scenario for you. There are many other factors that come into consideration for “getting bulky”

Those bulkier folk have tremendously rigorous exercise routines and even more rigorous diets that deliberately keep them in caloric excess. (Here’s the “best” wedding diet btw)

God forbid they wanna add a little spice or sauce to their chicken. Those extra calories could impede their progress!

If there comes a point you’re in the position of choosing flavor and satisfaction over aesthetics, I personally feel some things need to be adjusted.

Lastly, they may get some unethical, injectable  assistance in the form of a booty shot where magically, they are pumped up.

If you don’t fall under the parasol of any of these aforementioned factors, you’re all good to go!

Let’s beef up my point more with good ol’ science!

Muscle mass gets regulated by a gene GDF-8 which encodes for a protein called myostatin. Myostatin acts as a brake pedal that gets engaged to keep excessive muscle growth in check.

Your concerns and worries are valid though!

Don’t feel nervous about lifting because womxn’s hormonal profile for bulking is different and it’s not an overnight transformation.

So, how do you build muscle and shed fat to get that “defined” look?

I’ll tell you how in two simple steps. Getting defined muscles may limit insecurities in your dress and empower you to bring out inner confidence because of how hard you worked for them!

Take my client Erlene for example.

The expectation of the two steps was set before we even started crafting her wedding workout plan.

On her wedding day, she was oozing confidence juice and loving how she felt in her dress.

Confident Erlene with defined muscles after following the wedding workout plan

Step 1- Lift Weights(and make em heavy)

Piggybacking off a previous point…

Unless you’re in a deliberate excessive caloric excess, it’s very unlikely you’ll be putting on a substantial amount of muscle mass that looks bulky.

If you do find you’re putting on a little bit too much muscle for your liking, do one of two things.

Use lighter weights and eat less.

The bulky bodybuilders eat more than what they use, or stay in a surplus.

Focus on compound exercises while lifting heavy

Compound exercises recruit more than one muscle group during a movement. A couple examples of these exercises include;

Squats

Deadlifts

Chest press

Pull-ups

Perform these more often than single joint exercises such as bicep curl. As the name suggests, it only works the bicep.

When lifting heavy on these compound movements, perform about 1-5 reps and 3-6 sets.

Why Heavy?

Wait, don’t get scurred! Heavy is relative and can fit nicely in any wedding workout plan.

Your heavy is different from your best friend’s heavy, which will be different from my heavy. (For the record, my heavy of choice is Heavy D so maybe we have a commonality).

All our heavy’s are different from Wonder Woman’s heavy and the Amazonian will fuck us all up, agreed?

Think about yourself and your specific needs and your capabilities. This’ll help you feel more comfortable, at least a tad when it comes to the term “lift heavy”.

Going heavy elicits a response from your muscles. Your muscles need a reason to grow. Intentionally putting mechanical stress on muscles in the form of heavy resistance is that reason.

You can’t yell “How ya gon pay ya bills this month muscles? Ya assed out!” and expect them to grow.

That’s not the right stress for the job.

Conversely, light n’ easy weights typically don’t put enough stress on your muscles to make them defined.

When your muscles break down from mechanical stress from heavy weights, they need to recover. That’s when they grow. So our muscles are growing, but where the definition at?

Step 2-To properly shed the layer of fat on top of muscles, eat less crap and feed yourself more nutrients.

Serve up nutrients because;

Nutrients limit deficiencies,

Nutrients aid in workout recovery and

Nutrients help you achieve optimal health.

The hierarchy of nutrients are as followed

Macronutrients

which consists of proteins, carbs and fats.

Micronutrients
which are vitamins and minerals.

Combine these with water and fiber and OOF!!

That’s the formula to a happy, defined, strong and efficient body ready for the wedding day.

In summary, if you’re looking for more defined muscles for your wedding day, do these two things..

One, lift heavy!

Don’t worry about getting bulky! You have genes in tact to regulate the process among other factors preventing immense muscle growth. Heavy weights give the muscle the stress needed to grow.

Say a 5 pound dumbbell shoulder press gets you tired and taxes your muscles.  As you consistently lift heavy, in time that weight that burned you out becomes light.

What’s to follow is a great sense of accomplishment, more strength and more muscle.

Two, properly feed your muscles.

Make sure you consume your macros, vitamins and minerals. Food is your best friend here but supplementation is also an option if you don’t get your micros in your food.

Remember to drink plenty of fluids and intake fiber so you can be a defined machine!

Last tip, grab The Best Badass Bride Bible so you can ditch dieting, enjoy empowering exercise and bust body image issues so you can shed the ways of The Overwhelmed Bride-To-Be.

 

A toast.. To your newly defined muscles!

How To Put Wine in Your Bridal Fitness Plan(and see results)

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Okay, your wedding is coming up and you’re in bridal fitness mode!

Wedding bells are chiming “bridal fitness” and ringing “bridal body” but you’re fearful you have to completely give up wine! You don’t need to be reminded of how prevalent alcohol is in society right now. In fact, I’m sure you’ve seen the wine memes/gifs! (You’ve most likely even shared them).

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You might even call it the mommy sippy cup or another euphemism to describe your vino. After all, you wanna give it a punchy name because it’s not just alcohol…. Oh no.

Sometimes you need to unwind and it’s your reward for a long day. On other occasions you need some downtime and it’s a stress reliever. Or maybe it’s wine night with the girls and it gets some fun conversations rolling. And sometimes, you feel you just simply need that divine glass of wine! After all, we can all use an escape because life gets exhausting right?(Especially for a badass bride-to-be like you KILLING the game of life.)

But of course… Too much of anything can have a downside.

When it comes to your bridal fitness plan, too much Chardonnay, Pinot,
Rosé or whatever your drink of choice is can decrease your ability to recover/replenish and skew your performance.

Let’s get into how alcohol impacts exercise, recovery and energy balance.

3 critical components to any fitness goal, namely a bridal fitness plan and even how it affects your psychological health.

Alcohol’s Impact on Exercise and Recovery

Hello… First off, dehydration!

Wine will lower your antidiuretic hormone levels(ADH) which helps to keep fluid and electrolyte balance under control. Since alcohol compromises that ADH’s function, you feel an increase to urinate and it can happen in less time than it takes to for you to finalize an outfit worthy of going out in(less than 20 mins) after your first drink.

So here’s the equation…

ADH levels dropping + plus needing to pee more frequently= DEHYDRATION and it’s SO important to be properly hydrated to get your best bridal body

This dehydration may be dry mouth, feelings of thirst or the ever annoying hangover.

via GIPHY

Now let’s say you’re exercising the next day after a night of drinking

Alcohol impairs judgment, speed, balance, focus and information processing for 1-3 days so that workout will not likely be one that sets personal records, especially since you will fatigue quicker and your endurance will suffer. This will make the workout harder than necessary!

What about exercise AFTER drinking?

Drinking after exercise will impair repair. Alcohol is a vasodilator, which widens your blood vessels. This could increase swelling in muscle tissues that are damaged and hinder the healing process, along with preventing rehydration and the synthesis of glycogen-crucial processes to recover. For example, sore muscles retain glycogen and water..

Putting it together? Alcohol making it difficult to rehydrate + impairing your glycogen synthesis = delayed results.

Alcohol’s Impact on Energy Balance

What is energy balance?

Briefly defined, it’s the relationship between the energy you take in through food and drink and energy you use in your body for daily requirements. You may have heard it referred to as “calories in, calories out” but it gets FAR deeper than that. Like, throw the bouquet deeeeeeeeep.

Here are a couple of factors that affect “energy in”

  • Your stress levels
  • Sleep quality
  • Appetite regulation hormones
  • Calories you actually ABSORB and use, not just consume

So needless to say, just “calories in” as it relates to what you eat or drink isn’t sharing the entire wedding picture here.

Knowing multiple factors that impact “energy in” and metabolism will allow you to enjoy that much-coveted wine guilt-free while on a bridal fitness plan.

Drinking regularly can increase midsection body fat in some women and make it harder to lose fat in others. Ethanol makes it so that the body converts any excess energy into stored fat.

Factors that specifically affect alcohol metabolism include…

  • Production of the enzymes such as ADH and ALDH to break down alcohol
  • Your age
  • Your lean muscle mass
  • Genetics
  • If there’s food in your stomach
  • Normal consumption habits/tolerance
  • Pre-existing liver health

And being a woman? It gets EVEN MORE specific.

Women on average have less lean muscle mass than men and have a different hormonal make up. This results in women getting intoxicated sooner with less alcohol.

Women have even been more likely to develop alcohol-related liver disease from similar alcoholic intake when compared to men and the long-term effects of chronic intake can be worse.

After all, alcohol is a toxin.

When we start sippin alcohol, your lovely liver uses enzymes to break it down into less harmful byproducts that we get rid of.(acetaldehyde to acetate to acetyl-coA)

The body can’t store acetate or acetyl-coA, so it uses them as fuel BEFORE being able to use other fuel sources such as fat or glucose.

As the body detoxifies the alcohol you consumed, other processes(such as fat burning) are put on the waitlist like that friend you kinda wanna invite to your wedding but only if someone better can’t attend.

Also, alcohol adds an extra 7 calories per gram(which will add up rather quickly). And while intoxicated, people tend to make less than ideal dietary decisions. The very decisions that are in opposition to your goal, and when acted upon, can make it more difficult or ultimately put a halt on that body you’re looking to build for your wedding day.

You know I don’t need to tell you that alcohol lowers inhibitions.

It can make you less aware of what you consume and your behaviors also change. This means things that may not appeal to you normally, sound like amazing ideas(such as greasy diner food, parkour off that park bench or karaoke when you KNOW yo ass can’t sing!)

Alcohol’s Psychological Impact

As I just wrapped up, your inhibition is lowered while under the influence of alcohol but it can have other affects on you that you may not know.

Most people enjoy their wine to improve their psychological state and act as an escape from their current reality.

You may fit in the camp where it’s easier to partake in social situations with your newfound confidence gained from your trusty friend alcohol.

There are many other reasons and they are all personal to you. But no matter what your reason(s), it’s important to know

Alcohol acts as a depressant on the brain and all the pleasures are temporary

Drinking more than 3 drinks per day or more than 7 drinks per week is defined as at-risk drinking by The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

Depending the role alcohol plays in your life, whether it’s only celebratory, coping mechanism(stress relief, dealing with loneliness or sadness) or just merely social, it’s important to identify what the reason(s) are.

Our society promotes drinking in a way that may not be congruent with your own desires and you may feel pressure to partake, but consider this.

If you thoroughly enjoy it and it adds value to your life, by all means, keep it in.

If you have a compulsory need and feel dependent on it, it could be telling of other, more deep rooted issues that are unresolved.

So how can we enjoy our wine while sticking to a bridal fitness plan?

Ooooh I’m so glad you asked because it is perfectly possible to have your wine be a harmless indulgence. In fact, there can be some benefits in it with little to no drawbacks. So listen up cork dorks, oenophiles and sommeliers alike cuz here’s what’s up…

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So where does wine fit in?

If you’re able to be moderate, be it how often you drink or how much you drink in a sitting, go getcha wine glass!

Can you enjoy a glass or two during the week? Sure, enjoy that pleasure guilt-free.

Can you obliterate a bottle night after night? See, that would make your bridal fitness plan increasingly difficult.

However, one thing that I wouldn’t recommend is trying to overcompensate exercise for the amount of alcohol you’ve consumed.

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See that gif just above? Yeah, you don’t need to do that.

Exercise isn’t the magic eraser and unless it’s intense, it has less impact on fat loss than you think.

To learn how to add Majestic Movement and put in the footwork to escape The Diet and Exercise Chaotic Circle, grab The Best Badass Bride Bible.

Trying to “burn off” calories from a binge, usually ends with fostering an unhealthy relationship with nutrition and exercise. You don’t wanna burn yourself out running that hamster wheel.

As if the “I’ll just burn it off by increasing exercise” mentality isn’t detrimental enough, thinking about stuff you “can’t” have is also a dangerous territory to step in.

Feelings of deprivation oftentimes cause binging or quitting altogether.

Instead, if you focus on everything you are gaining when it comes to drinking(or even eating healthier and exercising), it’s much easier to stick to. Plus, you won’t need to consult with your inner “Miss Perfectionist Patty” or that bitch’s sister “Miss Judgy Jenny”. (I prefer Miss Independent by Kelly Clarkson. AMIRITE y’all?)

As previously stated, drinking more than 3 drinks per day or more than 7 drinks per week is defined as at-risk drinking by The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

So now you’re asking, “well what’s a drink?” 5 oz glass of wine(12% alcohol) will constitute a drink of the title product.

Isn’t life meant to be enjoyed? If you want to incorporate the special grape nectar in it, DO IT!


But remember that wine affects 3 critical components of a fitness goal- exercise, recovery and energy balance.

When you have a fitness goal you’re looking to attain, especially one tied to a deadline like a wedding, you need to be as smart as you can be! Having an accurate account of your wine consumption and limiting where applicable is the goal here.

When it adds value to your life and is in a moderate window, go for it!

If you have a need for it outside the moderate window, ask yourself “is it to cope with something”? Is it to act as an escape?” If so, consider exploring other behaviors that could replace alcohol.

The trade-off will be worth it.

If you find yourself on the confused side of exercising for your wedding health and fitness goals, grab The Best Badass Bride Bible

This holy word shall help you towards your goals.

In it, you’ll learn how to go from The Overwhelmed Bride-To-Be to The Best Badass Bride by ditching diets, enjoying empowering exercise and busting body image.

Happy sippin!

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What is Metabolism?(and 5 easy ways to boost it)

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Okay Badass Bride-To-Be, you’ve heard all the benefits of a fast metabolism, right?

You might not really know what it means, BUT you’re jealous AF of those with a “fast metabolism” because it appears they can eat whatever they want without gaining weight.

That does sound pretty cool right? But there’s more to it. Other processes you’re very likely overlooking gets loads easier. Such as;

  • Keeping your brain functioning properly
  • Moving blood throughout your body with little interference
  • Ensures your kidneys are working, filtering water and waste materials
  • Makes sure any necessary tissues are being repaired and replaced
  • Maintains contractions of all smooth muscle tissues(of the heart and other organs)

among MANY others…

So how do I increase my metabolism?

Well, I got some good news for you because there are natural ways to rev you up that are pretty easy actually. In fact, here a whole blog post on one of the reasons listed in the video(s) for more detail.

Watch the video(s) below to learn what metabolism is and 5 easy and natural ways to increase it so you too can enjoy eating more food while still seeing results!

*After the first video, hit the arrow to go to the next one*

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsbZW9cHIFC/

Burn Fat Faster with Water and Build Your Bridal Body

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Okay Badass bride-to-be, if you’re looking to lose weight for your wedding, you NEED to start drinking water. Staying hydrated is one of the absolute BEST things you can do for your body, plus you can burn fat faster with water.

Water is essential for every cell in our body to function at its highest level. Such a simple, overlooked task can help to promote fat loss with water and improve your energy daily.

So how much agua is enough to burn fat faster with water?

You’ve probably heard “8 cups of water a day” from your parent(s) and they heard it from their parents and so on, so it must be true.

You may have also heard “divide your weight by 2 and drink that amount of water in fluid ounces.” Ex.) A 150-pound woman should drink 75 fluid ounces of water.

Here’s an easier way to know you’re hydrated that’s universal to all

While EVERYONE clearly measures out 8 oz per cup of water they drink every time it’s thirst time(yeah, I’m sarcastic) you don’t have to do that.

You also DON’T have to be one of those gallon luggers if you don’t desire to.

via GIPHY

So what should you do?

Look at your pee!

So serious. In fact, peep this little chart below. THAT’S how serious I am.

Here is a chart to tell you how much you need to drink for fat loss with water for your Bridal Fitness Plan and beyond.
Everybody pees right? Well, it also tells you something.

So how do I burn fat faster with water?

Being adequately hydrated with water can help to rev up your metabolism.(link this)

Researchers discovered that drinking 500 mL of water increased metabolic rates by 30% within 10 minutes and estimated drinking 1.5 liters a day will burn an extra 17,400 calories. This act alone will produce an annual weight loss of 5 pounds.

So what do you say to that? Here’s what I say

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Ugh, so many benefits to drinking water… Here are 8 additional reasons to drink more water

Drinking water can save money

It’s nearly free. Unless you do specialized water or bottled water, you can keep heading back to a water cooler at work or filter at home.

Isn’t it great to hear something’s FREE? Especially since it’ll directly impact you positively and near instantaneously? When it comes to fat loss, people always ask “what’s the best supplement?” “What clothing should I wear?” “What equipment do I need to buy?” etc. Put the wallet down for water!

Don’t like regular water? Add some fruit and/or herbs to pack a flavorful punch in there. Need ideas? Grab my Eat Better Recipe Guide complete with spa water ideas and 69 recipes to get you eating so good, you’d swear you’re unhealthy.

Water Promotes Weight loss

Yes, the topic of this post. Water does increase metabolism but it also helps you get satisfied with less food when you drink before meals. This helps to dissuade overeating, reducing unnecessary calorie intake. It also helps us to make better dietary choices because our body can confuse thirst for hunger.

Ever make a food decision while you were SUPER hungry? Ever go grocery shopping while hungry?

Yeah, I know how those typically end.

Our hunger appears to have a mind of its own sometimes and if it wins, damaging decisions could be made. If it really is a thirst trap, when you get water, it could ward off a desire to eat when you’re not really hungry. If you can drink 8-16 oz of water 15 mins before a meal, it can help promote fat loss with water.

Water makes you more pleasant to be around, smarter and happier

What? A drink that isn’t wine that makes you more pleasant to be around?(and you can have wine in your bridal fitness plan)

Your hydration levels have an impact on your mood and when dehydrated, your performance will be impaired and you’ll become crabby, irritable and just unbearable.

You’ll also perform better at brain activities such as pzzles and tests when properly hydrated.

Water helps to prevent headaches

A lot of headaches are related to dehydration. Our brain is nearly 75% water. The brain(and other organs) need(s) a good amount of water to function properly and without that adequate intake, our brain dries up and can cause the feeling of headaches.

Can you imagine having a dried up ball of fat in your skull?

Water improves skin quality

You have a wedding to look amazing for. You want to have nice soft, supple skin right? Remember when I said that water helps all your organs? Your skin is your largest organ so go grab some water!

Water helps to flush out toxins and waste products which could be damaging to skin and manifest as acne.

Your skin cells spend a lot of time in dry environments. Dry skin can attribute to flakiness and be more prone to wrinkling so staying hydrated can give your skin a nice healthy glow and make you POP.

Think of water as your internal moisturizer.

via GIPHY

Water helps you to focus

Mild dehydration can lead to inattention. You know, when you’re distracted and just can’t seem to pay attention to anything? It could be because your brain isn’t getting enough fluid.

Water Aids Digestion

Digestion is one of those processes that the body undergoes that contributes to the total daily energy expenditure.

Being hydrated helps to better equip you to break down and absorb nutrients you get through your food. Once you get these nutrients, the body gets what it needs to accelerate body processes- such as fat burning or muscle growth.

Water increases energy levels

Fatigue is frequently related to dehydration. Your body NEEDS water!

You know the feeling.. It’s between the hours of 1 and 3 at work, BAM, you hit the slump and you’re begging for a nap.

If you keep sipping water throughout the day, it keeps you ready, alert, energized and in a productive state.

So that’s how to burn fat faster with water!

Grab your metal straw(I’m one of those) and cheers to better bodies full of water! Seriously, drink water as soon as you’re done reading.

via GIPHY

7 kitchen tools to help you build your bridal body

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Okay, Bride-to-be, these kitchen tools here are amazing in keeping you on track to getting your bridal body in building mode.

A well-stocked kitchen is like armor in a battlefield, it’s gonna help you A LOT more than going to battle without a safety apparatus. Having high-quality products that will last decades is the goal here simply because quality lasts. The items below help you in preparing your food and keeping your portions mindful to dissuade overeating(less calories you intake will help you with weight loss)

Item #1- Kitchen Scale

A kitchen scale helps you in being aware of how much you are eating.

It’s always good to know how much your food weighs. Generally for proteins, you aim to eat 3-5oz as a serving.

Although it’s not a requirement, it does help you become more aware of what it is you’re eating from the aforementioned protein sources to berries, nuts and other snacks.

Item #2 Hand-held Frother

Plenty of my clients love coffee… Like, LOVE coffee.

To the point where they feel they can’t function without, it helps aid their headaches and they just perform better with it.

With that being said, if you are a coffee aficionado, I recommend a hand-held frother which allows you to make your own delectable creations, knowing exactly what is in it.

Item #3 Peanut Butter Magic Mixer

I LOVE peanut butter. Absolutely love it. So much so, I am lowkey concerned. I just feel it is the superior nut butter.

Any who…. Being a healthy fat and protein source, it is approved to incorporate into your diet. However, it can get pretty messy if you’re not careful. The peanut butter mixer helps to stir in the separated oils from natural peanut butters sans splashing

Item #4 Nesting Measuring Beakers

These beakers help with measuring liquids to ensure you follow recipes properly, not by eye-balling and saying “well, I think this is a quarter cup”(we’ve all done that, right? It usually also doesn’t turn out as it should)

You also look like a cool mad scientist as you pour from them.

Item #5 Measuring Spoons

How many times have you lost your measuring spoons? If you’re anything like me, you’ve lost them A LOT. Oh, the ring helps right? Oh totally… until it breaks or snaps. Also, how annoying and frustrating is it to fumble through that ring?

These measuring spoons are magnetic and built to last. They’re even dual sided to be able to fit into most spice jars.

Harder to lose, easier to use. That’s the set for me.

Item #6 Collapsible Colander

Well long gone are the days where you have a boiling pot of pasta in your hands begging to be drained while you ask someone to hold steady the strainer, despite the obvious safety risk.(this happened with my brother and I, suffered a burn on my hand)

This colander helps to keep you safe and is environmentally friendly.

Item #7 Glass storage containers

These glass containers are microwave, dishwasher safe(since they are non-porous, it’ll also be loads easier to clean and not stain.) and freezer safe. They are also easily stackable and help to keep your food fresher for longer without absorbing food odors or flavors.

There you have it. These tools will help you store food better, help you adequately measure both the amounts you eat, season with, and cook with to help you be more aware, limiting calorie count and helping you prepare food safely.

See What Lia Had To Say About My Coaching

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The text I got the day of her wedding!
Lia’s back and shoulders in her Strapless Dress!

10 Easy Ways to Restore Your Gut Health

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Probiotics are microorganisms that live in our gut and are related either directly or indirectly to pretty much every function in our body… especially digestion.

Your digestive system is a key component of your overall health and its health affects your immune system and more. Inflammation can even contribute to weight gain so if weight loss is a goal for you, it pays to reduce your inflammation.

Our gut controls so many functions and has such an effect on our wellbeing that it is often referred to now as a second brain. (That’s huge so you don’t wanna neglect it!)

You might even be surprised to learn that most of the body’s serotonin- the happy neurotransmitter is made in the gut!

So what is the gut’s role?

To get a tad bit more specific, our gut is responsible for digesting food, absorbing nutrients, and expelling waste.

Think about those processes for a minute… Wouldn’t it suck if those were hindered by poor gut health? (spoiler… Yes, it would.)

Let’s take a look at some signs/symptoms of poor digestive health

Digestive System Symptoms of Poor Health

Do you suffer from the following symptoms on a daily or weekly basis?

Constipation

Diarrhea

Bloating

Gas

Reflux

And many other issues

It’s normal to experience an occasional issue after a big meal or poorly cooked food. However, if you experience these symptoms on a daily basis,

1.) that’s an indicator of poor gut health

and

2.)it’s time to talk to a doctor.

If you’ve been feeling “off” lately, the good news is that you can take action to heal your gut and strengthen your health.

Try these strategies for gut relief and healing:

1. Check your medications

Certain medications can affect your digestive system.

If you’re experiencing a side effect from one of your medications that is related to your digestive system, discuss it with your doctor. You may be able to adjust the medications that cause digestive issues.

If you’ve taken antibiotics, be aware that they affect digestive systems.

2. Check for food allergies

Not all food allergies are easy to detect and with the standard American diet, food allergies are at an all-time high.

Autoimmune diseases(like rheumatoid arthritis and celiac disease), diabetes seem to be on the rise.

You may have a food allergy or sensitivity that is hurting your digestive system. Your body is unique, and you may not have all the symptoms that are typical.

If you suspect a food allergy is present, discuss it with your doctor.

3. Remove sugar and refined carbohydrates.

Bacteria in your digestive system can feed on the sugar and refined carbohydrates and create issues.

If you want to heal your gut, it’s important to change your diet.

Added sugars(like high-fructose corn syrup or corn syrup), artificial sweeteners (like sucralose,
aspartame, acesulfame K, saccharin) and refined carbohydrates are to be avoided.

You’ll reduce yeast growth in the gut and other unpleasant issues.

4. Add fiber.

Your digestive system needs fiber to function properly. Natural sources of fiber usually work the best. Nuts, vegetables, beans, and whole grains have the fiber you need.

5. Try digestive enzymes.

Digestive enzymes break down the food we eat. As we get older, we don’t produce as many digestive enzymes and your gut may be lacking the necessary enzymes to digest your food effectively.

This is a good digestive enzyme supplement I recommend.

6. Try probiotics

Did you know that up to 70% of your immune system resides in your gut? Probiotics will help to restore balance back to your digestive system- and overall boost your immune system.

You can find probiotics in a variety of fermented foods such as kimchi and kombucha. You can also find them in yogurts and other items.

If you’re not eating fermented food on a regular basis, then it’s important to supplement with a good quality probiotic. This is a good probiotic I recommend

7. Avoid fast food and processed food.

These foods have high levels of salt and fat and can make your gut feel worse. Fast food places use partially hydrogenated oils when they fry foods because these types of oils can be used multiple times in commercial fryers.

Partially hydrogenated oils are so attractive to the food industry because the production of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils were developed because of low cost, long shelf life, and suitability for commercial frying and transport, making it convenient for them but it wrecks havoc on your gut.

The FDA determined that Partially Hydrogenated Oils (PHOs) are not Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) and not safe for human consumption. Time to cut it out of your diet.

8. Chew carefully.

Not chewing your food properly can hurt your gut as well.

Chewing gives saliva a chance to mix digestive enzymes with the food before you even swallow it and this helps your gut break down the food easier.

Experts recommend chewing each bite of food at least 20 times. This also allows you to enjoy your food more and savor the flavors.

You’ll be more mindful of what you’re eating and even end up eating less as you’re giving your body time for the satiety mechanism to come into play. Your body will give off “I’m full” signals and you’ll digest food more efficiently.

9. Warm up your food.

This one is simple.
Eating cold food puts more stress on your digestive system.

10. Sit down to eat and eat ALONE.

Relax and enjoy your food, rather than hurrying through your meal. As mentioned in point 8, slowing down and eating your food helps to increase the efficiency of digestion.

Don’t eat while texting, driving, watching TV working or just multi-tasking.

Focus on just EATING. You’ll become more mindful and aware of what you’re eating.

If you’re experiencing digestive issues, discuss them with your doctor. Your digestive system may be able to heal on its own. Following these tips will help you return your gut back to a healthier state and then maintain it.

Why Meal Plans Suck and what you should do instead

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I’m gonna be very blunt here… Meal plans are wack.

In theory, meal plans are an amazing plug and play formula to keep you on track to eating as healthily as possible so you will straight shatter your goals- completely taking out the guesswork of what’s on the menu and even the quantities in which you should consume your comestibles.

Cool right?

Well…

In reality, it is the ridiculous idea that every human being, despite our immensely different work schedules, lifestyles, preferences, and capabilities can perfectly adhere to the laid out plan where any deviation will prove to be detrimental, or not optimal.

Simply put, meal plans expect too much and are inflexible.

Humans schedules, however, have the ability to constantly change, and they do.

Work meetings, cancellations, engagements that went longer than initially planned, having to stay late at work(Do I really need to keep going…)

Seeing an old friend while being out and about and catching up, getting volunteered to be the carpool parent for your daughter’s friends bowling outing then having that same car break down with a minivan full of rowdy preteen passengers because the only other mom Lisa dropped out last minute. Stupid Lisa. (Okay this one isn’t AS universal as the other ones, I should’ve stopped back there..)

That is flaw one with a meal plan… How they are designed suggests you have to eat perfectly and match what’s in the plan “all the time.. Every of the time”

 

As a fitness professional, I slip up on my eating habits… Most times because I know my schedule fluctuates and things happen! But you can still be on track with your health and fitness goals in that event, and since you’re reading on this page… I will gladly share how!

But not until I beat meal plans down to a pulp… Right now it’s wounded but I want bloooooood

Let’s switch gears and talk about the aspect I feel has merit with meal plans…

I appreciate that they are customized to an individual’s goal…

But that’s just it, it’s designed for their goal, not around their lifestyle.

A sample meal plan may look like this

Meal 1 (6:30am): 3 eggs, ½ cup oatmeal, 1 banana

Meal 2 (9:30am): protein shake

Meal 3 (12:30pm): turkey breast sandwich and small salad

It’ll be pretty difficult for the teacher who teaches 4 classes in a row to follow this. Or for the overnight worker who has a work shift from 10 PM to 6 AM….(It says right there that 6:30AM is when they need to have their first meal. They are going right to sleep or to another job. Who made this meal plan up? Stupid Lisa? Jeeze, my daughter isn’t hanging around your daughter anymore.)

*Look below for an accurate depiction of how Meal plans are feeling at this moment during this debate*

courtesy of GIPHY

Lastly, meal plans make the pompous assumption that you already have the skills in place to follow everything to a T.

You know, the skills like:

Planning your grocery shopping trip in advance

Choosing the right items from that store.

Storing and prepping your food correctly.

Eating slowly and mindfully to dissuade overeating

Tuning into hunger and appetite cues

Avoiding problem foods

Picking better for you options at restaurants

Most people who aren’t currently eating healthy have trouble in some if not all of those

Meal plans are like a busted utility belt-They’re still cool but they won’t get the job done…No matter how badly someone may want something, if they do not have the capacity or the skills, it’ll prove to be very VERY challenging.

If a hungry, wild Grizzly Bear is chasing you(This is literally one of my worst fears) odds are you WANT to outrun it.

If you are in this position, I truly wish you the best but here’s a scenario.

Usain Bolt, the world’s fastest man clocked nearly 28 mph in a 100 Meter sprint.

Well, if you are able to outrun the fastest man in the world, you MAY have a fighting chance.

However…

A grizzly bear can reach up to 34 miles per hour, if that’s not enough… A grizzly bear was once clocked at running 41 miles per hour.

You may WANT to outrun that bear but unless you have the capabilities and skills to dust that fool(a car, a jetpack, a time machine so you can retreat to wherever you were when you thought it was a good idea to get chased by a bear so you can send stupid Lisa instead) you will be feasted upon.

Meal Plans are the grizzly bear charging at you…

Ring the bell, Meal Plans are FINISHED

 GIPHY

So if meal plans are wack, what should I do?

Very glad you asked…

As I’ve hinted at in this post, it is the skills that we have that allow us to be capable in attaining our goals, not only comfortably and realistically, but sustainably- because it works WITH your lifestyle and schedule, no matter how erratic it may be.

This is referred to as habit-based (or practice-based) coaching.

Habit-based coaching is rooted in the best practices of change psychology. In other words, it’s built on the latest science of what actually helps people develop new skills and make change in their lives.

I recommend taking one a habit to change at a time. A habit that is both solid and flexible to help you build the skills necessary to make better nutrition and lifestyle choices the day and for life!

When you take into account things such as your unique schedule, priorities, belief system(s), food preferences, food tolerances, and more, you can create something much better than a meal plan. You can have your own playbook. Your own Comic Book, your own superhero manual and frankly, I feel they all sound better than “meal plan”

So what’s next..?

In the end, rather than telling someone what to eat for breakfast and when to eat it, I prefer to help them build the skills (and daily habits) required to eat well, every day, no matter what life throws at them. (Because of stupid Lisa…)

It’s also integral to discover what’s right for you, in the context of your own unique life.

I can help solving the mystery of you easier, by sharing with you:

How to simply and easily create the perfect, chef-approved meal and the secrets to fast and healthy meal prep so that you always have appetizing, supportive food ready when you need it.

It’s called the Kitchen Rescue Pak and it’s your answer to simplifying your nutrition while taking YOUR life into consideration.

I suggest you grab it, lest you are stupid Lisa.. Then I understand why you don’t want it.

 

Love you!

 

 

 

Coddle Complex Carbs, Create a Captivating Character.

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One nutrition myth I wish would just go away once and for all is that “carbs are evil”

You know what’s evil? Me after being deprived of said carbs! The carbs that are delicious, nutritious and help to greatly improve my performance.

Just like everything else in health and fitness, all things are not created equal. All exercise isn’t created equal. There is resistance training, balance training, aerobics, HIIT circuits, density circuits, general “cardio” and many others.

All of the aforementioned modalities are miles more effective than slowly lulling on a treadmill, but still, falls under the wide umbrella of “exercise”.

So knowing this, why is it still suggested that all carbs are created equal and that all of them are harmful?

What adds more insult to injury is, if I were to list carb A and carb B, one would be clearly identified as a better option. It’s just common sense!

Carb A is the dark green vegetable known as spinach. Spinach is packed with fiber, vitamins, and minerals, and is heavily nutrient dense.

Carb B is the confectionary favorite known as cotton candy. Though Delicious, far from nutritious. Cotton candy digests very quickly due to the absence of fiber, making blood sugar levels spike which results in the “sugar high” then “crash” felt after consumption. You might even notice that you can have cones and cones full of cotton candy and still be hungry. This is also due to the lack of fiber.

Both are still carbs. Spinach is a clearly better choice for you. That’s because spinach is a “complex carb” or “slow digesting carb”. The not so good choice, cotton candy along with chips, white kinds of pasta, white bread, and desserts are “simple carbs” or “fast digesting carbs”.

Appropriate amounts of carbs help us look, feel and perform our absolute best.

Carbohydrates are the body’s preferred source of energy so severely restricting your carbs limits your potential and increases your health risks. Your carb consumption correlates with how active you are. If you are currently sedentary, you don’t need as many carbs as someone who regularly exercises but too few carbs over a long period of time causes a crash.

Heavily restricted carb count could result in a slower metabolism, higher stress hormones produced, muscle building hormones slowed and can even contribute to a funky, grumpy mood.(Like how I mentioned I turn evil when deprived of carbs.)

That is not sustainable behavior, and that will, ironically, lead to fat gain, because you thought carbs were bad.

Carbs are your friends. Treat your friends nicely and coddle them. Make smarter carb choices such as

  • fruits and vegetables
  • Spaghetti squash
  • Red potatoes
  • Sweet potatoes
  • Brown rice
  • Quinoa
  • Butternut squash

They help keep you fuller for longer and don’t make your blood sugar levels spike too high. This gives you sustainable energy throughout the day, versus the sugar high and crash you get from simple carbs.

There is plenty of variety out there so go out and make new friends, variety is the spice of life right?

Need more help with the nutrition side of things?? Grab my free report and I’d love to help you simplify your eating habits.

This blog post title was brought to you by the letter “C”

4 weight loss lessons learned from Parks and Recreation

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Parks
Not exactly Pawnee but yes, this is a park.

From Andy’s constant band name changes to Ron’s ringtone of a shotgun blast, Parks and Recreation doesn’t skimp on humor. However, there are also great life lessons to be learned that make the show that much better. By watching, you could learn 4 key weight loss tips just by following the behaviors of some beloved Pawneeians. 

Live Like a “Pawn”ee, to get Health like a King or Queen.

Do what you’re passionate about!

The only thing Leslie Knope is arguably MORE passionate about than the Parks Department are waffles topped with whipped cream from J.J’s Diner. Leslie led the rally to save the diner when Dennis Feinstein bought the property. Leslie constantly gives every ounce of strength and effort she has to her goals of improving Pawnee because it means that much to her. Your goals should mean to you what Pawnee means to Leslie!

When it comes to exercise, you have to do what you’re passionate about! If you hate the treadmill but believe long boring cardio sessions are the ONLY way to weight loss, it’s only a matter of time until you’ll feel like falling in the pit by Ann’s house and breaking your legs like Andy. Change up your routine and engage in an activity you love! That could be Zumba, dancing, kickboxing, boot camp or anything you take pleasure in. That’s “literally” key and I hope you read that in Chris’ voice. 

Be as positive as Jerry

Throughout the entire series, Jerry was the butt of the jokes from the Parks Department. They disqualified his amazing mural because he accidentally said “urinal”,   Chris and Tom lusts after his hot wife but hate being around Jerry to see her, he is constantly interrupted in conversation despite his great ideas and the department denied him his own name for 30 years for God’s sake! Whether you refer to him as Jerry, Garry, Terry or Larry, he was always in an upbeat mood, even though he has plenty of reasons to get upset. 

Staying positive in the face of obstacles will serve you greatly on your road to weight loss. In life, obstacles are inevitable but you have full control over how you handle them. Adopting a positive mindset will keep you strong when things get tough. Change how you frame these hurdles and you’ll brush them off like a true Gergich. 

Don’t miss a meal

Nobody loves food more than Ron Swanson. If he knows he’s going to a restaurant, he would gladly starve himself and save as much room as possible so he can indulge and make up for what he missed. He once said, “I can’t think of anything more noble to go to war over than bacon and eggs.” Although both sentiments from Pawnee’s Woman of the Year are rather extreme, he recognizes the importance of food.(Yes, Ron Swanson is a man. Yes, Ron Swanson won Pawnee’s Woman of the Year award. This is not a typo.)

Good nutrition habits are the difference between you reaching your goals and you staying stagnant or worse yet, sabotaging yourself. Eating smaller meals complete with a protein, smart carb and fat source gives you the nutrients you need to fuel your body and burn fat. 

TREAT YO SELF!

Just as Tom and Donna would proclaim, it is a good idea to treat yo self !  This is often overlooked when trying to lose weight. 

You put in a lot of hard work to get to your goals, it’s okay to do something nice for yourself when you reach a milestone. In fact, it should be encouraged! If you lose 5 pounds, buy a new shirt! If you managed to resist temptation and eat clean the whole week, you earned that cheat meal on the weekend! It’s good to acknowledge small milestones on your way to your ultimate goal! Acknowledging small victories is a way to help you track your progress and see your growth. Once you reach the ultimate goal, that’s when it’s okay to indulge in something that’s “Treat Yo’self Day” caliber, the best day of the year!

Remember, “Sometimes you gotta work a little, so you can ball a lot”- Tom Haverford

The Parks and Recreation Department in Pawnee Indiana offers tons of laughs but also great advice when it comes weight loss. Remember to be as passionate as Leslie, as positive as Jerry, hungry like Ron and to treat yo self like Tom and Donna would and before long, you’ll *literally* achieve your goals!

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Why I love to work with Brides-To-Be

You know what gets me SO excited about a Bridal Transformation?

First off, I LOVE love. I feel it's one of the absolute purest things in the universe.(if not THE purest thing)

To ride through the rest of your life with that one companion that dreams are made of.. The one that causes your heart to flutter, face to flush, breath to slow... It's ethereal.

On a Bride's big day, not only are they allowed to be the star of the show and look better than literally EVERYONE in attendance, it's actually encouraged!! Who doesn't love being the center of attention?

You call the shots- everything from the venue, the menu, the music, the decorations and you're even allowed to forbid guests to wear white and say "Sorry, that's for me and my squad only!" and they gotta listen!

With such great power and all the makings of a day that'll go down in history- you deserve to feel confident and comfortable in your gown.

You don't want to feel subconscious and closed off on the day you've been dreaming about since you were a little girl and you certainly don't want a constant reminder of discomfort or lacking confidence in your wedding photos.

That's where I come in. I help Badass Brides-To-Be build the best versions of themselves so they can feel empowered on their big day! This shit spiritual.

What’s up! Welcome to the site

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Grab The Badass Bride’s Emotional Eating Eliminator

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