Well here it is ... we are almost at the end of April and I have been visibly absent from posting on my blog. For anyone close to me you will know that my own life has been filled with challenge, change, new experience, the awakening of my spirit and the grieving process for time gone by.

Just like every client I am also a work in progress and am constantly learning not just about fitness and nutrition but also about all things that relate to the process of body composition change. I got to experience first hand the devastating effects of stress and hormones on a woman's body... I also took a walk in the land of cookies and now have a new found appreciation for how and why most women turn to food for comfort. Even though I am a very clean and healthy eater and diligent about my own exercise I found that when I was going through the motions of a changing life I struggled to stay the course.

I will tell you that eating simple sugars, not eating every 2 to 3 hours and letting my consumption of good fats go MAGNIFIED my emotions, altered my body composition quickly and made everything worse. This was a great lesson for me to learn.... FOOD really does affect our emotional state and once I embraced the lifestyle that I truly love my mind cleared and my enthusiasm and spirit returned. Even through all the tough decisions and turmoil I endured I believe, as I always do, that each experience in life teaches us and provides us with more positive than negative regardless of the situation. Even my injuries have given me invaluable learning opportunites that I would not have otherwise had.... don't get me wrong, I would still take un-injured any day but am just trying to make a point about looking at the positive you can pull out of each experience.

Spring is finally here and the female spirit is large right now... are you embracing yours or are you struggling with a poor body image and dark feelings about yourself?

I plan on making this the best spring and summer I can by living healthy, eating naturally clean foods, taking in the beauty of the world around me and feeling good not just about how I look but how I feel on the inside.

Each of us have that spark inside us... every woman has an amazing energy inside her that deserves to be set free. It's not to late to make this the summer you feel the best you ever have about yourself.... What is your dream? Do you want to be the hot mom at the pool? Get into that fabulous pair of shorts you saw just yesterday at the mall? Feel sexy and confident for your husband or boyfriend or better yet, just for yourself? Do you want to be able to put on that tank top and LOVE how your arms look? How about being able to chase your kids around the park or actually do the monkey bars with them?

Life is waiting for you... the question becomes are you ready to really do what it takes this time so you can LIVE it to the fullest?

This poem was submitted to me by a client who started in a very dark place that MANY of you will relate to. It brought me to tears and I asked her if I could share it... this poem inspired me to get back to writing this blog and expressing my own feelings. I am happy to say that this phenominal woman is no longer in this place. Her journey has been long both physically and mentally but she has continued to work through the fear, self doubt and dark feelings to take herself to an amazing place. Her spirit is very large and she has transformed into a beautiful butterfly. I am so very proud of everything she has accomplished and what she has overcome.

I feel very blessed to have been a part of her journey.

Too
Body Image

"Beached whale," "Broad ass," "No, honey, that doesn't suit you"
"She has the body, you have the face," "There, that's very slimming"
"Fat," "Pork," "Grease"
Loser


The voices echo
Flagellating my eardrums
One more time
"You are not good enough," they say
Never have been, never will be
Truth is - you are too
Too fat
Too intense
Too sensitive
Too smart for your own good
Too, just too

You should be - "less"
Less fat
Less emotional
Less independent
Less, just less

His fists pound on my ribs, back
Echoing the voices
Be less, be less, be less
Every blow, trying to remove the excess
Pounding my flesh, bones
Into a compact version
'Til I seem less - to him

So when he leaves
I resume the chant, resume the act
Be less, be less, be less
Long after the voices have ceased
And the bruises faded
I resume
Take his place
Keep me "less"
So no one else will see...me