Feel a little stuck in your life?

Do you sense change on the horizon, yet you don’t quite know how to get there?

There are a lot of ways to manifest change in your life, but I know a really simple one that is 100% effective.  If I told you that you could start this today, and within 30 days or 90 days see real results without having to do anything else, you’d be interested wouldn’t you?

Can it really be that simple?  It can! Read the rest of this entry »

While I’ve always been someone who is easily consumed by a goal, this time it’s different. This whole weight loss/strength training/ running journey has not consumed my every thought as it previously did. It’s starting to (I can’t believe I’m saying this) become part of my normal life.

They say it takes what, 17 days to start a new habit?

Call me a slow learner then, because I now say, after nearly 5 months of training, that working out is a part of my every day life.

But I’m stuck.

It seems that I’m stuck as far as inch and weight loss go - though my husband and friends say I look toned. I’m up to running daily just in the last week and so I’m hoping that change will help boost my metabolism further to continue this journey.

A few things you can try if you’re in the same boat:

Read the rest of this entry »

It’s my birthday today, dammit, and I just decided what I want this year.

It’s definitely not flowers. Or chocolate (although there will be some). Or jewelry. Or shoes. None of that, not for me. Not this year, or, if I get what I want, probably any year.

No, what I want goes deeper than that. What I want this year is something I’ll be able to carry with me the rest of my life.

I want to be a broad. Read the rest of this entry »

Last Wednesday night, my 3 year old cried for me not to leave him with his father. “I don’t want you to go to the gym!” he wailed. My heartstrings were pulled so hard I might as well have left my entire heart in his tiny hands. There’s no question that feeling guilty comes naturally with being a mother.

My husband peeled our human fruit roll-up out of my already sweating arms and assured me he would be fine. I gave him the are-you-sure look, and bless his heart, he mouthed back a silent, “Go babe.” I kissed Thomas’ tear-stained cheek and left for another weight training session with my trainer, Homie G.

If there’s one thing I could tell you to take away from this column, it’s to not cave to negative feelings. Laziness, fatigue, being too busy, and putting off exercise due to family demands can all weigh heavily on a Mom’s ability to get her butt out the door to the gym or outside for a run or walk.

Read the rest of this entry »

This past weekend I went gangbusters on our kitchen cupboards. My “baking” cupboard, stacked high with Tupperware full of white flour, white sugar, shortening, chocolate chips, and white pasta all went to the great trash bin in the sky. (Actually behind the shed, but who’s asking?)

Read the rest of this entry »

I’m a planner. Some days it feels like my brain is about to explode because it’s so busy thinking about mundane stuff:

what am I going to make for dinner?

who needs clean clothes today?

what things are we out of…let me make a mental list

And then there’s the not-so-mundane stuff. A couple of nights ago my brain was awake all night going over conversations I might have with people, thinking about colors I might want to redecorate with some day, and planning and imagining stuff that I’m going to do three months from now (that last has something to do with a cat and a car so some advance thought is required, but three months’ worth?).

So the thing about all this planning and thought and imagining is that sometimes it doesn’t happen the way you thought it would.

And then what? Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been watching my younger son for the past hour and it dawned on me just how brilliant he is. He’s parading around the house under his big sister’s umbrella (yeah yeah, umbrellas in the house are bad luck, shut up) like it’s the greatest thing in the world, wearing one of his brother’s mittens. How often do you feel that utter joy about something small like that?

We can take some lessons from our toddlers. I have yet to see a truly stressed two-year-old, so what is it they’re doing right? And why do we give that up as we get older and grow up? Do we truly have to, or can we bring some of the magic of childhood into our adult lives? Here are six ways we can bring toddlerhood into our own lives to cut down on stress; start channeling your toddler today and notice the changes in your life! Read the rest of this entry »

Other people may not have high expectations of me, but I have high expectations for myself. ~ Shannon Miller

Well hello everyone! I’m Karen Rani of Karen Sugarpants and Swank Web Style, and I’m here as part of the new Catch Your Breath Team! I’m here to talk to you about nutrition and exercise.

If you’d asked me 6 months ago to write about this topic, I would have laughed in your face and called you crazy.

It is the sort of topic that a) I knew nothing about 6 months ago; and b) sounds completely boring. It doesn’t have to be, I promise.

I’ve never been an athlete and I certainly have had my fair share of time where I felt being a pregnant woman/nursing mother was a license to eat. I’ve tried every diet under the sun, including Atkins, Weight Watchers, South Beach, and have even gone so far as to starve myself for several months, stifling hunger pangs with high amounts of coffee. p.s. None of those things work.

I’ve been 120 pounds, 220 pounds and everything in between.

Like a lot of moms, my weight has been up and down for years. It’s exhausting. It’s stupid. It’s frustrating. There simply is no other way to get healthy than to eat sensibly and be active.

Read the rest of this entry »

Where I live in eastern Pennsylvania, last week’s icy snow has magically turned into mud. Gloppy, sticky mud. But instead of looking at what I’m stepping in, I’m looking up into the sunshine. At last! Spring! And I am so very ready now to start looking for the signs of growth that will be arising everywhere soon: buds that will one day be leaves on the trees, spring flowers poking their heads up, an increase in birds looking for food and nesting material, animals coming out of their winter’s sleep. And just as the earth (at least, in the northern hemisphere; you southies just ignore this and go on inward for now) is waking up into a new growth season, so are we. Read the rest of this entry »

Uh. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been feeling, well, a bit off lately. Snappish. Overwhelmed. Bad sleep. Bleh.

You, too?

A friend described it this way: Read the rest of this entry »