A few nights ago, I was on Facebook and a post from a friend of mine popped up.

She had just signed up for a half marathon.

My breath caught in my throat.

Two years ago, I was on the cusp of running and completing my first (and only) half. I was in the best shape of my life.

Let me go back…just before seeing her post, I had been editing photos from my daughters first birthday. There were several of me and they were all ‘aha’ moment photos. You know, the kind where you don’t even recognize yourself. Really bad.

I mean, how sad is it that I wanted to edit myself out of all of my daughters first birthday pics?

Seeing my friends post for the half, and her invite for others to join felt like divine intervention. Like someone was throwing me a lifeline, a chance to get back to me.

Before I could over think it, I clicked through to the race page, whipped out my credit card and signed up.

And just like that, I’m going to be running a half marathon in October. The panic has set in and I’ve questioned my sanity, but I honestly need to have the fear of humiliation seared into my brain to motivate me to get my weight/health/LIFE under control. The fear of the sweeper van will push me to train.

I feel like I have a great support system…both here, with my newly formed training team, and online, with my Sisters. From time to time, I’ll probably show up here all whiny. Please feel free to verbally kick my ass.

I never knew peer pressure could be so necessary, so positive. But that’s what it took for me. And I will continue to bend to this positive influence all the way to my next finish line.

The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself. ~Anna Quindlen

Here we are! It’s time to start off the year long series Becoming Me. I got the idea for the name from the Anna Quindlen quote I put at that top. I’m excited to start this process of digging a little deeper and getting to the heart of some of my esteem, body, and food issues.

If you haven’t had a chance, please go back and read this post from Christie Inge and this post giving a little (long) history of me.

This month’s question…

Do you trust yourself and your body? No? What do you think would happen if you did?

The honest answer is no. I don’t trust myself OR my body.

I’m not sure at what point I got this skewed sense that my WANT was more important than my NEED.

When I sit down to a meal, I very often eat way past the point of comfort. My stomach is beyond capacity, my mind is telling me to stop eating, and I look at the plate and think “It’s a waste to leave food there.” If I’m eating at a restaurant (which is much more often than I care to admit), I get the additional “I paid for the food, I should eat the food.”

Then, when dessert rolls around, my stomach is beyond capacity, my mind is telling me to stop eating, but all I want is sugar. How could it be wrong to want something sweet to end my day? I’ve had a great/exciting/awesome/bad/busy/crazy/emotional/stressful day, why shouldn’t I reward/soothe with something sweet.

I end up sitting on the couch at the end of the night, telling my husband “Don’t ever let me do that again.”

Because at some point it became HIS responsibility to get me to stop eating.

Now, that’s just the food side. When it comes to exercise, I’m just as bad. My mind is telling me to get off the couch. My body is telling me to move and stretch and lift. But I think I know better. There’s too much on my to-do list, I don’t need to work out right now. I could get hurt, I definitely shouldn’t push myself beyond my comfort zone. It won’t matter anyway if I did push myself because I am a slow runner and I will always be slow and why try to change it?

I don’t trust my body because it scares me that if I did, I might have to change the status quo.

I am comfortably entrenched in status quo, friends.

I think if I did learn to trust my body, I would very simply eat less and move more.

It seems oversimplified, but that’s what it really comes down to.

If I learned to trust my body, I would listen to its signals telling me to stop eating when I’m full. If I learned to trust my body, I would know the difference between real hunger and emotional hunger. If I learned to trust my body, I would know that answer to my problem du jour  is not at the bottom of a peanut butter jar.

If I learned to trust my body, I would not take walk breaks during runs, knowing that the need for one is all in my mind. If I learned to trust my body I would know that exercising is more important than making the kids macaroni & cheese for lunch 2 days ahead. If I learned to trust my body I would push myself a little bit further out of my comfort zone.

If I learned to trust my body, fear of failure (or honestly, success) would not be an issue.

Beyond that, the sky’s the limit.

All questions for the Becoming Me series come from Christie Inge.

Christie Inge, HHC is an intuitive eating and body image coach and is the creator of The Body Love Alchemy Community. After years on the diet and binge roller coaster, she realized that the answers she was looking for had nothing to do with the size of her blue jeans or the food on her plate. She set out onto a quest to make peace with food, her body and her weight once and for all. She began sharing her experiences on her popular, heartfelt blog. Overtime, she found that her greatest gift was helping women, just like her, overcome their struggles, too.

She has taken what she learned in the school of hard knocks and coupled that with what she has learned in her professional trainings to create a system that has helped thousands of women to make peace with food and to stop hating their bodies. She offers support, insight, and real world tools for creating a body and life you love. You can stay in touch with by subscribing to her inspirational weekly eLetter or join the conversation facebook and twitter.

A ten pound gaindoesn’t sound like a lot, but it is! When you lose 10 pounds, it can mean a whole new clothing size, or a lot less jiggle, or finally having the confidence to wear sleeveless shirts! It’s a confidence booster and an excellent motivator. It means that shopping is fun! It means that you automatically make better choices because you are taking care of a smaller body. Ten pounds is HUGE…..when it’s gone.

But, it’s also HUGE when it comes back. It means squeezing into clothes that aren’t comfortable anymore. It means digging for or even purchasing larger clothes. It means feeling uncomfortable and self-conscious. It means things jiggle a lot more than they used to. It means you really don’t like what you see in the mirror anymore. It means wondering how the hell it happened and what you’re going to do to stop the land slide. It means kicking yourself when you’re down and just feeling like do whatever because it really doesn’t matter right now because I’ve gained 10 pounds and next week I’m going on vacation (to Disney World where every meal includes dessert, even lunch).

That’s where I am. Actually I’m up 12 pounds, but I’m 10 pounds over my comfortable, I’m-happy-with-the-way-I-look-and-feel-weight.

When you gain weight, it’s really hard to reel yourself back in. I know, because I’m there right now. It’s easy to see why so many people who lose large amounts of weight end up gaining it all back. Once you start that ascent on the scale, you lose your motivation, you feel bad about yourself, and you really don’t feel like doing much of anything. It easy to say screw it and have dessert or that extra large whatever.

It’s easy to just give up and give in.

I’ve said it before, but I’m serious right now…I’m putting it out there for everyone to really see. I’m done with the ascent on the scale, and I’m ready to get back to the business of being healthy and fit. I want to eat only what my body needs. I want to move enough to make my heart beat fast. I want to work my muscles until they’re sore.

I will.

Seven years ago I lost 60 pounds, and I’ve managed to keep it off (almost!). Two years ago I trained for a half marathon with Team in Training and I ran 13.1 miles for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  Three and a half years ago I started this site to motivate and support and encourage you.

One hour ago I went on a soul searching walk. I realized that I need to stop the madness and start focusing on being the best me I can be, because there will always be an excuse to be made, an obstacle in the way, a reason to say ‘screw it’. I need to dig deep and get back to the basics. No more excuses.

What about you? Are you struggling right now? Have you gained weight? Are you injured and unable to exercise? What’s your story?

As I was sitting around thinking about what to write, I realized that I’ve been going through my closet a lot lately. Which made me think of this post I wrote a couple years back. It’s definitely still pertinent, so take another look, if you please.

image courtesy of Dee West

While clothes may not make the woman, they certainly have a strong effect on her self-confidence – which, I believe, does make the woman.Mary Kay Ash (1915 – 2001)

What’s in your closet? Right now. Need to check? Go ahead, I’ll wait…
…………………………………..

Did you look? Cool. So what’s in your closet? Did you answer clothes or did you answer saboteurs? Can you tell the difference? Am I making any sense at all or have you already stopped reading?

Let me explain. But wait, one more question. How many clothing sizes do you have in your closet? Do you have categories (fat clothes, skinny clothes, good clothes, etc)? O.K., that was 2 questions. Sorry. But anyway, if you have several sizes of clothes or more than one “weight category”, it’s time to clean house (or closet).

If you have clothes that are too big for you hanging in your closet, you need to get rid of them. That’s right. Toss ‘em. Nothing is a bigger saboteur then thinking there might ever be a time when you would need those clothes again. You are giving yourself permission to gain the weight back. And you are sending little subliminal messages that you don’t believe in yourself enough to keep it off. So go get a big garbage bag and get rid of them. You can donate them to a local charity. You can sell them on Ebay. Heck, you can start a bonfire with them if it will make you feel better. Just get rid of them.

And the same goes for clothes that are too small. Sure, they can give you something to work towards, but don’t you think you deserve new stuff once you hit your goal weight? When I was helping my sister purge her closet, I told her that she could choose 2 pieces that were too small for her. She hung those on the back of her door and they became her motivation. The rest of it she bagged up and donated. She thought that she would miss them, but she actually felt some pressure being taken off that she didn’t have half a closet full of clothes that didn’t fit her.

Holding on to clothes that don’t fit is just one more mental hurdle that you need to cross on your road to weight loss.If they’re too big, they’re holding you back. If they’re too small, they’re causing you stress.So toss ‘em.

Leave a comment to let us know if you’ve gotten rid of anything lately. Was it hard? Easy? Do you feel better about it now or did you go rooting through the trash the next day to get it out? Let us know!

The final bell of school is getting ready to ring, and that means plenty of fun summer road trips! Plan ahead to make sure when you stop to fill up the tank, that’s all you’re filling up! What is it about gas stations that says Hey! It’s okay to grab some of those 2/$1.00 candy bars, a few of those hot dogs on the turn-y thing, and while you’re at it, get a 4,000 ounce slushie, too!

Do me a favor, pack these quick and easy snacks, pay at the pump, and avoid a huge road trip disaster!

1. Nuts! Who’s not nuts for nuts? Almonds, walnuts, pistachios, and pecans are your best bet. And, no corn-nuts don’t count! If you’re looking for something a little sweet, try the cocoa-dusted almonds – they’re divine!
2. Dried fruit. Raisins, cranberries, apricots, peaches, the possibilities are endless.
3. Blueberries. Totally portable and non-messy! Really, any berry is a great idea.
4. Cherry tomatoes. Once you pop ‘em, you can stop.
5. Baby carrots. Keep your eyes focused on the road with carrots!
6. String cheese. The kids will love this!
7. Energy bars. Think Lara Bars, Clif Zbars, or even mini-Luna Bars (my fave).
8. Bananas. Nature’s perfect road trip food.
9. Sandwiches. Pre-make some peanut butter, banana, and honey sandwiches. Cut into quarters and you’re ready for the road.
10. Hard boiled eggs. Peel them before you pull out, and you’ll have a great protein boost when you need it.
11. PopChips! If you must have chips, these are a great way to satisfy that craving.
12. Grapes. Like bananas, grapes were made for road trips.
13. Suckers. Sometimes you really just need something sweet. Try Yummy Earth organic suckers – sweet, healthy, and totally portable. My favorite is Very, Very Cherry. The organic Hot Chili Pops are fun, too!
14. Yogurt. We don’t recommend you try this while driving, but for those pit stops for pictures, a single-serve cup of yogurt is a great idea.
15. Water! Yes, you definitely want to stay hydrated on the road!

By the time you read this post, I will be on my very own road trip – our end-of-year school trip! Packed in my bag and cooler, I have 11 of the 15 ideas I have listed above!

Tell us you favorite healthy snacks for road trips!

Breakfast has never been a priority for me.

Like, ever.

Honestly, I can remember as far back as middle school, trying to skip breakfast. And it wasn’t because I was dieting or anything. I was just too busy or not hungry or whatever. Like I said, it just wasn’t a priority.

As an adult, I know that breakfast is important. The most important meal of the day. But I still find that I’ll blink and it’s already 11 am and all I’ve had is a pot of coffee. It’s so bad. I mean, the kids have been fed, sometimes twice (breakfast and snack) and here I am, subsisting on a few stray goldfish and caffeine.

Of course, lunchtime rolls around and I’m ravenous. And it all snowballs. Spoonful of peanut butter while I’m making sandwiches for the kids lunch. A handful of animal crackers. The string cheese I keep trying to feed my four year old that I know he won’t eat but I keep trying anyway (probably so I can finish it).

And then I eat lunch.

Basically, I’m digging myself in a hole, nutrition wise.

I’m sure I’m not alone.

So, why is breakfast so important? First of all, it’s the fuel that helps your brain function. This piece of information should be enough to get me on the breakfast bandwagon. Cause my mommy brain has reached ridiculous levels of forgetfulness.

Also? People who skip breakfast are 75% more likely to be overweight than those who don’t.

HELLO?!

You might be wondering, what exactly is an ideal breakfast (I was)?

Here it is: 53% carbs, 27% fat, 20% protein. You want to aim for 25 to 30% of your daily calories at breakfast – if you’re trying to lose, that’s about 400, if you’re maintaining, 500, and if you’re very active, 625.

You may have every excuse in the book as to why you’re a breakfast skipper – too busy, not hungry, saving calories for a splurge later in the day – but the bottom line is that skipping your morning meal is terrible for YOUR BOTTOM LINE.

How can you make breakfast work for you? Here are a few ideas:

- Be prepared. Keep individual baggies of frozen fruit in the freezer so you can chuck it in the blender with some greek yogurt and psyllium husks for a quick smoothie.

- Keep it simple. Whole grain toast topped with natural peanut butter and 1/2 banana. Done. That takes all of three minutes. You have three minutes, right?

- Nosh on leftovers. Breakfast doesn’t have to be ‘breakfast’ food.  Heat up last night’s quinoa and vegetables. Your body will just be thrilled to be getting fuel.

- Keep an emergency stash. So you ran out the door without grabbing anything for breakfast…but you remember you have a little bag of almonds and dried apricots in your bag. Try to keep a small meal in your purse or your car that you can fall back on in a pinch.

- When you feed your kids, feed yourself. Obviously this only applies if you actually have children (though you could use your pets as a cue as well). I try to sit down and eat with my children in the morning. It forces me to slow down and fuel myself, and also sets a good example.

I’ve been making an effort to eat breakfast daily, and I have to say I feel much better when I do – and I notice my children eat better when I sit down and eat with them.

So, are you a breakfast eater? If so, what are your go-to eats? If not, what’s your excuse? Spill in the comments!

Hello, Internets!

It’s my first ever ‘Toot Your Horn Tuesday’! I have to say, this is a great exercise for me. Because I’m going to have to really dig deep to find something to toot. It’s not that I’m really down on myself…it’s that I’m so exhausted lately that I can’t remember what the heck I’ve been up to!

Also, I’m sitting here giggling to myself because my four year old son has taken to telling me I ‘smell like pee pee, poop and toot’. Nice, right? Thanks, preschool. And it’s all I can do to keep a straight face.

Anyways…

Here’s what I’m going to toot about. Juggling.

Right now, I’m juggling Shrinking Kitchen (which I am so very proud of), taking care of my family, watching 20 month old twin girls in addition to my children and somehow, I’m keeping up. Well, for the most part. Some days the house looks a little worse for the wear. Some days I don’t get a shower.

But I’m surprisingly cool with it – I feel like I’m actually accomplishing things.

That’s most definitely toot-worthy (in my book).

What do you want to toot about? Let us know in the comments!

It’s Monday. A brand new shiny week! What are you going to do with it?

Let me start with a big admission. I am THE master pr0crastinator. It’s true. Case in point, I’m typing this post right now on Monday morning when it should have already been done and posted. That’s not the only thing I’m procrastinating on either.

So what are you putting off?

Are you putting off signing up for that race, making that doctor appointment, a big project at work, cleaning out that closet, picking up the phone or LOSING WEIGHT?

Most of the time, the things we put on the back burner are things we just don’t enjoy. Let’s face it, they probably suck. Who wants to do something that sucks, right? We’d much rather do something enjoyable, fun, easy. We put things off because they feel overwhelming, impossible, like too much work. So we make excuses, and keep pushing them off. We reschedule, ask for more time, say we’ll do it tomorrow…next week….next month…..next year…..next time.

The thing is tomorrow will be here, well, tomorrow. Next week and next month will arrive before you know, and next year, OMG, if it arrives and you still haven’t started, it will only make you feel horrible.

So how are we going to stop procrastinating right now? Here are a 8 tips to help get you moving in the right direction.

1. Visualize the end result. Make a motivation board. You could even do it on Pinterest!
2. Make up your own rewards for accomplishing your goal. Mini-rewards along the way are a great way to keep motivated.
3. Get a motivation jar. Or two. Fill one jar with marbles that equals weight you want to lose, and as you lose, move the marbles over to an empty jar.
4. Team up with a friend or ask someone to check up on you! This is why the Sisterhood was born – a support system for weight loss. If you need someone, I’m available 27/7….well, almost!
5. Break it down into smaller goals. Five pounds sounds a lot less intimidating that 50 or 100. Reward yourself for each mini-goal reached.
6. Start with small steps. Drink more water, start journaling your food, aim to exercise 3x a week. Sometimes jumping in headfirst will only lead to burn out.
7. Keep a journal. Blog, write it down, log it online.
8. Treat it like a project, map out your goals and workouts on a calendar.

Don’t beat yourself up if you get off track. Shit happens. Tomorrow is a new day, so don’t make excuses and quit. Remember: Progress, Not Perfection!

Hello there. Ever have those days or weeks where you just feel kind of “meh”, even though you have no REAL reason to be feeling that way? Yeah. That’s me. My blog has been suffering for months weeks… My motivation is lacking, even though I have that half-marathon right around the corner.

I have been busy reading, redesigning, and planning our landscaping in our backyard. My husband has been busy with the manual labor. We have a few acres outside of town and have been dreaming of raising a few chickens. Fresh eggs, anyone? Only, I forgot a small detail, you know, checking our subdivision covenants to see if they allow for it. They don’t.

We were licensed for foster care at the beginning of the month and have been awaiting our first placement call. Only it hasn’t happened. It’s a good thing if we aren’t needed, right? I know this. At the same time, several of my friends and family are expecting or have recently given birth to precious little newborns, and while I am so excited and happy for them {because REALLY, I am}, I also have that little twinge of a green-eyed monster stirring inside of me. I hate that I even remotely feel that way. I keep telling myself that if we are meant to have more children, it will happen. We have four happy, thriving children, and I think our family is pretty dang awesome already.

Can you say roller-coaster? Drastic times call for drastic measures.

3 Ways to Rid Yourself of The Funk

Put on a bright unitard, some sweet legwarmers {pornstache optional} and practice, practice, PRACTICE this routine. Put on a show for your friends.

Buy Try something new. You probably don’t want to go buy a kayak, as I did, because once you do? The weather is sure to turn shitty.

Go to Walmart. Better yet… Wear this or this and go to Walmart. Just don’t buy anything or you will wait in line at one of the two open checkouts for an hour, and that just plain takes the fun out of it.

How do you chase the blues away? Share and link to your favorite funnies!

It’s Monday, friends. I spent all weekend outside and have all the aches and pains to show for it. My back hurts. My ankle is bruised and swollen, due to one sneaky little garden gnome hiding out behind my feet and tripping me and forcing me to fall over the raised garden bed. Gracefully, of course.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I haven’t had enough coffee or ibuprofen yet to be fully functioning.

We have had some great pieces featured on the Sisterhood over the years, posts that may not have gotten the attention they deserved. So, if you missed them the first time, make sure you check them out now!

• Have you ever considered signing up for a charity race? I can’t imagine a better reason for tackling that 1/2 marathon you’ve been contemplating, but too scared to commit. Tiffany Zook writes about the ins and outs of charity racing.
• Find your passion.
• Demystifying fundraising. 
• Using your passion to fuel your training. 

• We looove success stories. Since featuring Erin in this Couch-to-5K success story, she has gone on to become a half-marathoner. Whether you are a seasoned runner, or a newbie wannabe, this story will motivate you!
• The Story of Loss. Inspiring. Grab tissues.

What are some inspiring and motivating stories you’ve read lately? Do share!