Empath Fitness and Wellness

Cold and crazy days call for some (healthier) comfort food - like this grown up grilled cheese!

Ingredients:
2 slices whole wheat bread
1 oz roasted red bell pepper strips
¼ cup fresh spinach
¼ cup shredded smoked gouda cheese (1 oz)
½ tsp. olive oil

Instructions:
Add pepper strips, spinach, and cheese to first slice of bread. Too with second slice of bread.Set aside.
Heat oil in medium nonstick skillet over medium high heat.
Add sandwich; cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Flip, then cook for 3 to 4 more minutes or until cheese has melted.

Discovered that B loves air fried grilled cheese in the process 👍🏻 Soup is also homemade but that’s a post for a different day.

What a difference a year can make.

Last year at this time, I had just kicked off my postpartum fitness journey with a 21 day program I knew like the back of my hand.

Since then, I’ve done a 9 week tabata program (that took me wayyyy longer than 9 weeks) a 21 day HIIT program, a dance program and half a strength and mobility program.

That’s when things changed. I was stuck in a rut. I was bored. I was just going through the motions.

So I did what I needed to do and signed up for a 30 day challenge focusing on:

30 minutes of movement a day
75oz of water a day
Committing to a nutrition plan
30 minutes/10 pages of personal development a day

Since I half-assed that strength and mobility program and am halfway through this 30 day challenge, the results have been insane.

I’ve lost 7 inches since July.
11.5 totally since I was cleared to and started working out again postpartum last October.

My scale is broken and I don’t even care. I feel more confident, and better about myself than I have in a really long time.

All of this to say, don’t quit. Change if you need. Adapt. Be resilient. Say no to what doesn’t serve you. Keep going.

Next round of Shock the System (aka this 30 day challenge) kicks off on 11/15.

If you’re feeling stuck and need a change, drop a ❤️ and let’s make it happen.

My sous-chef was a little messy tonight 🤪 but other than that, this was an excellent meal prep Monday - not to mention SO yummy.

Check out the recipe (I used an air fryer!)

Ingredients:
½ medium red bell pepper stem and seeds removed and discarded, cut into four pieces
1 medium Portobello mushroom cut into ½-inch slices
½ medium onion cut into ½-inch slices
1 medium zucchini sliced diagonally into ¼-inch slices
1 medium summer squash sliced diagonally into ¼-inch slices
2 tsp. olive oil divided use
4 (8-inch) whole wheat tortillas
4 tsp. prepared pesto sauce
4 Tbsp. mozzarella cheese (2 oz.)
4 Tbsp. soft goat cheese (2 oz.)

Instructions:
Preheat grill or broiler to high.
Brush bell pepper, mushroom, onion, zucchini, and summer squash with 1 tsp. oil.
Grill or broil vegetables for 3 to 5 minutes on each side, or until tender. Set aside.
Heat ½ tsp. oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat.
Place two tortillas in skillet; cook, turning once, for 1 to 2 minutes.
Top each tortilla with 1 tsp. pesto sauce, 1 Tbsp. mozzarella cheese, 1 Tbsp. goat cheese, and ¼ of grilled vegetables. Fold tortilla in half; cook, for 4 to 5 minutes, turning once, until cheese is melted and tortilla is golden brown. Repeat with remaining tortillas and ingredients; cook in remaining ½ tsp. oil.

I added a little chicken to mine for some protein and ta-da! I can’t wait to enjoy these for lunch this week ☺️

Nym says have a good Halloween weekend, everyone!

I’m sorry if I ever made this look easy.

Working out.
Eating nutritious foods.
Learning to manage anxiety.
Mom life.
Working from home mom life.
Exclusively pumping.
Building a business.

The truth is? It’s not always easy.
But it’s worth it, to me, and that’s why I do it.

What we value impacts every single area of our lives: our decisions, our habits, our choices.

Some people have a knack for knowing this and taking action. I’m the other people who had to learn this and find ways to make it work. And I share because it could help someone else trying to make it all work, too.

Right now, I’m building on this idea with a new challenge to hold me accountable:

30 minutes moving my body daily
Sticking with my meal plan
90oz water
30 minutes personal development

And there are over 100 women doing this with me, because at the end of the day, we all need someone to have our back 💪🏻

Alone, we make a ripple, together, we make waves.

How BEAUTIFUL is this Kitchari meal prep? 😍😍😍

This was a different flavor than I’m used to, but SO good, and a perfect hearty fall recipe.

Ingredients:

1 cup dry split mung dal (I used red lentils)
½ cup dry long-grain brown rice
1 Tbsp. ghee (I used butter)
1 tsp. whole cumin seeds (I used ground)
1 tsp. whole mustard seeds (I used ground)
1 tsp. whole fennel seeds (I used ground)
1 tsp. whole coriander seeds
1 tsp. ground turmeric
1 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled, finely chopped (I used ground)
32 fl.-oz. low-sodium organic vegetable broth (approx. 4 cups) (I used beef)
4 large carrots, chopped
3 large zucchini, chopped
2 cups broccoli florets
1 cup water
1 tsp. sea salt (or Himalayan salt)
½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped (we didn’t have any - oops - so I topped with some mozzarella cheese!)

Instructions:

Heat ghee (or butter in my case) in a large soup pot over medium-high heat.
Add cumin, mustard, fennel, and coriander seeds; cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 to 2 minutes, or until seeds pop.
Add turmeric and ginger; cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minute, or until fragrant.
Add mung dal (lentils), rice, broth, carrots, zucchini, broccoli, water, and salt; stir to combine. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low.
Partially cover; gently boil for 20 to 25 minutes, or until almost all liquid is absorbed and rice and vegetables are tender.
Evenly divide among 5 serving bowls; top with cilantro (or in my case, cheese).

This was soooo filling and comforting, left us with plenty of leftovers for lunch, and gave B an excuse to enjoy more of one of her fave foods - broccoli!

I didn’t think I was going to be able to finish my continuing education credits to earn my recertification and new specialist title before they were due this coming Wednesday.

In fact, I’d even called and left a voicemail with the program, asking about how to apply for an extension, which I didn’t want to do because it would cost more money.

And at the same time I was trying to give myself some grace after pregnancy, a global pandemic, having PPA, starting a new job, and working from home with a then baby now toddler.

But at the same time, it needed done in a way that made the most sense right now. So I found pockets of time. I did my best. And I let myself breath knowing I had three attempts to pass my final exam tonight.

I passed on the first try.

I’m not a huge advocate in always figuring s**t out because, oftentimes, this line of thinking leads people to believe they just need to run themselves into the ground to achieve something, or if it’s not perfect it’s not worth it.

It. Doesn’t. Have. To. Look. Like. That.

You find the way to make something work, to achieve a goal, to get s**t done, that makes the most sense for you and YOUR life.

And that’s what my new behavior change specialist title is all about 🥳

Nym got all brushed & beautiful and wants to know - what makes you feel confident?

What do I do if I ate a little tooooo much or ate a lot of foods I normally wouldn’t over the weekend?

Get right back to it!

This weekend, when and what I ate was all over the place. But that doesn’t mean I need to restrict OR overexercise this week.

It means I dive right back into my regular healthy habits!

What’s this look like?

- 90 water
- 30 minutes moving my body
- listening to or reading personal development
- fueling my body with nutritious foods
- sleep (but like, with a baby 😆)

Don’t overcomplicate it.

If you’re ready to make healthy habits a part of your regular routine, I got you. October 24, we begin.

Haaaaaapy Monday friends!

Here’s a quick and easy lunch prep for ya:

Ingredients:

Chicken with Thai peanut sauce
Broccoli slaw mix (no dressing)
One leek, chopped
Peanuts
Flour tortillas

Directions:

Cook chicken and toss with peanut sauce.
Mix with slaw mix, chopped leeks, and peanuts.
Wrap it up!

This is one of this mama’s faves, so she doesn’t share 🤫🤣

Hi friend!

Are you feeling tired, exhausted, maybe a little burnt out?

Do you constantly find yourself at the BOTTOM of your priority list?

Are you struggling to gain momentum in your health as we head toward the holidays?

I am! And after talking to a couple of teammates, I realized I wasn't alone. So instead of just saying we were going to change, we created a challenge with the mindset of "shocking the system."

What do I mean by that? We need something that will take us out of our comfort zone, something that makes us commit on another level.

It won't be for everyone because this is DISCIPLINED, but if it's for you- keep reading!

This is a one month challenge that runs from Oct 25-November 24.

Here is the breakdown:

• 7 days of movement (30 minutes a day in some capacity. You'll have the option between our LIVE platform and classes or committing to a program)
• 75 ounces of water daily MINIMUM
• Commit 100% to a nutrition program
• 10 pages or 30 minutes of personal development a day

BONUS & OPTIONAL: We will be doing a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day and run a 5K.

Again, this is about shocking the system. It's about US, community, results, and finding excitement in taking care of US again.

Ready to join? Drop a 🦃

PS. This is a GREAT challenge to start your coaching journey with.

Same program - two pictures.

In one, I’m four months pregnant.

In the other, I’m 13 months postpartum.

I needed a break from my lifting and mobility workouts this week, and I’ve always loved boxing. 10 Rounds came out while I was pregnant, but I was cleared for physical activity by my doctor, and had previous boxing experience, so I went for it, and finished the program in my second trimester.

And it feels SO different now postpartum, but also SO good.

That’s the beauty of having an online fitness library full of 1,000+ workouts. You CAN find something that will work for you and what you need, in any season of life.

I’m super pumped to keep trying new things with Beachbody, especially once my new MYX bike gets here and live cycling classes are officially available 🥳

There’s never been a better time to work on your health and join the fit fam. You game?

Today’s meal prep Monday is brought to you by this mama ain’t got no time 😆

Sheet pan meals are my go-to for super busy days, so here we are.

Oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Half a dozen sweet Italian sausages, defrosted
Two yellow bell peppers, sliced
One red onion, sliced
One bag frozen green beans
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Minced garlic to taste
Parprika to taste

Spray a pan down, add everything on, and bake for 45 minutes.

Have some leftover veggies for tomorrow. Hubby approved. Baby loves green beans. Done.

Nym wants to know - what’s your favorite Halloween candy?

Today was a reminder that this isn’t linear.

We talk a lot about nutrition and fitness not being linear. You get injured, get sick, go on vacation, heck - life just plain happens. You circle around and get back on track.

Mental health is the same way. It’s not something you just “get over” or recover from and never have to work on again or maintain. It’s something you have to keep working on every day.

I let my personal development fall by the wayside this week, and slipped back into anxious patterns. Today was a culmination of all of these things that left me scrambling to get outside.

Outside is my space. I breathe better outside. I can practice grounding techniques better outside. I don’t feel claustrophobic outside. And the ☀️ and fresh air sure don’t hurt!

So back on track again. Personal development every day. Walks every day. Movement every day.

It’s just as important as fueling my body with nutritious foods, working out, and drinking water. Oh, and sleep ✌🏻

Anyone else kind of enjoy their social media free Monday?

At first, I felt super on edge. After all, in network marketing, social media is a huge tool to, well, network! Not to mention, I have friends who post super cute pics of their pets and babies ☺️

But then, I sort of relaxed into it. No pressure to post, get stories up in the moment, or reply to DMs right away. Just time to enjoy and move more organically, in a way.

It felt like a reminder. A reminder that not everyone needs to see everything. That every moment doesn’t need captured like this 📸 but like this ❤️ A reminder that not everything needs to be done ASAP. And a reminder to always have a good email list 🤪

Meal prep Monday on a Tuesday because Mercury retrograde be crashing social media like 🌚

So here’s a chocolate cake in a mug recipe for ya that I found on Pinterest this weekend:

https://pin.it/4HTy2XR

Chocolate Mug Cake

Baking & Spices
3 tbsp All-purpose flour
1/4 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Chocolate chips
1 tbsp Cocoa powder, unsweetened
2 tbsp Granulated sugar
1 dash Salt
1/8 tsp Vanilla extract

Oils & Vinegars
1 tbsp Canola oil

Dairy
3 tbsp Milk

Mixed it all together and heated it in the microwave for 2 minutes - perfect.

Added some icing and sprinkles left over from the baby’s birthday cake on top and 😘 perfect.

Absorbing some ☀️ today after a solid two months of absorbing feedback, personal development, therapy, and continuing education (which still isn’t done 😬), and my head’s about to bust outta this hat with information - and my heart’s about to bust outta this hoodie with a spirit of love and service.

Growth isn’t passive. It’s an incredibly interactive process, it’s hard work, it’s messy, and sometimes it’s straight up exhausting.

I took a break today because after learning, it’s time to implement. And that requires a whole new season of strategy. I am so excited for this new season in my coaching career (PS new open gym group starts on Monday).

But first…rest. Time outside. Friends on HBO Max. Opa delivering Panera for lunch. The back to it 🙃

Let’s talk self care!

This is something I struggle with personally - like a lot 😆 And I can tell you right now I do not check all of these boxes off every single day.

But even checking off one? Two? Can make a huge difference in my mindset, my mood, my work, my energy, my parenting! So I just have to remind myself it’s OK and the house won’t burn down if I take the time for SOMETHING. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing.

As the queen of putting myself on the back burner, this is all still a little new to me, which is why I like having a checklist to mark things off with as I go. I hope you find it helpful - share with a friend who needs it, too 😘

I haven’t done a transformation Tuesday in a while.

Why not?

I wasn’t super committed to the program I was doing, ended up switching programs to the one I’m doing now, and then…

I hit a plateau.

Plateaued are frustrating as hell and can make you question everything. And it can be easy to see someone hit one and think “well obviously that doesn’t work then.”

But I’ve found at the end of the day it comes down to:

1. Asking the RIGHT questions, and making smart choices with the answers
2. Staying consistent and persistent
3. Measuring non scale victories

So I’ll keep on keeping on 💪🏻 and let you know what happens next.

And yes, those are ritz cracker crumbs on my floor because toddler life.

Meal prep Monday!

This week I tried pesto zucchini noodles with sweet Italian sausage and omg I can’t remember the last time I had pesto 😋

Ingredients:

2 packs frozen zucchini noodles (used fo spiraling my own but ain’t got time for that anymore)
1 red onion, sliced
1 cup mushrooms
1 jar pesto sauce (also used to make my own, again ain’t got time for that)
6 sweet Italian sausage
Garlic to taste
Basil to taste

Directions:

Defrost sweet Italian sausage if frozen and cook thoroughly. Cut into bit sized pieces.
Cook zucchini noodles to package directions and add to sweet Italian sausage.
Add red onion and mushrooms to sausage and noodle mix.
Mix in pesto sauce.
Season with basil and garlic.
Stir until heated through and combined.

Took maybe 30 minutes or less. Hubby loved it. Baby loved chowing down on some plain zucchini noodles I set aside. Leftovers achieved. Success!

Can you believe it’s almost October already? I sure can’t. It’s like as soon as B turned 1, the rest of September went into fast-forward mode.

And a new month means a new opportunity to sign up for one of my fitness & nutrition groups!

Here are your options for October:

- Open Gym, a group to help you get started with being consistent in your workout routine with all access to my virtual fitness library

- Oktoberfest, a group to hold you
accountable in your consistency, and push you further with challenges (and prizes) along the way, all with a fun fall theme!

- 645 VIP, a group specifically designed for you if you join me in the workout program I’m doing right now, which is for any fitness level, 45 minutes a day, 6 days a week

And y’all the options as far as the virtual fitness library and recipes right now are INSANE there’s so much to pick from - and I’ll be your guide to help you pick the right one, get started right, and build the healthy habits you want to live the life you deserve.

DM me anytime or drop a 🎃 in the comments and I’ll be in touch!

PS working on something special for my mamas, so stay tuned 💕

Nym says keep your ears open!

Info on our October fitness accountability group is coming soon 🎃

Crazy mom hair don’t care 🤪

I pulled back a bit from posting this week because this last week - these last two weeks really - have been really chaotic and stressful and honestly I’ve been feeling overwhelmed.

I generally try to keep things light, positive, and helpful on here, and that just isn’t the space I’ve been in lately. Oh and on top of that apparently there’s some full moon Mercury retrograde nonsense going down.

BUT. I know that posting about struggling could potentially help someone else, so here I am.

I’m far from perfect. My life is far from perfect. I struggle with mom guilt. My child is starting to express some big emotions. Working from home with a toddler is a blessing but not always easy. I fight anxiety some days more than others. Being knocked out of my normal routine makes me flustered. I’m dealing with hormonal issues and stress by changes postpartum. And there’s been a lot of that going on more than usual.

Know that you’re not alone. I might not always have answers, but I can always offer solidarity.

I’ve had a few feelers out over the past two weeks on some projects I’m SUPER passionate about.

Not all of them panned out - right now. And it’s a bummer.

But some days it’s like the universe is legitimately TRYING to tell me something when all of my personal development lines up and I swear the message is just oh so clear: keep going, keep working on yourself, keep asking, keep being curious, keep being passionate.

Feedback - both positive and negative - is always something I’ve struggled with, and to be honest, growth is just straight up uncomfortable sometimes.

But what if we sat in that discomfort and let it change us? Transform us? Make us better? So that eventually we CAN take that next step?

I’m not saying listen to everyone under the sun and let them tell you what’s wrong with you - hell no!

I’m saying trust your intuition, but be receptive. You were put here for a purpose. Sometimes that purpose just needs a nudge in the right direction.

Meal Prep Monday recipe for the week!

Loooooved this “salad” from Kelsey Smith. Spinach sautéed in garlic, with chopped apple, sliced red onion, chopped pepperoni and crumbled goat cheese 😋

Took me maybe 10 minutes to make ⏲
Hubby approved 👏🏻
Baby could have spinach and apple from it 👨‍👩‍👧
Leftovers for my lunches for 3 days 🗓
Fit into my meal plan 💚💜❤️💙

Nym says happy Friday! Take some time to rest this weekend 🥱😴

It’s been a year.

I could be upset or impatient with my body.

Sometimes I am.

But most days?

Most days, I’m just so freaking grateful.

Grateful that my body carried this beautiful baby.
Grateful it helped me through 23 hours of labor.
Grateful it allowed me to make milk for my baby.
Grateful it healed.
Grateful it’s been a place for snuggles, spit up, laughter, and bottles.
Grateful it’s gotten stronger.
Grateful it’s been a jungle gym, a walker, a rock climbing, wall and a pull up bar.
Grateful it’s a safe place.

My body might not be where I want it to be.

But I’m grateful it’s where IT needs to be.