My next round of my Online TRAIN & FUEL 4 Week Bootcamp starts October 5!  Registration is now open!

This Bootcamp focuses on TRAINING our bodies well.  We ditch the term "exercise" and the negativity surrounding it and shift our focus to training FOR our goals.  We set goals and we train to reach them.  We make it a lifestyle change.  We also dig into FUELING our bodies right.  We talk meal planning and meal prep.  I share my system and how it works for me.  We keep each other accountable on our daily/weekly meals.  We learn how to see food as fuel for our health goals.

This Bootcamp is $49.99 and includes:
- Access to private Facebook group with like minded women
- Daily Devotions
- Personalized Meal Plan
- Workout Plan
- Shape Her Bundle items: My Grocery List & Menu Planner
- Nutrition Guidance & Accountability
- Motivation & Tips
- Recipes

This group is open to all women - regardless of age or fitness level.  My first round was so fun and I'm excited to start this second round with a brand new group of women! 

Here's what people are saying about last month's Train & Fuel Bootcamp:



If you want information, complete the contact form below and I'll be in touch!

As you know, I've had two pregnancies.  Both pregnancies, I was able to exercise and keep up with my fitness routine.  During both pregnancies, I was able to stay within the weight gain range that my doctor wanted me to stay in.  It was a goal we talked about in the very beginning of both pregnancies, and was relevant to ME and MY BODY.  I'm not going to tell you that goal, because your body and your goal will be different.  I don't want you stuck on a number because every woman's body handles pregnancy differently, every woman's body is made different, and every woman's body will have different outcomes when it comes to pregnancy weight gain.

I do want to start by saying that pregnancy is NOT the time to push your body.  Your body is changing.  Your stability changes.  Your balance changes.  Your muscles stretch.  Your ligaments become more flexible.  You can easily hurt yourself if you push yourself too hard during pregnancy.  Plus, you're growing a human!!  I tell clients your #1 goal during pregnancy is to keep that baby safe and healthy!  You're not supposed to get your heart rate too high or push yourself past the point of exhaustion. If Momma doesn't get oxygen, baby isn't either.  Don't forget that.  My rule of thumb was always to exercise, but scale it back just a bit so I didn't over do it.  I knew the point that was "pushing it" for me, and I never went past it.

My doctor always told me (and the general rule of thumb is) if you were doing it pre-pregnancy, you can continue during pregnancy.  You'll obviously have to watch the intensity and scale back as needed/make modifications as belly grows, but overall, you can continue your regular workout routine.  For me, I continued weight lifting into both of my pregnancies.  I just had to modify and adjust as needed (lower weight amount, sit vs. stand to keep my back from hurting, lay on incline bench vs. flat, etc)  Make sure you ask your doctor of the modifications needed at each stage of pregnancy.  I ran with both my pregnancies until about the start of my 2nd trimester.  Lots of women run during pregnancies with big ol bellies, but for me, it never felt good.  It was one of those things that just didn't feel right and while I like to run, I remembered pregnancy was a time to listen to my body, scale back, and adjust.  So I did.  

Below are 3 ways I was able to stay fit and healthy during two pregnancies, while still gaining weight and doing so the healthiest way possible. 

1) Snack Smart
Pregnant women are not "eating for two" like you often hear.  Yes, you're eating to nourish your growing baby, but that growing baby is not the size of a grown human.  You don't need to consume enough extra calories for a grown human when pregnant.  Instead, pregnant women only need an extra 300 calories a day.  (Breastfeeding women need about 500 extra calories a day)  For me, the key to steady and healthy weight gain, during pregnancy, was smart snacking.  My appetite was always out of control during my pregnancies and I grazed a lot during the day.  (I'm home all day and I eat lots of small meals vs 3 big ones)  I made sure I had smart snack options available: Greek yogurt with berries and granola, PB and an apple or banana or celery or carrots, hummus and veggies, small piece dark chocolate, Lara Bars, handful of nuts.  My go-to snack after supper around 8pm, when I always needed a little something more, was a coffee mug of Organic cereal.  Something like an Organic Cheerio like cereal, or Organic Multi Grain Squares with skim milk.  It was always satisfying and never too heavy that late at night.  And I had my fair share of times I ate too many servings of lasagna for dinner, or a scoop too many of ice cream.  I didn't beat myself up.  I just moved on and did better next time.  I knew I was being active and those moments wouldn't doom me.  As long as you are choosing wisely and aren't thinking "I can eat whatever I want, whenever I want!" you'll survive.  :)

2) Exercise 3 Days a Week
I typically got 3-4 days of exercise in with both of my pregnancies, but always had the goal of 3 days.  That doesn't mean there were some weeks I only got 2 in.  If you've followed me since Allie's pregnancy, you know I had to take some time off exercising for about 5 weeks due to intense Braxton Hicks contractions around weeks 25-30.  Then, at the end of Allie's pregnancy, I was just too uncomfortable to do much and didn't exercise regularly the last month or so.  With Landon's pregnancy, I exercised up until the week I delivered him.  Getting in 3 days a week is a great goal because that's 3 days you're moving, getting those muscles moving, heart rate pumping, and burning calories.

3) 30 Minute Walks
Listen, pregnancy can be super uncomfortable.  You're growing a newborn baby in there.  By the 3rd trimester you can feel pretty miserable at times.  Your belly is big, your hips and back ache, and you feel out of breath.  Sometimes, you need to rest.  Take a break.  But if you feel like exercising, just walk!  I was the queen of walking during my pregnancies.  I walked a TON with Landon.  That was my go-to exercise in the last several weeks of his pregnancy.  I went on my lunch break to a nearby gym or local park and walked 30 minutes.  I wasn't walking very fast because I was so big, but I was moving!!  With Allie, I couldn't walk quite as much because - strangely enough - it actually hurt my lower back.  But on those days I felt good, and I needed some light movement, I walked.  Maybe not 30 minutes, but something!  Walking is a GREAT way to stay healthy and active during pregnancy.  PLUS: walking is a great way to ease back into exercise post-baby too.  You need doctor approval first, but I was walking around 2 weeks post-baby with both of my kids.  I had C-sections both times, too, so I went SLOW and only did 10 minutes at first and slowly worked my way up.  It's a great way to ease back into it!

It is possible to stay healthy and active during pregnancy, but sometimes things happen and you can't.  If you're put on bed rest or have complications, don't beat yourself up.  You will have the chance to work hard and push yourself after the baby, believe me.  Remember, pregnancy is a beautiful blessing - not everybody gets the pleasure to do it - so give yourself a break, relax, take care of yourself and that baby, and ENJOY it!!!!

If there is one verse I wish all active women could "get", it's this one.  I memorized it several years ago.  It's been a powerful tool for me. 

We live in a world where "perfect" bodies scream at us from every angle.  Magazines, TV, movies.  Everywhere.  We know in our minds that it isn't realistic.  That the magazine covers are photoshopped, and that the Actresses kill themselves with trainers for hours on end for movie roles.  Yet, we can still have this piece of us that thinks "but if I work and obsess hard enough, I MIGHT just get there."  This healthy living journey is so easy to become obsessed about.  Even for me.  The last couple months I've really had to work at reminding myself of this and snapping out of it.  This is one of the verses I remind myself of OFTEN when I feel myself starting to lean towards the obsession part. 

We can get to a place where we're idolizing our bodies above everything else and that is NOT the point of training and fueling our bodies well.  This verse reminds me that Yes, physical training is important.  But it isn't the end all be all.  It isn't the focus.  Becoming more like Christ is.  The process of sanctification.  Sanctification is a lifelong journey of becoming more like Christ.  It's setting aside time each day to study His Word.  It's talking to him, continually, in prayer.  It's joining other Believers in worship and community.  It's showing His love and joy to those around us.  It's sharing His salvation with those who seek it.

Eating healthy, cooking healthy, and exercising are important.  We're called to honor Christ with our bodies (1 Cor 10:31).  But we're not supposed to do it at the expense of idolizing it.  Idol worship isn't just about worshipping a golden calf or a statue.  It's about putting something, other than God, in our heart's #1 spot.

Here's 3 very practical ways I work to keep this in line, in my own life:

1) Daily Jesus Time
By setting aside time EACH DAY to study His word, talk to Him, and grow in my relationship with Him, I'm feeding myself TRUTH and remembering where my focus should be.

2) Unfollow Button
Yep.  I said it.  If there's a girl I follow on social media that is causing me to stumble in my walk, or feel so jealous and insecure about myself that it's all I think about - I unfollow them.  It doesn't happen often because I've learned what my triggers are, but I'm not afraid to do it if I need to!  It helps me keep my focus where it should be and not on obsessing over what my body looks like compared to hers.

3) Know your triggers & Avoid them
Do some soul searching and figure out what triggers you to obsess over your health and/or body.  It's different for everybody.  What triggers me might not trigger you, and vise versa.  The point is, figure it out and AVOID IT when possible.  Sometimes it isn't always possible, but if it is DO IT.  Believe me, it helps tremendously.

Today, take some time to stop and evaluate yourself: are you idolizing your body?  Are you allowing your body to become #1, instead of letting God have that #1 spot in your thoughts, actions, etc?  Work through it with the Lord and come up with a game plan to combat it.  Maybe you, too, need to commit this verse to memory!