Taking A Closer Look...

Many of you know from my original post that this year-long journey of mine is just as much about repairing my health as it is "re-discovering myself." 

My focus for the next 10 months is to truly work on me from the inside out. This new focus has meant a lot of deep soul-searching and re-evaluating of my priorities. 

One of the more obvious changes I've come to realize is that I need to start putting myself first. It's something I rarely do, but doing so will actually help me to become an even better mother, wife, sister and friend. 

This is an excerpt from a recent article called "How To Change Your Life To Become Truly Happy" by Rebecca Butler, and it really spoke to where I'm at.

I thought I'd share it with the hopes that it might inspire you too...

"Reclaim your self worth. Stop placing your self worth in the hands of another.

You can spend years of your life trying to please others — parents, siblings, lovers, neighbors. What if you simply stopped? You have that power. You have the ability to choose to love yourself exactly the way you are in exactly this moment. When you do, when you free yourself from the need to earn another's approval, you transcend unnecessary weight. There is no one's opinion of you that matters but your own.

If you don't like your life, change it.

Start by identifying what feels good to you in any given moment. Focus on it. Grow those sensations. When you're way off track, baby steps are key. As is forgiveness, kindness, and a willingness to let go and not needing to know precisely how and when things will happen. 

Trust that the first and most important step in lasting and meaningful change happens the moment you decide you want change. At that moment, all you have to do is start to notice something different rather than what is the same. As your awareness is drawn to something new, you begin to rewire your path. You are on your way.

Give up the battle. Stop struggling. The sense of struggle creates the struggle. Go with the flow. Just give it a try and see what happens.

Find the joy in the moment. Reach for it. For no reason whatsoever. With no guarantees or promises of a certain outcome. Try it. Go for it. I dare you." 

Here's to 10 more months of positive change and discovery!

Won't you join me?!

xoxo -Kara
#livebetter #givebetter

I've Got The Shakes...

This has quickly become one of my favorite snacks!

Who needs a chemical filled "PSL" from the neighborhood coffee shop when you can have this instead! 

Not only is pumpkin perfect for this time of year, it's actually a superfood with amazing health benefits! 

You can read more about the incredible benefits of pumpkin here.

Enjoy!

xoxo -Kara

(PS. The brand of protein powder I use is Tera'sWhey Organic.)

Feeling A Bit Chili...

My husband got this deliciously healthy Pumpkin Chili going in our crock pot yesterday morning and the whole house smelled amazing all day!

This Pumpkin Chili is the PERFECT Fall dish especially for Football Sundays!

You can easily double this recipe if you're expecting a crowd and nobody will ever suspect how healthy this chili really is!

The pumpkin gives the chili a smooth texture and flavor without any added fat or fatty cuts of meat. You could also try adding your favorite beans to the recipe.

(If you don’t have a slow cooker, you can also do this on the stove in a heavy pot, like a Dutch oven.)

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound extra-lean ground beef or turkey breast

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 green bell peppers, chopped

1 fresh jalapeno chile pepper, seeded and chopped (optional)

2 cloves garlic

1 can (15 ounces) unsweetened pumpkin puree

1 can (14 ounces) diced tomatoes

1 tablespoon chili powder (or more to taste)

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lightly coat a large skillet with olive oil and heat over medium heat. Add the ground meat, breaking it up into pieces, and cook until browned, about 8 to 10 minutes.

In a 3- to 4-quart slow cooker, combine the ground meat, onion, bell peppers, jalapeno pepper (if using), garlic, pumpkin puree, tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, salt, black pepper to taste, and 1 cup water.

Cover and cook on low heat for 6 to 7 hours, until the vegetables are tender. Stir to combine the ingredients, ladle into bowls, and serve hot.

Consider adding a dollop of greek yogurt or mashed avocado to the top. YUM!

Makes 4 servings

Enjoy!
xoxo -Kara
#livebetter #givebetter

Nothing Can Stop Us...

"I feel overwhelmed. I don’t know where to start. I have so much weight to lose, it feels impossible.”

I spent years with those same thoughts. I know that there is never a perfect time to start anything. However, if you wait until life slows down, until after the holidays, after (insert kid’s sports season here), until after this project at work, you will always be waiting, never starting. For the last decade I thought, if I can just get through (fill in the blank), I’ll do better.

The truth is, along with those same thoughts were overwhelmed feelings, not sure that I could ever actually lose weight and get healthy.

But, that's all changed, and I am. The difference, was that I stopped waiting and just started.

I truly believe when a person makes the decision that, “This is it, I’m doing it.” success follows.

“How do I get started?” you might ask?

The simple answer is to just start.

Start walking, start drinking more water, start eating better, start cutting sodium. Choose one, or choose them all. But just make a choice and do it! It sounds simple, and it really can be. Once your mind has decided that it’s go time, there is nothing stopping you from succeeding!


xoxo -Kara
#livebetter #givebetter

A Lasting Connection...

The mind-body connection is real...

If you search the PubMed scientific database, you will find many studies that show the connection between negative emotions and illness. However, we don't need scientists to tell us this.

We've all felt the mind-body connection. When we're nervous, we feel a churning in our abdomen.

When we're depressed, our whole body feels filled with cement.

When we're angry, our heart races and our face becomes flushed.

When we feel calm and loving, our heart rate slows, we breathe more deeply, our muscles relax and we feel lighter inside.

Those feelings mirror countless chemical (and genetic) processes within our bodies. The truth is, we're not separate from our bodies, and the sooner we realize that, the sooner we can harness that knowledge for our health.

Our bodies aren't to blame for our illnesses, but then again, we aren't either.

I used to wonder: If I had listened to my body sooner, could I have prevented my autoimmune disease?

It's a moot point, really. Although it felt like it happened overnight, autoimmune diseases usually take years to develop, and over that time, the symptoms are just not acute enough to be diagnosed. While I can't turn back time, I CAN choose health every day from this point forward.

Every choice I make now is an act of self-love and self-healing.

If you've been angry with your body (and/or yourself) for a long time like me, it can time and practice to change. Try paying attention to that voice in your head. How do you talk to yourself? How do you talk to your body?

If you catch yourself being mean, stop, take a deep breath and replace those thoughts with kinder ones. You deserve nothing less.

When our children get sick, do we get mad at them, or do we nurture them, and do everything in our power to help them be well?

Don't our bodies deserve that same unconditional love?

The answer is yes.

xoxo -Kara
#livebetter #givebetter

Are You Ready For Some...

FOOTBALL?!?!

Football Sunday!! It's one of my favorite days of the week! But this season, chips and queso won't cut it on my new meal plan. The good news is, it's still possible to have the football food we love!

Tonight we're having these Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps!

INGREDIENTS:
For the Chicken:
24 oz boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 celery stalk
1/2 onion, diced
1 clove garlic
16 oz fat free low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup hot cayenne pepper sauce (We use Frank's)

For the Wraps:
6 large lettuce leaves, Bibb or Iceberg
1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
2 large celery stalks, cut into 2 inch matchsticks

DRESSING: We like to mix 8 oz of nonfat Greek Yogurt with a bit of dried parsley, dill, garlic powder, onion powder, and dried chives. It makes the yogurt taste just like ranch!

Directions:
In a crock pot, combine chicken, onions, celery stalk, garlic and broth (enough to cover your chicken, use water if the can of broth isn't enough). Cover and cook on high 4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.

Remove the chicken from pot, reserve 1/2 cup broth and discard the rest. Shred the chicken with two forks, return to the slow cooker with the 1/2 cup broth and the hot sauce and set to on high for an additional 30 minutes. Makes 3 cups chicken.

To prepare lettuce cups, place buffalo chicken in each leaf, top with shredded carrots, celery and a drizzle of dressing (optional). Wrap up and start eating! (Serving size is 1/2 cup of shredded chicken per person.)

xoxo -Kara
#livebetter #givebetter

Egg In My Face...

One of the biggest keys to my success this week has been meal preparation. As a busy, working Mom of two, not having to think (read: stress) about what we're eating for each meal has helped me tremendously.

I've also been sure to eat breakfast within one hour of waking to help fire up my metabolism for the day.

I thought I'd share with you one of my go-to breakfasts:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Broccoli & Turkey Egg Cups:

Ingredients:
4 cups broccoli florets**
8 oz lean ground turkey, cooked
1 3/4 cup egg whites (about 8)
1 tsp olive oil
salt and fresh pepper
cooking spray

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Steam broccoli with a little water for about 6-7 minutes.
When broccoli is cooked, crumble into smaller pieces and add ground turkey, olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix well.

Spray a standard size non-stick cupcake tin with cooking spray (I use grapeseed or olive oil in a mister) and spoon broccoli mixture evenly into 9 tins.

In a medium bowl, beat egg whites, salt and pepper. Pour into the greased tins over broccoli/turkey mixture until a little more than 3/4 full. Bake in the oven until cooked, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately. Cover and store leftovers in the refrigerator to enjoy during the week!

SERVING SIZE: 2 Muffins

**You can also substitute whatever veggies you may have on hand. We've done diced bell peppers, onions and shredded zucchini too. (Just make sure you squeeze out your veggie mixture as well as you can before spooning it into the muffin tins if it seems watery.)

xoxo -Kara
#livebetter #givebetter

Here I Am...

Embracing the idea of getting out from behind the camera and believing that I too am picture-worthy. 

"Hi there!" 

xoxo -Kara

PS. This is really hard for me, but like everything else in life, it will get easier with practice!

#loveyourselffirst 

#livebetter #givebetter

Gulp!

One of the things I've been really focusing on this past week has been my water intake and staying hydrated.

Before beginning this journey, it wasn't uncommon for me to go a whole day having drank nothing more than a single cup of coffee. No joke!

(Even worse, I'd microwave that same cup multiple times throughout the morning and afternoon because it would get cold before I'd finish it. How gross is that!?! I digress...)  ;)

My point is, I was functioning in a chronically dehydrated state. Not good! 

I also suffered from fatigue, confusion, memory loss, brittle hair, cold extremities, constipation, and headaches... ALL of which can be caused by severe dehydration.

Because of this, increasing my water intake was the first thing I wanted/needed to tackle.

After consulting many different sources, I decided to follow the school of thought that I should be drinking half of my body weight in ounces.

(For example: A 170lb person, should drink 85oz of water per day.)

I currently weigh 280lbs (YIKES! I know! Hence this year-long journey!), SO my magic number has been 140oz of water per day.

Going from barely drinking anything to 140oz was a bit overwhelming, so I eased myself in with a starting goal of 100oz. By day three however, I realized that the water bottle I'd been using actually held 32oz instead of 24oz like I thought. Which meant, that while I was celebrating drinking four full bottles a day, which I thought was 96oz... I had actually consumed 128oz!! WOOT WOOT!! 

I've been up to my final goal of 140oz ever since and already I'm noticing a HUGE difference (besides the frequent trips to the ladies' room! HA!)... I'm no longer feeling tired, or experiencing brain fog, and my skin already looks better too! I find myself after only a week, craving the water, and actually feeling thirsty... a sensation that I haven't felt in decades!

My advice to you is this, even if you don't plan to change anything else in your lives... You ABSOLUTLEY must increase your water intake. Make sure that you are consuming the appropriate number of ounces for your body. You won't be sorry!

I had planned to share with you some of the amazing benefits of drinking water, but this article from THORBJÖRG at MindBodyGreen sums it up perfectly.

Give it a read!

Then, go and grab your favorite water bottle and join me!  CHEERS!

xoxo -Kara

Her Cup, (ahem...) Tub Runneth Over...

For the past 20 years, as the unwanted pounds increased, I thought I could combat them by eating less often with smaller portions.

In all honesty, most days I'd skip my breakfast all together and have my first meal around 2-3pm, (some days not eating anything until supper!). It was perfectly normal for me to survive on only a cup of coffee until then.

My logic was, that eating less often meant consuming less calories... which would result in weight-loss. Right?!?

WRONG!

Over the years, the extra pounds kept coming. Even exercise wasn't shaking them. (And a times I was clocking over 25 miles a week!) I was running 5ks and completed a half marathon, but continued to still steadily gain weight! What the what!?!

I'd get so discouraged, that I'd either binge on fatty, greasy food OR quit exercising all together thinking, "What is the point?!?" feeling so completely defeated.

Well it turns out that what I was actually doing was keeping my body in "starvation mode" or what some call "fat storing mode" AKA shutting down my metabolism because my body thought I was in the middle of a FAMINE so it had to store up and hold on to everything in order to ensure that it could properly function.

YIKES!

To help explain it better, think of it like this:


My body is a bathtub...

Food is the "water" and the "drain" is my metabolism.

Being in "fat storing" mode for so long caused my "drain" to get SO small that almost no water passes through. Meanwhile, my faucet remained ON, causing my "bathtub" to not only fill up...it has overflowed! 

(In other words, I continued to eat, but my metabolism was so low that instead of burning food for fuel, my body has been storing it as fat.)


SO HERE'S THE PLAN...

First, I need to turn my faucet down, which will help bring the water level in my "bathtub" down.

I'll do this by eliminating complex carbs, sugar, fruit and dairy for 2 weeks.

Instead I'll enjoy clean eating (consisting of 3 meals and 2 snacks) using only lean proteins, veggies, herbs + spices and most importantly, staying super hydrated! (I'll share a separate post on hydration later.)

Next, during weeks 3-8, I'll turn my faucet up a little bit (allowing some more foods back in, in moderation like: legumes, dairy and fruit), BUT I'll have to keep working on widening the "drain" (increasing my metabolism), which I'll accomplish through increasing my total exercise time + intensity. This will ensure that the "water" keeps going in the tub a little slower than the "water" going out the "drain." (Because remember, I'm dealing with about 100 lbs of extra "water" in my tub.)

Finally, after the 8 weeks are up, my focus will be on widening my "drain" (metabolism) to its maximum (by exercising at least 70 minutes a day, six days a week) AND adjusting my "faucet" back to a normal level, allowing back ANY foods in moderation, as long as they're unprocessed + clean.

My hope is that by then, my body’s metabolism will be so much more efficient, and my activity levels will have increased so much, that I can maintain them both for the long-term!

Wish me luck!

xoxo -Kara

The Journey Begins...

"Hi there!" I'm a 38-year-old, happily married, mother of two, and a small business owner who's passionate about living naturally and helping others.

WOW! Just reading that makes me feel EXTREMELY lucky, thankful and blessed.

And I am. However, it's simply not enough, or rather there's SOMETHING missing...

ME.

Unfortunately, like many others, I've spent the last 20 years putting ALL of my time and energy into every THING and every ONE that I care about. Which means that I also completely STOPPED taking care of myself!

The reality is, that in addition to the above... I'm also about 115 lbs over-weight, I battle health conditions & depression, and worst of all I'm the mom (& wife) on the side-lines (and dodging photos), WATCHING life pass me by instead of participating and enjoying every minute of it like I wish I could.

Like I know I should...

Because the "me" that I am today, is not who I TRULY am deep down inside.

But sadly I've lost "her."

Twenty years ago, I would have described myself as an athlete, artist, and musician, who led a very outgoing, colorful, and care-free life with big dreams to change the world.

It's hard to accept that none of *those* descriptions are still true.

But starting today, that's all about to change!

I've decided that it's TIME to re-claim my life, re-discover myself, and repair my health.

Because, I want to be the BEST version of me I can be!

I want to TRULY fulfill and project my motto: "Live Better and Give Better."

And over the next year, I'm going to share with you exactly how I do it, and maybe it will resonate with you, or maybe you'll pass it along to someone you know that might need it. Maybe we can support each other, inspire one another, and encourage others to do the same.

Join me, won't you?

xoxo -Kara