When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. That was this weeks challenge.  How’s it been going good. I take public transportation and often times we get packed in there like sardines. I carry a rather large gym bag and get looks for it. I usually roll my eyes when someone give me a look when they get hit with my bag, but instead I just smiled and said excuse me. Did that kill me no, did combust on the spot no. My takeaway — if you want to be a miserable shrew that your prerogative, I am not going to sink to your level. I will just kill you with kindness. As my husband always says you’ll catch my flies with honey than with vinegar.

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It’s tax day. I know just sent check to Uncle Sam. So let’s move onto something more cheery. Many of my clients struggle with the idea of “snacking” most people think “snacking” is a bad thing. Trust me its not. If you are working out you will need the extra fuel! To help you out here are 15 healthy snack ideas. The idea is to take any of these 2 ideas and combine them and wallah  you have a healthy snack.  Depending upon the length of your work day. You should be aiming to have anywhere between 2-3 snacks/day. If you don’t you are derailing your weight loss goals. (more…)

These 5 letters that crept into my brain this week. I am roughly 7 weeks away from my next fitness competition and DOUBT crept into my mind. Can I do this’ Should I do this’ What the hell’ Is this my life’ Imagine this all going through my head within 30 seconds. Here’s a little background. I have been competing since 2005. I started competing after I lost 30 pounds because I needed a goal. I lost the weight, but now what. What was my next fitness endeavor. My trainer at the time was a former bodybuilder and suggested I give fitness competitions a try.

Now I’m not a glamour girl by any stretch of the imagination and walking in a bikini with clear heels didn’t seem like my cup of tea, but in April 2005 I took the stage at the Fitness America, show in New Haven, CT and I’ve been competing ever since. I typically compete in 4-5 shows/year like a machine. I wind up every January and wind down each June and the process begins again. Except this time!  (more…)

This is the excuse monster starts to pop up for most people,
well I’m _____________or my husband/SO/parents_____________ or I don’t have _____.

Here is the secret to weight loss, come closer are you ready.  It’s called HARD WORK!

It it came in a bottle, everybody would have a great body. — Cher

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I hear that so many times’ You are so healthy and fit what exactly do you eat’ Well I eat a VARIETY of foods, lean protein, fruits, veggies and good fats (other than nuts).
I decided that each Sunday I’d sit down and give you a few ideas.

I start each week where I head my local grocery store and shop for the week. From there I head home and start cooking. Right now I’m trying a new veggie each week, I have grown BORED with your traditional veggies, so I have been OBSESSED with Brussel Sprouts. Yes, brussel sprouts.

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This week I challenged myself to come up with 3 things that make me happy every day. I was speaking with one of my clients about this and the one thing that kept bubbling up to the top was me time.  I asked her how much ME time to does she have. She said this is it! There 168 hours in 1 week and she only give herself 2 hours with me. I’m flattered, but SERIOUSLY!! That is so SAD! (more…)

Last night before we go to bed, my husband asked was I depressed because I’ve been writing about getting happy and he was worried. I was like no, I just saw this segment on Dr. Oz and wanted to see if I could do the challenge because I thought it was interesting.

Depressed… Hmm don’t know if I ever really get depressed. Wikipedia defines depression as feelings of sadness, helplessness, or hopelessness. Yes I do feel sad, and helpless at times, but those are times that also fire me up. Those times make me take a look inside and say HEY!!! YOU GOT KNOCKED ON YOUR ASS NOW WHAT!! Please note, I do believe depression is a serious issue and if you are feeling depressed you should seek professional help.

Thank you Philip for asking, but I’m not depressed, and after these past few days I realize that  I’m not a Debbie Downer either. (more…)

Here we are on day 3 of the happiness project. The past few days have me looking for things that make me happy. I guess I always thought it would be big huge things that would make me happy, but since I’ve been looking for things, I find being happy really is in how you look at things. The person on the Dr. Oz show was all about the cup being 1/2 full. Now that I’m looking for happiness I’ve discovered its all in how you look at things. My 3 happy things today.

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Today is my 2nd day of the get happy challenge.  This week, I am to find 3 things to be happy about each day. At first I thought how simple is that, well not so simple. It really forces you to really think about your day versus just letting life happen around you. As I write this, and I am thinking about my day starting when my alarm clock went out at 5:00am until I got of the bus and started walking home.

My 3 happy things:

1. I was able to do 5 pull ups PAIN FREE!!! You see, I suffered an elbow injury back in October and its been slow to heal or I’ve just be impatient. Okay I have been impatient! Until today, I haven’t been able to do any pulling exercises since October.  I’m a pretty active person and it been hard not to be able to do anything I wanted.
2. I was able to provide great advice to a colleague.  She came to me because she trusted and valued you, my opinion.

Day 1 of the challenge

This afternoon while I was on the elliptical I was watching the Dr. Oz show. Today’s show was talking about people who are “Debbie Downer’s” and how he was going to help this women get happier in just 28 days. The women talked about the relationships that she has lost and that she really believes that the glass is half full. It got me thinking, am I “Debbie Downer” AKA DD. I do know of some DDs and yes I have distanced myself from them because just didn’t want to get caught in their negativity cycle. But have people distanced themselves from me because I’m a DD.  God I hope not.

Dr. Oz said he could make you happier in just 28 days. So, I’m going to the challenge and prove to myself that I am not a DD.
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For the few weeks, I have working on getting a little focus around what I want in my life. A few years ago I created a vision board and hung it on my wall and it really helped me gain some focus and clarity. So.. I decided to do it again.  On previous vision boards I put images on it of what I would like to achieve, places I’d like to go and quotes that will help keep me moving when feeling a little low. What I found to be really interesting is that it was hard to get started. It was hard for me to sit and a really think about what I wanted.  I thought about when I was a little kid and you asked me what I wanted for Christmas a laundry list of items would come out of my mouth. Now I was stuck. Why as it so hard’ Was it because I was afraid to want things’ Or was it that I had everything I needed. I’m lucky I have a husband who loves me, a roof over my head and money in the bank. What more could I want’  So then I said, yes I am lucky, but there is more that I want out of life and more that I can contribute.  So here is a my vision board. I showed mine, now show me yours, what do your dreams look like’ Are you around to put them down because you are afraid you might achieve them’

I hear this all the time, Kim exactly what do you do’ I know you hear that as well when you go to parties or other networking events. Typically when I hear its my friends who know I have been working hard to become a certified wellness coach. I know that So when the ask, I know it comes from a place of caring about.

So.. I am a wellness coach. In November 2008 I started my journey. I have been a ACSM certified personal trainer for a while and began to notice that most of my clients came to me for a workout or to lose weight, but I soon realized that there was more things going on that was keeping them from being successful. As a wellness coach I have learned some techniques that will help me work with clients to help them better define their goals, support them through the change process and give them the confidence they need to make lasting change.

I know you are thinking, isn’t that the same thing you do as a personal trainer’ No my role is a fitness coach I TELL people what to do.  As a wellness coach the golden rule is the client has the answers, I work with them to guide them to reaching their goals.

As you can imagine its been 18 long months and I am really excited.  I know you may think that I am crazy to launch a business right now. But I believe there is a BIG wave of opportunity happening so the timing is perfect and here is why.

• Women are ready to challenge the status quo and step into a more fulfilling way of life. People are more willing than ever to invest to change their lives.
• Women are tired of the rat race, working hard to just get by when all they really want is to look great and feel fabulous.
• The time is ripe for renewal and reinvention. Women are looking for a little guidance around how to get started and stayed motivated throughout the process.  (this is where I come in)

Over the past 18 months my coach has inspired me to play BIG and get out of my comfort zone. I have to tell you I LOVE IT! The focus of my coaching practice is this.

I help busy women who want to look great and feel fabulous!

You might be thinking: most women are already overwhelmed in their quest to live a healthier lifestyle and now you want them to play bigger!

I would be grateful if you would connect me to any women you know that wants to look great and feel fabulous.

The reason why I stress connect is because I believe this is the way business is meant to be: people connecting with each other and finding ways to add value and create mutual success. So the person you refer to me might end up hiring me or we may become professional colleagues, either way, we will both benefit from the connection.

One last thought…

When we hear and read a lot of bad news, it is easy to get discouraged, apathetic or cynical. But we all know, that this does not make the situation better.  The only way to feel better is to get back into the game of life and PLAY.  As a coach, this is my primary objective
You can refer people to be in several ways: leave comments below — | email –| website –| phone–(617) 744-9056