Nine years ago…(a reflection)

Happy June! Midwesterners, we made it to SUMMER! Let the festivities commence.

This morning, Facebook reminded me that nine years ago I completed my first half marathon with my husband and my brother.

Immediately I thought, wowza, so much has changed in nine years, which leads me to this reflection….

Nine years ago:

  • Dana and I were one year into our marriage.
  • Settled into our first sweet home.
  • Mom and dad to our pup, Moose.
  • I was settled into my job as a registered dietitian in public health.
  • My ulcerative colitis was in a flare and I wasn’t able to get it under control.
  • Dana and I spent hours training for the half marathon.
  • No children.
  • I cried half way through the half-marathon because I didn’t think I was going to be able to do it.

2021:

  • Dana and I will be celebrating our ten year anniversary this October!
  • We are settling into our THIRD home together.
  • Our Moose pup passed away to pup heaven, but we now have our sweet Jasmine who we believe is a mix of husky and German Shepherd we believe.
  • I am working part-time from home (for now) as a dietitian in public health.
  • I am building a business that can improve the lives and health of others.
  • I am managing my gut health through diet–eating plant-based, mostly whole foods, limiting processed foods, sugars, alcohol, gluten and dairy. Taking extra plant capsules daily. Managing my stress. Exercising with joyful movements. Staying hydrated. Prioritizing my health.
  • I still like to run but it’s not for speed or time, and it’s while pushing two little ones in a stroller with my other kids biking along side of me!
  • I have four incredible, healthy, strong, beautiful babies: 6.5 year old Bode, 4.5 yo Ben, 2.5 yo Blake, and 10 month old Ava! Four unmedicated, natural births which taught me about how strong not only my body is, but how strong my mind is.
  • I completed a second half marathon which felt completely different than the first. My body felt strong, and I had so much gratitude towards my body and it’s capabilities.
  • I am more confident as a woman, mom, wife, daughter, sister, friend, health advocate, and human in general.

 

It is so wild to reflect on how much has changed, and how much I have changed over the last nine years. I am the healthiest I have ever been. I am the happiest I have ever been. I count my blessings daily.

I am confident that I am on the road to finding my true passion in helping others reach their optimal health and to be confident in themselves too.

Thanks for continuing to follow with me as we journey through this life together!

xoxoxo,

Melanie

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How to Find Your Hunger Cues

You’ve heard me say that a big part of owning a heathy relationship with food and our bodies is that we need to listen to our bodies and the cues that they gives us. When we are hungry, eat. When we are satisfied, stop. When we are tired, sleep. When we are thirsty, drink water…

So what do you do when you have spent such a long time ignoring the hunger cues that you can’t even recognize them anymore? 

Don’t worry, we can find the those cues again.

1. First of all, stop counting calories and tracking your every food move.

I understand if you want to track your intake for a few days because you’re interested in “seeing where you are at”; that’s okay. But remember, the counters are generally off by quite a bit so it’s only giving you a very general idea of what your body is actually taking in. Do it for a short while if that is what you feel you need to do, but then STOP after a few days.

With tracking, instead of listening to what your body is asking for, you are often letting external factors dictate your decisions. For example, you’ve been tracking your food and beverage intake all day, and it’s now 7:30 pm and you are starvin’ Marvin. But shoot, you’ve already hit your calorie “limit” and you don’t dare go over. By all means, grab a glass of water first and make sure you’re not just thirsty. After you’ve had some water, if you’re still hungry, don’t ignore your body! That’s a cue! Eat something. Remember, some days are appetites are greater than other days. LISTEN.

Our bodies stop giving us hunger cues after years of ignoring them due to external factors. Many times, instead of feeling hungry, people who have “lost” the hunger cues may start feeling lethargic, low energy, and well, hangry. Even though their stomach may not be growling, they need to eat to reenergize.

2.  Give your body consistent energy.

Feed your body with enough food throughout the day to keep it adequately energized. Fuel the fire. When we go for long periods of time without eating, our body begins to go into starvation mode, and eventually shuts off the hunger cues. It’s main focus then turns to hanging on to every last bit of energy it can because it doesn’t know when the next meal or snack will be coming in. This one can be especially tough for those that have been dieting for any amount of time or if you’ve been a breakfast skipper your whole life. Starting your day with a fruit and vegetable smoothie is a great place to start!

3. Pulling it all together and being mindful of the hunger scale.

Okay, you’re working on listening to your internal hunger cues, you are feeding yourself with consistent, adequate energy, now let’s gear our attention towards the hunger scale. Understanding where you are at on the hunger scale, will help you to decide when you need something to eat, especially as you are working on building that trust back with your body.

Try and eat when you are at a 3 or a 4 on the hunger scale. Waiting until you are at a one can often lead to poor food choices and/or over-eating.

Print this graphic off and put it on your fridge so you can start to familiarize yourself with it and practice, practice, practice.

More questions? NEVER hesitate to contact me at beautifullynutty@gmail.com, or on Facebook, Instagram, wherever. I am here for YOU.

xoxo

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Mindful Eating Versus Intuitive Eating

Mindful eating versus intuitive eating. Although very similar, these two concepts have different meanings.

 

Mindful Eating:

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  • Using your senses when choosing food.
  • Really paying attention to what your body is asking for.
  • Honoring hunger and fullness.
  • Taking time to taste food and slow down, realizing when your body is satisfied.
  • Paying attention to how your body responds to food.
  • Being aware of external factors that may interfere with listening to your body’s cues.
  • You can take vitamins based on your biological data

 

Intuitive Eating: Intuitive eating includes mindful eating, however there is more to it. 

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  • Being aware of the diet ideas that have been instilled in us over the years, and learning how to reject the diet mentality.
  • Self-love.
  • Self-care.
  • Body acceptance.
  • Find pleasure in food.
  • Drop food guilt.
  • Build a healthy relationship with food.
  • Learning how to manage negative self-talk.
  • Finding exercise that YOU love. Not what someone else tells you to enjoy.

Both mindful eating and intuitive are useful tools that can help you build a healthy relationship with food AND your body, and help you to hone in on your body’s internal cues!

 

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Joyful Movement

Body movin’, get your body movin’.

 

This post is coming at-chya straight after taking a gluteus max-out fitness class at the gym with my FAV instructor, Nicole. Meaning, I’m still rolling the post-workout endorphins and struggling to walk down the stairs….

Endorphins or not though, let’s chat about the importance of finding JOYFUL MOVEMENT. Literally meaning, movement or activity that brings you joy, makes you happy, leaves you feeling like a bad-A in the best way possible.

Do you hate exercising? Do you scowl every time you walk into the gym or head to the basement to the treadmill?

WHY?

The reason WHY is most likely because you haven’t found an activity that you truly enjoy, and that my friends, needs to change today. You don’t hate exercise, you just don’t enjoy the activities you’ve tried.

There is no reason to be stuck in this life doing something you hate because guess what? There are so many other activities to try and finding something you love will make you want to go and go and go again.

Dance.

Swim.

Run.

Take group fitness classes.

Yoga.

Strength train at home watching You Tube videos or Beach Body.

Walk.

Bike.

Play basketball.

Clean the house from top to bottom (or feel free to come clean mine).

Cross country ski.

Play pickle ball.

I’ll stop now.

There are endless possibilities just waiting to be discovered. If you don’t like something, then try something else, but at least give it a fair chance.

Drop the excuses. Don’t wait for January 1st. Find your JOYFUL MOVEMENT.

Mic drop.

 

 

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Where I’m At Now…It’s Been A While

Ok…it has been what feels like a half a century since I last checked in here, so HIIIII!!!

Everyday apparel, obviously. 

This blog was originally created as a platform for me to share recipes, health inspiration, wellness ideas, and really it was a creative outlet for myself.

So just for fun, let’s see where we’re at now:

I’m not nearly as creative in the kitchen as I used to be, and when I am, I never take the time to write OR measure ingredients in order for me to actually share a recipe. It doesn’t mean I don’t totally delight in doing my thing in the kitchen because I do, I just don’t record it. As for the time-consuming, 50-step recipes, they’ve gone out the window for now. They’ll be a time for them again in about 20 years.

I feel like I’ve finally found exercise that I LOVE. It took me years to overcome the intimidation of group classes. I didn’t know what weights to grab, everyone would know I was the newbie, I didn’t feel strong enough, my endurance level is not where I wanted it to be, I’d never keep up….the excuses continued to keep me away. Until, I stopped caring what other people think. So what that I can’t do all of the burpees? So what that I can’t do every push-up. Guess what? I made it to class and I’m doing the best I can and no one else cares anyway! I love the energy of exercising in a group; it pushes me to work harder because I’m competitive by nature. The upbeat music keeps me going. The motivation from the teacher excites me and inspires me. I found my thing. I still do my own thing because I can’t make the class times work with my schedule all the time, but it’s just not the same.

I continue to feel stronger as I can manage heavier weights and longer cardio sprints. My confidence continues to build, and my cares about others think continue to fade even further as I take a breather to break it down to a 90’s rap song in the middle of class. Guys, go take a class at a gym or a studio or where ever! I will come with you! Life changing.

If there’s ever any complaining about having to go the gym childcare center (which there rarely is because they have made friends there now!), I remind them WHY mommy needs to be at the gym. To keep my body healthy. I then relay it back to them because let’s face it, at that age, they are self-absorbed even though they don’t mean to be: I want to be healthy and strong so I can hold them, run with them, go biking with them, make delicious food, and be around for a very very long time.

It goes without saying that life with three boys ages five and under requires a whole bit of my energy. Goodness, I adore it. Holy moly they keep me healthy. I’m finding that my boys thoroughly enjoy helping me in the kitchen which brings me so much joy I can hardly even express it. I continue to teach them about what it means to be healthy, and they are starting to absorb some of it!

I continue on my journey of self-improvement just as most of us continue to do. I am learning a lot about myself throughout the process. As I become older and wiser, I am learning what matters to me, what doesn’t, what and who deserve my attention, what brings me down, and focusing SOOO much on finding positivity, surrounding myself with those who lift me up, and mostly, finding some self-confidence that I seriously lack. It is still a long journey to get where I want to be, but I am pretty excited to say I am making progress.

What on earth is this post even about? I guess I just wanted to check in with myself and check in with you. I LOVE writing on here and geez louise every time I do, I tell myself I’m going to do it more because gosh darn it, it feels good. I still don’t know what direction this blog is going to take, but the answer doesn’t have to come any time soon. In the mean time, I will continue to post my randomness that comes to me.

xoxo,

Melanie

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Every Day Smoothie

Every Day Smoothie

It’s FRIDAY! My favorite day of the week, by far.

Way, way back in the day (like four years ago?!?!), I shared my every day breakfast smoothie. This is the smoothie I have almost every single day. I am a person who likes variety when it comes to my food, so to say I have this bad boy almost daily is kind of big deal. There’s no way I would choke down a nasty smoothie no matter how good it was for me. Okay, maybe I would, but I promise you this one is delicious.

This is a super simple way to kick-start my day with fruits, veggies and protein. I have changed and adapted it over the years to amp up the amount of protein because this girl NEEDS it to maintain my energy, as we all do.

I figure it is time to share the revamped recipe with you all and then you can decide for yourself if it is a yay or a nay!

Here ya go…

Do you like the pine needles on the front porch? Merry, merry Christmas!

Cutting to the chase, here’s the recipe:

Every Day Smoothie
5.0 from 1 reviews
Print
Recipe type: Breakfast, Snack
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 1 smoothie
Ingredients
  • ¾ of a medium frozen banana
  • ¼-1/2 cup frozen blueberries
  • 1 cup milk of choice (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
  • 1 heaping scoop protein powder (I prefer Orgain Chocolate Fudge)
  • ¼ cup powdered peanut butter (PBfit)
  • 3 small handfuls of greens (kale, spinach, chard, etc.)
  • 1-2 tsp chia seeds or flaxseed (optional)
Instructions
  1. Place ingredients into blender as listed. Blend until completely smooth. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to an hour.

It feels great to be back by the way!

xoxo

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New! Nutrition and Wellness Services!

Beautifully Nutty is open for business!

There’s been a lot going on over here within the last week. I was hired by a local spa as a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist! I am an independent contractor so I have my own business, but I am working in the spa and we are all a team.

Ecstatic, nervous, grateful, giddy….these are just a few of the emotions that I have been experiencing throughout this week.

So what does this mean exactly? This means I will be meeting with individuals and groups (either in person, or via “telehealth” calls) to help them meet their health and nutrition goals. I will also be holding cooking classes, wellness workshops, going to events and so much more!

This.is.a.dream.

I still can’t believe this is all transpiring.

Here’s the thing, I want to work with YOU. Whether it is to help you reach your health goals, to be your accountability coach, to listen to your health or nutrition concerns, to ignite a passion for cooking, to help you to feel better, let me be your person! Everyone has their own personal health goals, and I would love to be the person to help pave the way for you to reach those goals.

I can’t wait to hear from you!

Email me at: beautifullynutty@gmail.com

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your continued support!

xoxo

Melanie

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