It's been a while since I've written a blog just saying hi and giving a little update on life. So, I'm here today to just say hi and reconnect with you to tell you why I tried to be "superwoman," do it all, and why I had to give that reality up. 

As many of you know, if you follow Trainer In Your Back Pocket on Facebook, in mid-July, I gave birth to my son, Everett via a pretty traumatic birth.  I was in the less than 1% of births that experience a uterine rupture while attempting for a natural birth after a previous c-section.  Not fun. But here I am now, 4 months later, with a super chill dude who just wants to be held all the time. (And this time around, I have no problem with that!)

Two months after giving birth, I started getting my energy back, and started getting the hang of life with 2 littles. At the same time, I began gearing up to launch 42 Days to Fit & Feeling Good. I was also beginning my 1000 hours of supervised clinical nutrition...

In this highly "interrupted by a 3 year old" video, I am going to share a bunch of tips to think of when it comes to shin splints.  What causes them, and how to reduce them! 

Potential Causes:

• flat feet
• worn out shoes
• running surface (too hard like concrete, or too soft like grass)
• "too much too soon" overuse. Beginners are more at risk.
• Not using "floppy ankles" 
• Pushing off toes and landing on heels
• Slow stride vs. "quick feet"

Potential Fixes:

• Take my 5 Weeks to 5k Running Clinic, of course! We go over all of the form and technique of proper foot placement and stride in lessons 1 and 2! (and you can take lesson 1 for free on the website!)
• Massage the shin AND calf muscles.
• Ice
• Rest. You may need to scale back your mileage or running until they go away. You did too much, too soon! Or begin practicing floppy ankles and see if they reduce.

We are evolutionarily designed to nose breath. The nose is the start of the respiratory system.  The mouth was evolutionarily designed to begin the digestion process, not the respiratory process. Mouth breathing is essentially an "emergency state" that we have come to live in.

Nose breathing releases nitric oxide in the body, which increases the CO2 levels in the blood. The level of CO2 in the blood then regulates the release of O2 into the cells to maintain the balance. Mouth breathing does not release nitric oxide, and thus, less oxygen gets released into the cells (leading to all sorts of symptoms such as fatigue, anxiety, depression, digestive issues, immune issues, etc.)

Mouth breathing, especially while asleep, plays a HUGE role in dental health.  Tooth decay and cavities are a big sign of mouth breathing because  when the mouth is dehydrated (ie: you wake up with a dry mouth), there is little saliva in the mouth. Saliva plays a key role in maintaining a healthy...

Are you finding that you start out strong with a goal, but then fall off the wagon because you're not consistently working toward that goal? Listen in as I share 10 tips to increase and improve your consistency problems in any goal or habit that you want to implement into your routine.

1. Ask yourself: Do you really want what IT is? (do you want it for you, or is it something that you think someone else wants for you?) If yes? continue on. If no: Pick a new goal, because this one will not work.
2. Can you picture You 2.0 doing this habit consistently? If yes: keep doing it and picturing the future you doing this habit. If no: Not going to happen, pick a new goal that you can picture the future you doing. (The You 2.0 thought is a great technique I learned from Manifestation Teacher, Tara Brunet.  I am a part of her membership, and am always learning better ways to manifest the things I want into my life via her talks, podcasts, and workshops! Highly recommend!)
3. What doubts do you...

While portion sizes don’t tell the whole story of good nutrition, it’s important to know the approximate portion sizes of different foods so that you’re not way off on your estimates (or nutritional goals). Here’s a handy way to use your hand for serving size suggestions.

One food that I highly recommend before, during, and after pregnancy is cod liver oil.  Not only is it a great source of Omega 3 fatty acids, which are great for break development, but it's a good source of Vitamin A and Vitamin D, both essential for pregnancy. 

Two sources I approve: Standard Process Cod Liver Oil and Green Pastures Fermented Cod Liver Oil

Vitamin A is critical for optimal genetic expression, bones, skin, eyes, mineral metabolism, hormones, mental stability, lung development, kidney health.  If it's lacking, organs may develop abnormally.  Vitamin A also protects against environmental damages like chemicals, toxins, estrogens, and pesticides.  While humans can convert carotenes from foods like leafy greens and orange veggies into vitamin A, this extra step/process may not be sufficient for the demands of pregnancy. 

The risk of Vitamin A toxicity is minimal as compared to the rewards. Essentially, risk comes in two mannors:...

Nutrition becomes one of the most important pieces of any pregnancy. All of the cells in the body are essentially grown from the nutrition we provide our bodies. Having a healthy base before getting pregnant, maintaining the essential nutrients during pregnancy to support healthy growth of the fetus, and continuing to supply those nutrients to the baby during breastfeeding is critical.

Having a clinical nutritionist in your back pocket is a great idea to ensure you're getting the nutrients needed via the foods you eat. Today, I just wanted to share two foods that you probably already have in your refrigerator, that you definitely don't want to skimp out on during this critical time of growth.

Pasture Raised Eggs

Here's why:

• The egg white contains protein.  Protein needs go way up during pregnancy, as proteins are the building blocks of our cells!
• The egg yolk is the powerhouse of nutrients. It supplies:
  • choline (for nervous system growth)
  • cholesterol (for hormonal...

In this video, I am going to share my advice on how many days of the week you should exercise. Note: every body is different.  Some bodies require more, and some require less.  You'll also hear folks say you only need to exercise 1x per week and others say you have to exercise every day. And guess what? There's also research to back up each of those statements. Below I'll share my balanced approach to determining the amount of exercise most folks would benefit from.

Here are my 4 stages of "how many days of exercise should I do."

Stage 1: Just move your body every day. If you can, walk, ride a bike, swim, dance, yoga, active play, etc. for 30 minutes every day. This can be something like "walk to the grocery store" instead of drive.  Just move.

Stage 2: Once you're moving your body daily, take 2 of those days and incorporate some sort of strength training. This doesn't have to scare you. It can literally be 10 minutes of strength training.  Just add in 10-30...

No matter what's going on in life, or how you feel on the inside, there is nothing stopping you from visualizing (or daydreaming). 

This visualization that I want to share with you is one that I practice often when I'm out for a run (but you can do it anytime, or for any type of workout).  

Start by picturing that perfect runner. Picture what they look like. What they are wearing. What they are feeling. What they are thinking. What they are listening to, etc. Go through as many of the details as you can. (Again, I'm using running as the example, but you can picture anything).  

When you're running, and feeling "off," or simply not energized, dragging, or dreading it, I want you to "step inside" that visualization of the perfect runner.  Imagine that that person IS you.  YOU are running as if you are the perfect vision. 

When you do that, take notice of how your posture changes. Does your running go from feeling like a struggle, to a little...

Hey Guys & Gals,

So, I just wanted to share a little exercise that you can to do help you reframe what your body feels or thinks when you hear "2020."  

I know I'm not alone when I say I've been struggling with my gratitude practice this year.  In fact, I've had so many days where I can't think of anything to be grateful for.  So, today, I wanted to share this little practice with you all, so that you can take a look back at your 2020 and create a list of (at least) 12 things (one per month) that you enjoyed and are grateful for experiencing. 

Here's how it works: 

1. Go back into your daily planner or calendar to look up what you were doing in January 2020.  Pick one thing that excites you; that you enjoyed.  It could be a trip you took, a project you started, a date you went on, etc.  Write it down in a list. It can be something big, or something small. There are no rules, just that it is something that excites you or that you are...