How many of us mamas out there have felt like we put out lives ON HOLD to raise our kiddos? What happened to OUR passions and OUR fun?

Things definitely slow down when our little ones are little, but that doesn’t mean they have to STOP! Today, I’m so excited to share my interview with Sage B. Hobbs who teaches women to recapture their mojo after motherhood and live the “Badass + Brilliant Life”.

In this interview, Sage shares what is Mojo along with how to find your Mojo as a Mom + why you NEED it!   We also dive into how to overcome those feelings of overwhelm and the dangers of waiting to pursue your passions.

Sage also tells us how to stay connected to your partner even while the kiddos are little.   This is an interview you won’t want to miss – so grab of cup of tea or put on those headphones and start honoring yourself. Click here to start listening now!

I can’t wait to hear your biggest take-away! 

Looking for a little more about Sage? Here you go!

Sage B. Hobbs helps moms get their mojo back, so they don’t lose themselves in motherhood.  She is a mom of two, a lover of yoga, a teacher’s wife, a world traveler, an avid reader, a cancer survivor, and a living room dance party aficionado.  She believes living a badass + brilliant life should be both fun and impactful, and that empowered women really can change the world.  Her work has been featured in the Huffington Post and other online publications.  Learn more at: http://www.sagebhobbs.com/love-notes

Much Love,

Meg

P.S.  I really want to hear your biggest breakthrough from my interview with Sage.  Share it with me at meg@wholefoodlove.com! 

We’re excited to have Miranda Adani of Fabulous Weight Loss as our guest blogger today. We love that Miranda is a true believer in making small and sustainable changes and we’re excited to share her blog on what can sometimes be a daunting topic – portion control.

Whether you’re looking lose weight or just crowd out some of the “junk” these are 6 tips that anyone can benefit from. Even if you’ve seen these tips before, it always helpful to have reminders to let them really sink in.

Enjoy and be sure to tell us what you think!

Much Love,

Meg + Shannon Sullivan

Reducing or limiting the amount of food that you eat is essential to creating sustained weight loss, especially if you are accustomed to overeating.

You don’t need to measure your portions or count calories to maintain control over the amount of food that you eat.

Below are 6 simple ways to reduce your food intake without feeling hungry or deprived.

1. Eat slowly

By eating slowly and chewing your food thoroughly, you allow your stomach the time to signal your brain when it is full and that takes about 20 minutes. If you rush through your meal and gulp down your food, you override your body’s natural satiety mechanism and eat more food than you need, which will cause you to gain weight.

Eating quickly is an unconscious habit, which you can only break by bringing it to your conscious awareness.

The best way that I have found to do this is to sit quietly before you eat a meal, close your eyes if possible and take 5-8 deep breaths and then start eating. This will provide the optimum environment for you to properly digest your food, eat less and eventually lose weight.

2. Eat only when you are hungry

Eating only when you are hungry naturally limits the amount of food that you eat and puts you in touch with your body’s true need for food.

If you eat a lot of processed junk food with empty calories, you will continually be hungry and overeat as these foods do not satisfy your hunger and actually make you crave more food.

The same is true for diet sodas or any product with artificial sweeteners. These have been marketed as “diet” foods, which will help you lose weight, but they have been scientifically proven to increase your hunger and make you gain weight.

Reducing the amount of processed and sugary foods is the # 1 way to lose weight and allow you to get back in touch with your true hunger.

If you are eating when you are not hungry for emotional reasons, start to become aware of what situations and emotions cause you to reach for comfort food, by keeping a journal and noting what thoughts and emotions preceded your urge to overeat.

When a trigger thought or emotion occurs again, stop, take a few deep breaths and ask yourself, “Am I hungry?” Or ” Do I truly need to eat this food?”

Substitute an activity which will take your mind off eating the tempting food, such as simple deep breathing, turning on some music and dancing for a few minutes, calling a friend or taking a short walk.

3. Stop when you are full

From the time we are children, we are trained to eat everything on our plate, but as adults we can train ourselves to stop when we are full or even a bit before we are completely full and leave the food on our plate.

This is a very effective way to reduce the amount of food that you eat. You can save the food for later as I often do and eat it if you are truly hungry or just throw it out. It’s better than eating beyond your satiety point, which will cause you to weight gain. This takes practice until it becomes a habit.

4. Put a moderate amount of food on a small plate.

Take moderate portions of food and put it on a small plate. This “smaller plate” trick does work. It looks like your have more food than you really do and this naturally limits your portion size without strict measuring. Fill the plate to the limit if you want to but don’t eat more than that.

5. Don’t eat out of a bag or a box

This is a great way to prevent yourself from overeating. If you sit with an open bag or box of anything – healthy or not – especially if it is tasty, you will keep eating it until half or the whole bag is gone – believe me, I have done it. I realized that this is a very dangerous thing to do.

I love blue corn chips and cashew nuts and these are healthy foods, but they have a lot of calories and I don’t want to eat too much of them at a time.

If I have the bag in front of me, I will keep eating them and can’t stop, so I decided to put a reasonable amount in a small container or on a plate, close the bag and only eat that amount.

That is natural portion control and it works.

6. Eat a greater portion of cooked vegetables and salad and smaller portions of high fat meat, cheese, simple carbohydrates like bread and white pasta and processed foods and sweets.

This increases the amount of healthy and non-fattening food that you eat and limits the amount of unhealthy and weight producing food that you eat.

It’s not just the amount of calories you consume that cause you to gain weight, it’s the type of food that you eat.

I eat a lot of vegetables both cooked and raw, healthy grains like quinoa and brown rice, low fat meat, turkey, ham, chicken, fish and low fat dairy, nuts and seeds, nut butters, soy and almond cheese, gluten free bread, beans, olive and coconut oil and though some of these foods have a lot of calories and fat, I don’t gain weight; in fact I lost 50 pounds by just eating healthy food.

What I don’t eat is any processed white sugar, white flour junk food with processed oils or high-fat meat and dairy, all of which will put weight on you immediately. It’s these foods that are causing the epidemic of obesity in our society and around the world.

 

 

 

 

Miranda Adani is a weight loss and healthy eating coach specializing in working with women over 50. Inspired by her own weight loss and healthy eating journey, she created the program Fabulous Weight Loss for women over 50. Miranda belives that women over 50 have a second life ahead of them and that they should go into looking, feeling, and being fit and fabulous without having to wait to lose the weight. For more information on Miranda and her work as well as a free gift, check out www.fab-weightloss.com.

 

 

Habits get so much attention these days and it seems like everyone is talking about breaking the bad habits and creating new ones.

I’ve tried to stay true to the philosophy of building sustainable and healthy lifestyle practices and habits, but after listening to a recent podcast all about habits, I decided to dig a little bit deeper and wanted to share some of my biggest take-aways.

 

WHAT IS A HABIT?

Although several definitions exist, there are a few that are especially relevant to my interest and I love Dictionary.com’s first definition

“an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary”

Ex – The habit of looking both ways before crossing the street.

 You see, habits are not instincts – we’re not born with them. They are behaviors that are developed and we have the power to develop them to the point where we can do them without even thinking about it – good and bad.

HOW DO HABITS START TO CHANGE?

Awareness is the first step in developing a habit. You must be aware that you are doing (or not doing) something in order to begin the process of change.

Once you become of aware of your actions or disposition, etc. you can start to modify.

Modification of a behavior is a CHOICE. Once again, your awareness leads to CHOICE.

(For the purposes of this blog, we will exclude habits that include physical and/or chemical dependency.   This brings on a whole new layer that’s beyond the scope of this writing.)

HOW DO I CREATE A NEW HABIT (OR STOP A POOR HABIT)?

Whether you are starting a new healthy habit or looking to stop an unhealthy one, the process is the same.   For a simplified example, take a look below:

“I will stop eating junk food.”

vs.

“I will make healthy food choices. “

Both examples are essentially saying the same thing. The difference is whether you prefer to think of it as stopping an old habit or starting a new one. So let’s dive in to see how to start the process.

1.) Decide on which behavior you would like to modify.

What is something that you wish you could change? Is it your eating habits? Your exercise plan? Do you enjoy reading, but never find the time to do it?   Think about 1 area that you would like to change.

Don’t let yourself fall into the trap of “I don’t have time” or “That’s beyond my control.” Pick your area and make a decision that you can and will change this.

2.) Look at where you’re starting and where you’d eventually like to be.

You have to be able to visualize your future and see how changing this habit will change your life. Let’s start with “I will make healthy food choices.” (We’ll continue to tweak this, but this is our starting point.)

What do healthy food choices look like for you? Will you be able to eliminate certain medications? Will you be able to move without pain? Lose excess weight? Have more energy?   Be more engaged with your family? Visualize and note HOW modifying this habit will make your life better.

3.) Determine how you personally respond to internal and external demands.

Do you perform better with internal or external demands or do you perform the same for both? Here’s an example of someone who performs well with internal demands.

“I enjoy reading. I am very busy but I make time to read 1 book every month.”

Here’s an example of someone who performs best with external demands.

“I am a police officer and my job requires that I can run 1 mile in 8 minutes. I have a fitness assessment coming up in 3 months so I am training to be a faster runner and beat the 8 minute requirement.”

The third option is someone who values internal and external demands the same and either example would work for them.

In general, women tend to perform better for external demands, which means that our internal desires move lower and lower on the list of priorities. This is OK, we can still make a habit change but we may need some additional assistance!

4.) Develop a plan.

I could write an entire series of blogs on this one, but we’ll keep it short and sweet to start here. The quick way of saying this is that you need a plan with measureable items in order to determine if you’re on track. Without a plan you’re simply reacting. Developing new habits and changing old ones can be challenging – be proactive, not reactive.

Once you determine whether you perform better with internal or external demands as discussed in #3 we can really start to progress with a plan.

If you respond better to internal demands, begin to create measureable milestones in your plan. For example:

“I will make healthy food choices by planning out 5 nutritious meals per week and preparing them at home.”

Based on the above example, we can measure how we are progressing on developing our new habit. We know we are falling short if we are preparing less than 5 nutritious meals at home and we can further modify this behavior as needed. In general, those that are internally motivated tend to perform as planned as the internal motivation is the exact same thing as a deadline at work. “It has to get done…”

If you respond better to external demands, you have lots of options, but an accountability factor is a necessary addition as well as the way to measure your progress.

Here are a few quick examples from above.

“I enjoy reading, but I feel like I have no time to read. I will join a book club that meets regularly. This will require that I make time to read.”

“I want to make healthy food choices, but I often feel confused. I will meet with a health coach 2 times per month to help me plan meals that fit my lifestyle.”

“I want to start running but I get bored so easily. My friend and I will sign up with for a race now that will take place in 2 months. We will train together for this race by running 2 times per week together.”

The beauty of developing a habit is that its now set – you don’t have to think about it – you just do it. This frees up a lot of brain power and a lot of energy. Treat yourself to this freedom!  You deserve it!

Stay tuned for upcoming blogs that dive even deeper into my research about habits. What is a habit that you’re looking to change? Are you somebody who performs better with internal or external motivation? We’d love to hear from you!

Send us an email at info@wholefoodlove.com with the habit that you’ve decided to create or change.

Looking for some accountability and help with external motivation? Schedule a complimentary call with us at info@wholefoodlove.com. We have all sorts of techniques to help you succeed!

Live your WHOLE life,

Meg + Shannon

I was recently asked to take part in an interview and share my thoughts on LOVE + FOOD. There’s so many aspects to LOVE + FOOD – the gathering of family and friends, the art of food preparation, the healing properties of what we put into our bodies, savoring the taste and noticing the different flavor notes – more about this interview to come, but first I want to introduce Phoebe Lapine and her connection to my interview about LOVE + FOOD.

Just a few months ago, I stumbled across Phoebe’s blog FeedMePhoebe.com. It was a goldmine! Her humor, wit, personality and recipes forced me to return (not to mention the pictures!). As we were preparing for the Done With Diets Summit,  I knew that Phoebe would be an incredible addition to the event and I’m so grateful for our fun interview. To see Phoebe’s interview, click here to register for the event. (It’s FREE!)

Phoebe is a New York based food writer, gluten-free chef, culinary instructor, recipe developer, and wellness personality – so to make it short…she does it all.   Phoebe is also ALL about keeping things simple and easy in the kitchen and meeting you where you’re at. So much of her writing is about making balanced lifestyle choices beyond what’s on your plate.

Here’s the connection to LOVE + FOOD – during our interview, the young, gorgeous, and talented Phoebe spoke all about how she learned to cook in a small kitchen and was able to create miracles for friends and family with the skills and ingredients she had. So much of her experience with food revolved around her interactions with people.

Our relationships are what make us happy. Our relationships are what make us LOVE.   Our relationships are what fill us up and so many relationships are created and strengthened over a meal. This is one of the aspects of LOVE + FOOD I wanted to share on my interview.

I asked Phoebe to share a recipe with me that makes her think of LOVE + FOOD and literally within minutes, I received a response that had the PERFECT recipe to share with family and friends.

Phoebe told me that this recipe reminds her of her mother, so I decided to make it with mine!

Moroccan Chicken Tagine with Carrots, Chickpeas and Kale

Get the Full Recipe and Phoebe’s Blog Here

I must say that this dish is incredibly easy to make. It has a great kick and as a special bonus, it serves about eight, which means its great for a group or a fantastic option if you want to have leftovers.

I’m currently visiting Chicago and while we are heading out of tagine and stew weather, I did happen to make it on a day in May that was still unseasonably cold. It was a great warming dish.

I always give myself a little extra time when making a new recipe, but this one is well worth it. Who will you share your LOVE + FOOD with?

Live your WHOLE life,

Meg + Shannon

P.S. There’s still time to Register for the Done With Diets Summit. The summit ends June 7^th, but we have a special bonus for you that we’re thrilled to share!  We announce the bonus June 8th.  Grab your spot here —> www.donewithdietssummit.com   It’s FREE!

P.P.S. Don’t forget to stay tuned for more about my LOVE + FOOD interview!

Moroccan Chicken Tagine with Carrots, Chickpeas and Kale

Ingredients

• 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• Olive oil
• 2 small yellow onions, diced
• 1 pound carrots, peeled and halved lengthwise
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 tablespoon salt
• One 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, with their juices
• 6 cups chicken stock
• One 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 bunch kale, stems removed, roughly chopped
• Juice of 1⁄2 lemon
• Parsley or cilantro leaves, for garnish

Instructions

1. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat a thin layer of olive oil. Sear the chicken in batches over high heat, making sure not to crowd the pot, until golden-brown, about 4 minutes per side. Remove to a mixing bowl.

1. Add the onions and sauté until translucent, making sure to scrape up any remaining drippings from the chicken, about 7 minutes.

3. Stir in the carrots, garlic, cumin, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, cayenne, and salt. Cook until the spices are fully incorporated and aromatic, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook until thick, 5 minutes. Arrange the chicken on top of the vegetable mixture and cover with the stock.
4. Bring to a simmer, turn the heat back down to low and cook, uncovered, for at least 2 hours, the longer the better.
5. During the last 15 minutes of cooking, add the chickpeas, kale and lemon juice.
6. Spoon the tagine into individual bowls and garnish with cilantro or parsley.

 

Over the last 3 months, Shannon and I have been working hard on putting together our incredible online event and it’s finally here.

This event has truly been a labor of love and while there have been times that it’s been challenging to juggle event production, our regular work schedules, family and self, I honestly have to say that every interview has kept me sane and allowed me to stay focused during one of the most transitory periods in my life.

It’s truly been a year of incredible change. We started off late 2013 with our new addition of a beautiful baby boy. Then, less than 4 weeks later, we moved from the Central Coast of California back to SoCal for the hubby’s job. I could never complain about all of the beautiful places that we’ve lived, but moving can be so incredibly stressful.

I started to get a better grasp on balancing motherhood, family, work, and personal time. We were just getting settled when we found out that we would be transferring to Germany for two years. Of course this timing would be right around the Done with Diets event production – not to mention a few additional complications that we weren’t expecting…  I don’t say this to complain, I say this because the Universe sends us what we NEED – and for me, this was talking to leading women’s health and wellness experts to learn how to prioritize myself. If I couldn’t take care of myself, there’s no way that I could take care of others.

If you never have time for “you” I need you to listen carefully to this quick message because it’s time to put your health, time, and vitality first and to understand why taking care of yourself isn’t “selfish.”

This interview series was has been my saving grace and I’m so honored and proud to share it with all of you—and not just because you “deserve it,” its because you need it to live free from the overwhelming burdens that fill the modern woman’s life.

If you’re busy, overwhelmed, tired, and frustrated. If you always feel like you should be doing more when you’re already pushed to the limit. And, if you frequently focus on the wellbeing of everyone else over yourself, it’s time to open your eyes and discover exactly what’s possible when you devote just a small amount of effort into YOU.

It’s called Done With Diets: Discover How the Modern Lady Incorporates Lifestyle Chages to Create an Abundance of Health, Time, and Vitality and it’s a FREE virtual interview series.

Before you say “no, I’m busy, that’s not for me” or “no, my family or my husband comes first,” you need to take a step back and realize that its absolutely VITAL to focus on yourself first if you want to take care of others.

Shannon and I have worked for the last 3 months hand selecting only the best experts for this amazing event. This event is your chance to see interviews with over 25 leading experts in the field of women’s health, wellness, and lifestyle (authors, doctors, researchers, and self-help innovators from health, fitness, wellness, self-acceptance and motivation backgrounds).

You’ll be able to listen to our interviews with 25+ leading women’s health and wellness experts and learn the power of giving yourself time, enriching your mind, body and spirit, and improving your health and vitality.

You’ll receive:

– Access to 25+ interviews from leading women’s health & wellness experts

– Tips, information and strategies to learn how to prioritize YOU (and the best part…you can start incorporating them NOW! )

– Techniques to overcome that feeling of guilt that creeps up when we want to take time for ourselves

– Information about why it’s absolutely VITAL to take care of yourself especially if you are taking care of others

– Ways to Nourish your body, mind, and spirit

And much, much, more…

If this sounds exciting to you, I urge you to attend.

Join me and 25+ experts for FREE by clicking on the link below and registering today.

Click Here to access Done with Diets!

It’s called “Done With Diets” because what you’ll learn is that diets themselves represent one of the many constraints that we place on ourselves. You’re about to discover that once you unlock the practice of self-care, constraints that you consciously and subconsciously place on yourself every day will disappear.

You’ll discover how amazing it feels to be the happy, healthy, and vibrant woman that you deserve to be.

Join me at this FREE virtual summit and interview series by clicking the link here.  So click here to claim your spot at the Done with Diets Event.

I’m excited to “see” you there!

Live your WHOLE life,

Meg & Shannon Sullivan

P.S. Each interview in this series will only be available for a limited time. So register now! The event starts May 11th!

Click Here to Register

When was the last time you woke up and REALLY experienced the morning? Not the hectic craziness that can so often consume the early parts of our days, but rather the stillness and the quiet the comes at the time before the world is up and running?

Before baby, I was a huge fan of the morning. Three days per week were my 6AM workouts and three days per week were 5:30AM walks with my dog. I am fortunate enough to live in southern California so those walks with the dog were either by the ocean or by the bay – I ALWAYS had something beautiful to look at.

Quite often I would listen to a podcast or sometimes just walk with the headphones in and no sound. It’s so rare that we actually get to experience that “quiet” these days.

Since having my little guy, the mornings have become much more hectic. My sleep is not the same as it used to be. (I WAS warned that once you bring a child into this world, you will NOT experience deep sleep for years.)

It’s hard enough to wake up early and I don’t want to wake him up to do a workout. Once he wakes up, he’s ready to eat and there’s nothing quick about it. All these are REAL issues that have to be ironed out, but they’re also EXCUSES.

As part of our upcoming women’s event, we’re interviewing experts from all over the globe. Each interview is talking about the HOW and WHY women NEED to prioritize themselves. Whether you’re a busy Mom or overwhelmed Single Lady, you MUST give yourself permission to take care of YOU.

The reason, I mention this is because Shannon had and interview scheduled with an expert and due time differences, the only time that would work was 7:00AM. All of the interviews take place at my house and it works best if the house is quite – which means NO BABY.

1.) PLANNING VS. REACTION

My little guy and I NEEDED to be out of the house by 6:30AM (and I’m so glad we did.) You see, when you can plan for something like this, its easy to do. There’s not stress because you can anticipate what’s coming and you already have a course of action. There will be times that plans change and you have to react, but when you’re ALWAYS in a state of REACTION, you’re always in a stressful state.

2.) EXTERNAL DEADLINES

I’m a very motivated individual, but sometimes, I let excuses get in the way. After a lot of thought, I actually realize that its not so much the excuse, but rather, it’s the fact that I didn’t take the time to put a system in place that would hold me accountable. I now realize that I CAN find a way to take these morning walks even with the Baby. I had a non-negotiable external deadline that I had to problem solve. This gave me the REASON to problem solve it. Look for external deadlines that can give you the motivation to do something that you know you’ve been wanting to do, but haven’t quite found that motivation. Maybe it’s signing up for a race to encourage you to get on a running or walking plan. Maybe scheduling a painter to paint a room will give you the deadline you need to clean out the clutter.

3.) BETTER ON THE OTHER SIDE

Once you actual complete your task, you’ll likely realize it wasn’t that hard. It probably felt like more work in your head and now that you’ve done it, you wish you’d done it sooner. Think about this feeling when you’re having the doubts or the tough times that creep up in any new experience that we do.

Based on my amazing morning experience this week, I ‘ve decided that I want to continue it at least two times per week. I love the quiet feeling of the morning and starting my day by seeing the world as such a calm space before the hustle and bustle of daily life begins.

If you’re looking for even more ways to help you become a happier and healthier woman and doing it in a way that fits your lifestyle, then please join us for our FREE interview series – DONE WITH DIETS: Discover how the Modern Lady Incorporates Lifestyle Changes to Create and Abundance of Health, Time, and Vitality.

Click here to get your FREE access to this event.

We’ll be speaking with 25+ Women’s Health and Wellness Experts to teach you how to prioritize YOU. Give yourself this moment and in less that 30 days, you’ll see the difference. We look forward to seeing you there.

Live your WHOLE life,

Meg + Shannon

P.S. We all know an incredible woman that has been putting everybody else above herself. Please share this event with her so that she knows how valuable she is!  She can register here!

 

When was the last time your prioritized yourself? When was the last time that you took time just for YOU and didn’t feel guilty about it? If it’s longer than you remember, you’re not alone – nearly ALL women struggle with this.

Whether you work, stay at home, are a Mama or and Empty Nester, its our biological nature to care for others + put their needs above ours.

 WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU’RE LAST?

Do feelings of overwhelm, fatigue, and just getting through the day strike a chord with you? This is what it feels like to be burned out and I’ve been there.

I’ve struggled with this during different times of my life. Of course, there are big projects at work, moves, new babies and times of transition when we expect to feel this way, but what if it doesn’t pass?

In December 2013 I had my son and less than 1 month later had to pack up and move for the hubby’s job. As you can imagine, this was a hectic time – adjusting to becoming a Mom, getting baby’s schedule under control, and trying to unpack and settle into our new space was enough to make your head spin. This coupled with new growth at Whole Food Love left me feeling excited on a professional level, but sometimes exhausted in my personal space.

WHAT TO DO?

We all want to know what the secret is to alleviate these feelings and I’ll tell you – it’s ask for help. It may feel like there should be more, it should be more expensive, or it should be more complicated, but its THAT SIMPLE.

Everybody’s “help” will look a little bit different. For me, it was finding childcare once my little guy got older. For others, its finding a personal trainer, working with a meal planner, hiring a cleaning lady, or taking a yoga class.

We are creatures of community. We’re not SUPPOSED to be able to do it alone (and why would you want to??)

After sharing my story, I learned that I’m not alone! So many women right here in our Whole Food Love community are caught in the same trap. There are too many women that fall into these ruts and some take years to get out. Even scarier, some women just accept that “this is how its going to be”.

THE MESSAGE FOR YOU + FREE INVITATION

This message needs to be shared and here’s what we’re doing about it. For nearly 3 months, Shannon and I have been planning an incredible event that we’re so proud to finally share with you!

This FREE virtual event is called Done with Diets: How the Modern Lady Incorporates Lifestyle Changes to Create an Abundance of Health, Time and Vitality and you’re invited!

We’ve brought together an amazing group of over 20 women’s health, wellness, and lifestyle experts to share with you WHY + HOW to start prioritizing YOURSELF first. This approach is absolutely VITAL for you to flourish and in order to take care of others.

Click here to join us! The event starts May 11^th and we look forward to seeing you there!

Live your WHOLE life,

Meg + Shannon

P.S. Does overwhelmed + tired sound like someone you know? Maybe a friend, sister, or daughter? If so, share this event with her. Our incredible panel of experts is going to cover everything from Mind, Body, Spirit, Communication, Confidence, Sleep and much more.

Aspects of my life changed hours after I completed some of the interviews. Its that POWERFUL and we look forward to seeing YOU there!

We’ll be sharing even more about our experts in the coming days…so keep checking back!

www.donewithdietssummit.com

 

 

 

As a “new” Mom, I’ve come to realize that I am spread REALLY REALLY thin. When I’m being pulled in several different directions, quite often, the things I cherish most (including my hubs) get taken for granted. It’s not that they aren’t a priority, but I know that they will “cut me some slack” and ALWAYS forgive.

That being said this post is dedicated to my husband and although we have a little one that needs our attention, you can use any of these tips (where there’s kiddos in the picture or not) to make your sweetie feel sweet!

 

STAYING PRESENT WITH EACH OTHER

It’s so easy to become unintentionally distracted by escaping into the digital world.   Limit your use of electronic and phones while you are with your family (and especially in the evening).

SAY “I LOVE YOU”

So simple yet so meaningful. Say “I love you” before you leave. We never know what life will throw at us. Although you may be rushing out the door, take a moment to acknowledge your life partner.

LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN

There are so many times when I am doing all of the talking – sharing how parts of my day didn’t go according to plan. Instead, ask you spouse about his day and actually LISTEN to the answer.

CELEBRATE NOW

Make a special meal, head out to a restaurant, pop some champagne, or grab a small gift. Don’t wait to celebrate even the small events. Cherish and honor those “moments” as well as the “milestones.”

Need more inspiration to “celebrate now and collect bad wines”  check out Rick Elia’s 5 Minute TED talk here.

SCHEDULE A DATE NIGHT (and keep it!)

I have to admit that I need a lot of work on this one. I am a huge planner so you’d think that this one wouldn’t be a problem for me. The one constant is that our lives will always be in flux. Don’t use lack of time as an excuse. Find a time, even if its just 60 minutes, to have a “date” with your spouse and do your best to focus on each other and not have the conversation consumed with the kids. If you’re always rescheduling your date night, you may need to re-evaluate your priorities and elevate time with your spouse.

HEALTHY INDIVIDUAL INTERESTS

Its ok to have your own interests. Your individuality is what made your partner fall in love with you. Make the time to do things that you enjoy and that fill you up and support your spouse when he’s doing the same.

In my “life before a kid” I attended several Pilates Conferences, which were usually held at golf resorts during the off-season. We would travel there together and while I was in trainings all day, the hubs would have free reign to golf ALL DAY LONG. These trips renewed our connection because we were both so incredibly fulfilled at the end of the day from doing things that we LOVED.

START DATING AGAIN

Do you remember that feeling when you were first dating? The excitement you’d feel when you knew you were going to see each other? See your partner through this same lens again and let him know it. When he’s looking good – TELL HIM! Share you admiration.

APOLOGIZE

No explanation needed – its that simple. When you’re wrong…apologize.

What are some other ways that you reconnect? How long have you been together and what’s your biggest word of advice. Share this in the comment section!

Live your WHOLE life,

Meg + Shannon