Making It A Healthy Lifestyle

So I have a confession.. I LOVE FOOD! I love most foods. It would be quicker and easier for me to tell you the foods that I don't like.  My love of food helped contribute to being overweight by over 100lbs.  But just because I lost weight, doesn't mean that I love food any less. In fact, I might love it even more.

Food is a necessary evil. Everyone needs to eat. We need food to thrive. We need food to lose weight.  Food is a part of life... always will be... whether we like it or not. Food isn't the enemy. It's about making the best choice as to what food to put in your body meal after meal, day after day.

For me, living a healthy lifestyle means eating lots of fruits, veggies, and lean protein. Pretty much foods that are going to do something for my body.  I will continue these behaviors for the rest of my life. Living a healthy lifestyle also means that occasionally I can treat myself with a piece of cheesecake, without having to feel guilty about it.  I know I don't eat perfectly clean or healthy, but I eat that way a lot more than I don't.  It has taken me a lot of time and struggles to be at piece with this.

Will there be times that I wish I didn't eat something... of course.  Will there be times that I overeat and struggle... absolutely... It's something I have dealt with in the past and I anticipate dealing with again (although I hope it isn't any time soon)... Every time I have fallen down, I have picked myself up.

During life, there are going to be good times and there are going to be bad times. It's part of life.  It doesn't matter how many times bad times or how many times you fall off the wagon. All that matters is that every time you fall down, you dust your self off and get right back to it.

Thank you for joining me on this journey,

Emily

Job Satisfaction

Lately I have been feeling very frustrated on the job front.  Yes, I have a job and I am grateful. And it is a job where there are positives.  I get to go to work knowing I am making a difference in people's lives.  I love my co-workers and I work for an organization that I fully believe and standby their mission.

So what's the problem? In order to avoid getting too whiny I will paraphrase.  One- I feel like I have gone as far I can and want to go.  Two- I am not made to feel like a valued employee.  Three- I could do more.  I want to do more, but time after time I face barriers. And here is the thing that is most bothersome to me... I LET THESE BARRIERS STOP ME.  I have found that I don't have enough drive, enough passion or enough fight in me to counteract it.

Like I said the last reason, bothers me the most. I  am not one to let things get in my way. I set my mind on something, I am going to do everything in my power to do it.  I am tenacious and I like it that way.  When it comes to work, I just can't muster that tenacity.  When I hear people happily and passionately talk about their jobs, I not only get jealous, but also envious.

But then when I ask myself "Emily, what do you want to be when you grow up?" I hear crickets.  All I know is I am at my happiest talking about health and fitness and would love to dive into this world. How and in what capacity? I am not quite sure, but I feel like I will know it once its there.

Making A Difference

When  I was a junior in high school I went on a mission trip with my Youth Group to Washington D.C. To this day, it was one of those experiences that stick with me. One experience, in particular... We were at a run-down apartment complex in a bad area of DC and it was our job to clean out the pool so the families that lived there would be able to use it.  This pool was gross, but our group were going to do as much as we could in the time that we had.  And we did.  As we were working a group of neighborhood kids, maybe ages 8-10, saw us and asked "What are you doing?" Someone must have said "Cleaning the pool for you guys to use." The kids then asked "Can we help?" Those kids could have spent their summer day riding their bikes, having fun, doing whatever... they saw people cleaning out their pool and they were inspired to help.  Those kids, probably have no clue how much they inspired me.  It is because of them that I pursued a Bachelor's in Social Work and then have gone onto work with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities for the last 7.5 years.

All I have ever said I wanted to do, is make a difference in someone's life.  I always thought it would be through my profession. NEVER did I think I would accomplish it through the work I have done on myself!  One of the most unbelievable and humbling things that anyone can say to me is "You are an inspiration." I have been blessed to here those words multiple times through multiple people. It makes all the sweat, tears and frustration that I have felt and I still feel, absolutely 100% worth it.

Some times all that is needed is seeing someone making a change for them to be inspired.    So make the change, if not for you, then for the person that might be watching, whether it is your children, your family or a complete stranger.  Be an inspiration. You won't be disappointed.

Thank you for joining me on this journey,

Emily

Something that scares me... Welcome to my blog

Hi everyone!

As we said goodbye to 2012 and welcomed 2013, like many I thought about what can I do to make myself better and make this year great for me. One thing I knew was I wanted to get back some control that I had lost.  The last two months of 2012 were a bit of a whirlwind for me. 

• On October 29th, my area was hit hard by Hurricane Sandy and thankfully our biggest problem was we lost power 10 days. 
• On November 6th, my grandmother had a stroke and was admitted to the hospital. Two days before Thanksgiving she was placed on hospice. 
• Then Thanksgiving. 
• Then a fundraiser I was organizing for work. 
• On December 4th, my beloved grandmother passed away.
•  On December 11th, her funeral.  
• On December 12th I was hit with the realization that Christmas was in two weeks and I was nowhere near ready. 
• December 24th-December 29th- Christmas craziness. 

On December 31st, just for the heck of it I stepped on the scale... Ugh... I didn't like the number I saw. I didn't like how I felt. I wanted to leave those feelings in 2012 and I have so far.   

I have never really been one for resolutions, but given the crazy way 2012 ended I was reminded how precious life. How short life is. And I wanted to make sure I could do as much as possible to make sure that I was getting the most of life.  I made a list of 13 goals that I wanted to accomplish in 2013.  One of those goals, do something that scares me... So I did something that I have been thinking about for awhile... starting a blog.  

Why does it scare me? I don't know really. It's a little overwhelming to let people into your life (that is making the assumption that many people will actually read these- HA). But I do feel that I have a story worth sharing and things worth saying... 

I do know why I wanted to do something that scares me.  Overcoming fears are hard. It takes strength to do it and it shows growth.  I don't want to look back and wonder "what if"... Now I don't have to, atleast not with starting a blog. 

Thank you for being a part of my journey, 

Emily