Shine Shine Shine! – Student Spotlight

Last week in our Student Spotlight, we began our two week feature of inspirational women who have continued to train at Get Fit NH throughout their pregnancies. This week’s Student Spotlight is shining on Jill E. and Kim L. Both women have continued working hard and being healthy through their pregnancies and have written about their experiences.

Jill tells us about her top five reasons for continuing to train with her Get Fit Family throughout her pregnancy:

1. If it’s good for me, it must be good for the baby – This one is a no brainer. Obviously anything that is helping mommy stay fit and happy and strong will be good for the baby.

2. I will not let 4 ½ years of training go down the toilet – This is my second pregnancy and I have trained through both so far. Part of my reason for joining the Get Fit Family was to lose weight and get in shape to have kids. I will not let all of that hard work go to waste! Nor do I want to lose my Get Fit Family!

3. Support, support, support – Super Mom/Trainer Nancy understands when you break out in tears for no reason, and doesn’t hold it against you (Sorry Nancy!). She listens to everything and helps me remember that I am changing and can’t do everything I could do before! Coming to this realization was a lot harder with my first pregnancy. What do you mean I can’t hold a plank for 20 seconds anymore without wanting to pass out? I used to be able to hold one for well over a minute. Well, your body is increasing blood cells and blood flow and doing even more amazing things without you even knowing it, so deal. What do you mean I want to throw up in a pushup hold, or mountain climbers, or renegade rows? Hello heartburn! Let’s do those off the bench so your head is elevated. What do you mean my hips are moving (to prep for birth) and my SI joints are completely out of whack and everything hurts? Well, it’s time to avoid all those exercises that create discomfort for the SI joint, focus on stretching and strengthening your core. That last one has been especially frustrating with my current pregnancy, but Nancy has been wonderful at making sure I am not in any discomfort or pain during training and modifying exercises (and making sure I am not going to burst into tears again).

4. Cool technology – This pregnancy I am hooked up to a heart monitor during training. This may be the most interesting part because I am really able to control my intensity and workouts all while keeping my heart rate in check. Who knew band hammer curls could get your heart racing so fast! I like that I am able to control when I need to increase my intensity (quit being a baby, or ‘suck it up’ as Dean says) and when I need to take a breather.

5. Astonishing people – Some people are shocked when I tell them I train 3-4 nights a week while pregnant – my parents’ and grandparents’ generation especially. But I love being able to explain that training isn’t just for me. The lowering and raising of the heart rate when training resembles labor. I am not the only one who has to go through it, this baby has to prepare too! I had a C-section with the first pregnancy (my daughter was breech), so there was no labor involved, but there was a heck of a recovery afterward! Without having the core and the arm strength I’d built up previously, I am guessing that recovery would have sucked a whole lot more! It’s too early to tell with Baby Boy Edelmann what type of delivery I will have, but they are telling me he is going to be big and tall. Have you met my husband…eek! So the way I see it, the more prepared I am while he is still in the womb, the better!

 Jill and Karl, along with the rest of us, are waiting to meet their newest family member!

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Our next mom Kim explains how training with Get Fit NH has helped her through her pregnancy and in preparing for giving birth:

It gets increasingly hard to find the motivation to get to class but the payoff gets so much greater! I could be having the worst day – tired, grumpy, and not feeling well – but after class all of those feelings and emotions would be gone. Physically, I have had an incredibly easy pregnancy and I do not attribute that to luck. I attribute it to the fact that I have never really stopped moving. I refused to give up and chose instead to be tough. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but so far it has worked! (Although I can’t lie, I’ve had days where I wanted to curl up into a ball and cry, but we can blame that on hormones).

I am really curious to see how my recovery from childbirth will be and even more curious to see how I handle childbirth itself with our mottos from class running through my head – “Get comfortable being uncomfortable!”, “You can do anything for 15, 20, 30, 40 seconds!”, and “Last set is the best set!”.

Little Maggie was born in August. Congratulations, Kim!

Training when it is just yourself is difficult – we should all get a high five each day for making it happen. But when you are training while experiencing morning sickness or feeling uncomfortable at nine months pregnant, you deserve a second high five! Katie introduced us to Little Jonathon this past January and later this year Amanda is expecting her second child. Congratulations to Carolyn, Jill, Kim, Katie, and Amanda and everyone else in the Get Fit Family for working so hard!

I Wish I Never Gave Up

Over recovery week, I spent some time at the Veteran’s Hospital in Boston. I would like to say it is always a humbling experience, but sometimes I let other emotions cloud what an incredible experience it is to get to go to a Veteran’s Hospital.

I promise there is a purpose I am sharing this with you, but I will get to that later…

As I am sure you can imagine, when I walk into a Veteran’s Hospital I am the youngest patient in there, usually by at least 20 years. I get all kinds of weird looks and most people (doctors and patients) ask me if I am there because my husband or dad served. My answer is always a smile and lifting up my sleeves to show off the ink that I try and keep covered while coaching.

This past week while I was there, I sat on a bench outside of the hospital waiting for the Veteran’s Hotel to open across the street. While I was soaking in the last moments of summer, I was approached by an older veteran. He sat by me and said, “Semper fi!” (Note: Semper fi is a Latin term meaning “always faithful”. It is the Marine Corps motto and it is a term Marines use when they see other Marines).

Anyways, the veteran says “semper fi” and takes a seat. The next part of the conversation went something like this:

Older veteran (reaches out to shake my hand): “Corporal Clark. Korean War 1951.”

Meagan (shakes hand): “Sergeant Sbat. Operation Enduring Freedom, Helmand Province, Afghanistan 2012.”

After introducing ourselves, we started talking about what our jobs entailed while we served. Then, we got into what I do now (which, by the way, I refer to as a life changing coach) and talked about the surgery I was about to have and how it would affect my way of life over the next few months. A few minutes later, his ride pulled up so he lifted himself from the bench using his walker and said:

“You may not be able to tell, but I used to be strong as an ox. I wish I never gave up. I can’t even remember why I stopped, but it wasn’t worth it. I’ve lost my independence because I let myself get weak. Don’t ever give up, Marine. Semper Fi.”

Need I say more? Do yourself a favor and find your “why”! Maybe your why is that you don’t want to have to rely on your children, spouse, or friends to get you to where you need to go because you are too unhealthy and weak to get there yourself.  If you have a big enough why, you will find a how.

-Coach Meagan

I Just Can’t Stay Away

I just know you missed your coaches and their awesome jokes – rest assured we missed you too! In fact we missed you so much that we got together and came up with a great challenge for September and October. We know how much everyone adores the Ski Ergs, so we thought it would be a great challenge to Ski Erg 50,000 meters from now until the end of October!

Look, we are all looking to get better, right? And I don’t know of anyone who doesn’t get their rear-end kicked during Ski Erg sprints! So let’s get better together! You have from now to the end of October to Ski Erg 50,000 meters. You can break it up however you’d like. 100 meters here, 500 meters there, 1000 meters before training, 1000 meters after training…whatever works for you! But don’t wait until October 31st to start.

You track your meters on the white boards at Get Fit NH. Kathy N is already started this challenge. She is training for the Concept 2 Ski Erg World Cup. Join Kathy and make it happen.
If you hate the Ski Erg then this is your opportunity to defeat IT rather than it defeat YOU! If you love the ski erg then this your time to give it some extra love and attention all while getting better together!

You have until October 31st to SkiErg 50,000m and conquer the SkiErg Challenge and prep for the upcoming SkiErg World Sprints – Make It Happen!

What do you have to say?

To yourself that is? So often we have a negative tape playing in our head and we may not be aware of it. I have met with many fantastic mothers, wives, successful business owners and in 30 minutes I can’t tell you how often I hear:

“I just can’t lose the weight”

“I can’t find the time to go grocery shopping and prepare meals”

“I can’t find the motivation”

Those are just a few. It is sad to think that if I am hearing these statements in such a short time, how much more are they reciting them in their mind throughout the day?

We have talked before about how powerful the mind is. Your internal dialog sets the tone for what you believe is true about yourself. I remember growing up and if I ever said something negative about myself my father would remind me that if I said it and believed it then it would be true…negative or positive. If you keep telling yourself “I can’t lose the weight” or “I can’t find the motivation” then you WON’T! You need to start BELIEVING you CAN!!! Can’t is a four letter word that we want to banish in our home at Get Fit NH! Here is a quote I really liked in an article I was reading:

“Between being perfect and giving up, there’s BETTER.”

Many of us strive for perfection, especially on the journey of weight loss. When things don’t go as planned you might say “Forget it, I will start again tomorrow” and tomorrow turns into Monday and so on. Then that voice inside your head might tell you, you failed again so why bother trying any more. You need to SILENCE that voice and get back on track!  Every day (even every minute) is an opportunity to get better and closer to our goals!

We must choose to be positive and shut the negative out! There is so much negative going on in the world it is hard not to be brought down by it. I often suggest people write down one positive thing each day and see the difference it makes. Some have started doing it and they now notice when others compliment them or when they make a better choice that will get them closer to their goal. It has been a privilege to see what a little positive note each day (or every other day) can make in their mindset.

Thank you for continuing to let me be a part of your journey! I look forward to you sharing more of your successes with me!

Coach Erin

Student Spotlight – Carolyn S. and Baby Gretchen

Coach Nancy here, excited to be sharing a new Student Spotlight Series! Usually our spotlight is a chance for one of Get Fit NH’s family members to shine, but over the next two weeks I have several to highlight. In fact, three people in particular have caught this coach’s eye. They have one commonality – they are all pregnant or have recently given birth. All of these women are inspiring individuals. Adding to their uniqueness is their continuation of their training while pregnant. It is inspiring and leaves the rest of us thinking, “If they can do this, I can too!”.

To start off our two weeks of spotlighting Get Fit NH’s inspiring pregnant women, we have Carolyn S. She has written about her experience training with Get Fit NH while being pregnant, here is her story:

“Approximately three years ago, a friend introduced me to Get Fit NH… and it’s been a huge part of my life ever since. Before Get Fit NH, I felt limited to walking and hiking with my dog, which I still enjoy doing, but I was looking for a new way to challenge myself. I really wanted to be a part of a group because I was tired of feeling isolated and trying to adapt to a healthier lifestyle on my own. A couple years ago, I attended a workshop in Epsom on Pre/Post Natal training put on by Nancy, just to gather information. I knew before getting pregnant I wanted to be healthy and strong. I was also looking to get an idea of how training would change for me if or when I become pregnant.

Fast forward to today and not only do I train in the company of friends, but my family is training together, which is the best gift we ever could have gotten. My husband started training with Get Fit NH over a year ago; we started doing this together to be healthier for our “future” children. I remember Nancy saying at the Pre/Post Natal training that when the mother’s heart rate increases so does the baby’s. That stuck with me. I’m currently 38.5 weeks pregnant, and I’ve been able to train 3-4 times a week throughout my pregnancy because of the care and dedication of Nancy.

Nancy was one of the first people to know that my husband and I were expecting. From the beginning, we knew we were in good hands, but we wanted to make sure we were communicating with our trainer, doctor, and chiropractor. I don’t feel like a whole lot has changed for me in terms of training, but that’s probably because Nancy has done such a wonderful job of quickly and discreetly modifying exercises I was struggling with. This is something I really appreciate because, generally, I don’t like to draw a lot of attention to myself.

Back in November, my doctor had to fill out paperwork in order for me to continue to train throughout pregnancy. Nancy wrote a letter explaining that this was something that I’d been involved in for the past couple of years. I remember the doctor encouraging me to only lift 15 lbs, which left me feeling both limited and frustrated. I talked to Nancy about this because I knew I wasn’t trying to increase the amount of weight I was lifting, but if I wasn’t able to lift more than 15 lbs I wasn’t even going to maintain where I was. Our conversations left me feeling more confident in my own judgment and strength. I also knew that if I wasn’t feeling comfortable with a particular exercise, then I could lighten up on the weight or ask for a modification.

During training, I started to wear a heart rate monitor, which I was excited about because I had attended the 8-week heart rate monitor training session in Concord last year. I’d grown to really like seeing how quickly I could recover after getting my heart rate up. With this pregnancy, I was using the heart rate monitor to keep my heart rate below 80% of its maximum. Check-ins were subtle throughout training and I was encouraged to respond with at least five words so Nancy could gauge how I was doing. I regularly required reminders to breathe.

During my first trimester, I was able to participate in all of the exercises although there would be days (maybe weeks) where I felt so tired that I appreciated being able to choose a modified version of the exercise.  I felt like I had plenty of energy during my second trimester, but pushups, knee grab abs and lying T’s were beginning to be a real challenge.  On certain days where I was suffering from lower back pain, Nancy quickly came up with another option for me to do that would take the strain off of my back.

Being pregnant didn’t exempt me from goal setting. Instead, I was given the opportunity to focus on nutrition. I would fill out my food journal every other week, hand it into Nancy, and get feedback. I found this to be really helpful because it helped me see when and where I was eating my carbs, fats, and proteins. Nancy shared recipes with me and suggested other food options.

Training as a family is something we look forward to doing together, and it had bonded us in a way I’m not sure anything else could have.  Kellen and I can’t wait for you to meet our next generation of Get Fit NH.  This little one has been training with you for almost a full 40 weeks!” – Carolyn S.

Update: Carolyn and Kellen are happy to announce the birth of Gretchen in August. Congratulations from your Get Fit Family!

The Transformation

“Imagine that last night, as you slept, your world magically changed. You woke up this morning with everything you have ever wanted. Every life change, every goal, everything you’ve ever striven for has been achieved.

You don’t know how this wondrous transformation occurred — you were asleep, after all — but you know it’s perfect. You open your eyes, yawn, and look around.”

Now answer these questions:

•    How will you know that your life has changed?
•    Which specific things are different?”

The responses to these questions can spark an interesting discussion, and can show you some ways to measure progress.

Identify the outcome you are seeking. Set this outcome goal aside. Understand that you can’t control it 100%.

List your behavior goals.
 In the form below, list 3 behaviors that — if done consistently — are going to get you to your outcome goal.
What will you do this month?
What will you do this week?
What will you do today?

Keep it simple. Match behaviors to identity, values, and goals. 
Focus on a few small, concrete, daily actions that matter.

Start Your Transformation Here:

1. What will I do this month to help me reach my goal?

2. What will I do this week to help me reach my goal?

3. What will I do today to help me reach my goal?

The magic is in the doing. Be consistent. Never give up. Take action, and Make It Happen!

Coach Nancy

Gotta Love Me Some Zucchini

I love late August early September. The backyard garden is bulging with produce. One of my favorite growing plants is zucchini. I think it is because they are easy to grow, hard to kill, and produce fruit with little effort. I’m not much of a gardener but I do put get my hands dirty. Donna K. visited the Red Mountain Resort in Utah this summer and brought back this recipe.

Raw Zucchini Alfredo

8 – 1 cup servings

• 1 cup raw unsalted Cashew nuts, chopped
• ¾ cup water
• ¼ cup Pine nuts
• ½ teaspoon thyme
• ½ tablespoon lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ cloves garlic
• 8 cups zucchini

Blend all ingredients except zucchini in a high power blender until smooth and starts to warm up from blender, about 5 minutes to make the Alfredo sauce.

Cut top and bottom off of zucchini. Using the julienne blade on a mandolin cut zucchini length wise to create noodles. Pour sauce over individual portions.

Since zucchini are prolific I wanted to share this recipe from Paulette W. These are one of our family’s favorites year round.

Zucchini Fritters

• 5 medium zucchini, shredded (4 cups) with box grater or food processor
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1/4 cup coconut flour (I used almond flour)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional (but yummy) and 1 teaspoon black pepper
• coconut oil or ghee for cooking

Shred zucchini and put into large bowl. Sprinkle with the sea salt and toss well. Walk away for 10 min. Scoop up a generous handful of zucchini and squeeze the living daylights out of them. You want the zucchini dry – nobody likes soggy fritters. Place in a different bowl. Add flour, egg, pepper, and baking soda. Stir to combine Heat a large skillet over med-high heat. Melt a spoonful of oil or ghee in the pan. Pack a 1/4 cup of zucchini mixture out onto the pan and flatten until you get a patty. You can cook 4-5 patties at a time. Cook each side for 3-5 min or until brown. Cool on a cooling rack so they don’t get soggy.

Enjoy!

Coach Nancy

Got Grit?

Have you ever considered seriously what it takes to be successful?

Angela Lee Duckworth is a psychologist that studied different people in various settings to see what made them successful. On one of her studies she went to West Point to try to predict which cadets would make it through the program and which would drop out. She found that those who succeeded had the most grit. Duckworth defines grit as “passion and perseverance for long term goals”. Grit is not giving up when faced with challenges. It is working on your goal every day.

How do you build grit? Here are a few characteristics of people with grit:

Courage: You must have courage to set goals and not be afraid to fail. Some of us are perfectionist (myself included) and we never take that step outside of our comfort zone because we are scared of failing. Don’t let fear paralyze you because you may miss out on something great!

Goal Oriented: The most gritty and successful people set goals and then work relentlessly to achieve them. If you don’t set goals then how do you know where you are going? After you have your goal you must have an action plan to get there. Then you work on it daily!

Endurance: Life is a marathon not a sprint. Malcom Gladwell states in his book Outliers that it takes 10,000 hours to achieve mastery in a field. To achieve success we must be willing to put in the time necessary. There are no short cuts or quick fixes!

Resilience: Success is not linear. There are going to be bumps in the road. People who have grit and are successful are also resilient. They use every opportunity as a chance for growth and have confidence to move forward.

Excellence: Not perfection! We must strive for excellence in everything we do. When we seek perfection we often get discouraged because we don’t achieve it. Perfection is not realistic. Excellence is an attitude that is positive and motivating.

Let’s work together to build these characteristics and some Grit!

Take Action Today

Last week we talked about commitment.

Remember I asked you to commit to just one thing and send it to me? Well, some of you did and I thought that was great. I am so proud of you guys for your willingness to be held accountable. That is important. I would expect you all to ask me which recipes I made from the Whole 9 Handbook since that is what I committed to – I can take it! 🙂

This week I want to talk about taking action.

It is easy to set goals, right? Anyone can say, “My goal is to lose to test out of my red band” “My goal is to lose 10 lbs for my vacation in two months” or “My goal is to be able to do unassisted chin ups.” That is the easy part! The hard part is maintaining discipline and taking action steps to meet those goals! If you want something to change you must change something you’re doing (that part can sting a little sometimes, I know!) The good news is you’ve hired professional coaches to help you define those action steps in a way that works FOR YOU!

I am going to show you a DON’T version of taking action and a DO version of taking action….

DON’T

Outcome Goal: I want to lose 10 pounds before I go on vacation in December

4 week goal- I want to lose 5 pounds in 4 weeks

Action Steps

1.) Stick to Whole 9 nutrition plan

2.) Train 4x per week

3.) Take Fish Oil supplement

4.) Get 8 hours of sleep

5.) Keep a food log

Do you see where I am going with this??

In this case- less is more! Remember this is a life style change. This stuff is not going to happen overnight. It takes work and it takes dedication. You deserve to meet your goals.

Here is what a DO situation looks like

Outcome Goal: I want to lose 10 pounds before I go on vacation in December

4 week goal- I want to lose 5 pounds in 4 weeks

Action Steps

1.) Train 4X per week consistently for 4 weeks

2.) Attend a Whole 9 seminar

Boom- That’s it!

In 4 weeks we talk again and if and when you successfully completed the action steps then we move on. We progress. We keep the first step and add another one.

I don’t want you to think about the 100 different ways you COULD BE taking action. I want you to focus on ONE thing you can and will do over the next 4 weeks. Heck, I want to  know what you are going to do today to get you closer to your goal tomorrow!

Commit to take action- Go make it happen!

-Coach Meagan

Just Because!