Let’s be honest: it’s easy to get caught up in how we feel about our fitness progress instead of looking at what’s actually happening. Some days we feel on top of the world, other days we swear nothing’s working—and neither tells the full story.

That’s why tracking matters.

When we talk about “fueling our body,” we often jump straight to nutrition—and rightly so. What we eat plays a major role in how we feel, function, and show up each day. But this week, I want to flip the script and talk about another kind of fuel.

Because we don’t just feed our bodies through food.
We feed ourselves through everything we consume.

What we watch, listen to, scroll past, read, engage in… all of it becomes fuel.

In this new season, don’t wait. Carpe Diem! It is not as hard as you may think. What I have learned is this, you and I are irreplaceable. We are unique and here for this very time made for us. We cannot let history, worry, fear or even a little anxiety hold us back from what has been placed in our hearts.  What you desire is calling you to your best and highest self. We are so excited to hear your story, your dreams and to walk beside you!

Too often, we think wellness has to be this unrelenting practice of moving our bodes in extreme ways, without excuses (lookin’ at you Jillian Michaels). On the contrary, living in the “sweet spot” requires finding balance, somewhere between “Just Do It” and “Wait for It”.

Let’s be real. Fitness advice is everywhere, and a lot of it is either confusing, overhyped, or just flat-out wrong. After years of coaching people through the ups and downs, here are 7 hot takes I stand by. Take them or leave them, but they might just shift your mindset!

We’ve all heard the phrase, “you are what you eat.” And while it’s true that what you put into your body matters - it impacts your energy, mood, hormones, recovery, focus, and more - there’s a second part we often forget:

It’s not just what you eat. It’s also how you eat.

Mojo is defined as a quality that attracts people to you and makes you successful and full of energy. Award winning journalist, Carl Honoré challenges in his book In Praise of Slowness, that today’s culture has us living on the edge of exhaustion and constantly reminded by our bodies and minds that the pace of life is spinning out of control. He asserts that a Slow revolution is taking place. People all over the world are reclaiming their time and slowing down their pace -- living happier, healthier, and productive lives. Slow is their mojo.

Big T, little t…

What begins with T?  According to Dr. Seuss, “Ten tired turtles on a tuttle tuttle tree,” (Seuss, Dr. Dr. Seuss's ABC. New York: Beginner Books, 1963.)

When I completed my first well check-up 5 years ago, I resonated with the description “tired turtle” 🐢😞. I had lost a good amount of weight (again) over the late winter/early spring  months through good habits that were working for me. Though I was feeling pretty good about my Physical Wellness, I was fearful about being able to sustain progress as my new self. I had been on the weight loss rollercoaster too many times. But to my surprise, the well check-up revealed something unexpected.  Of the 8 Wellness Dimensions, my Emotional Wellness lagged behind. Why?

Trauma isn’t just stored in memories—it embeds itself in the body. It rewires our nervous system, disrupts our sleep, and heightens our stress response. Over time, it can make us feel unsafe in our own skin.

In the bestselling book The Body Keeps the Score, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk writes:

“Trauma is not just an event that took place in the past; it is also the imprint left by that experience on the mind, brain and body.”

He emphasizes that while cognitive approaches like therapy are helpful, they often don’t fully address the physical imprint trauma leaves behind.

Insert: movement.

Six months ago, in December 2024, I began a personal experiment. One rooted in curiosity, healing, and a desire for something deeper. I wasn’t drinking every day, and I would never have called it a problem. But alcohol had become a social norm in my life - something I turned to out of habit, routine, or simply to fit in. And somewhere along the way, it stopped feeling aligned with the version of myself I was working hard to become.

If you are here, I have something so important to share with you that perhaps no one else ever has. 

You are enough. You are loved. If you are seeking your best self, it is right within you. You are smart enough, disciplined enough, organized enough and you do have enough time to be who you are meant to be. You may just not know how to find it. And what you think your best self looks like, I promise you are not thinking big enough. It is more than you can even imagine.

I never lost sight of her, that twenty-something girl in the mirror. I was in my early twenties when my wellness journey would begin. Plagued with infertility and hormone imbalances, there was little to know and understand. With no such innovation called “the internet”, you saw doctors and talked to family and friends about your struggles. All you could know was that you weren’t “normal”. As the girl in the mirror aged and took on various shapes and sizes, I was driven, consumed with finding her again. Where did she go, and why was this so hard to understand and “fix”?

After a long stretch focused mostly on strength training, I’ve decided it’s time to switch things up, and I’m officially back in race training mode! I’ve signed up for a 5K in May and a Half Marathon in October! I’ve completed a 5K, 10K, and Half in the past, but running hasn’t been a regular part of my training for a while.

Travel season is upon us, and while hitting the road can be exciting, it often throws our healthy habits off track. Rest stops, airport kiosks, and roadside diners rarely offer food that leaves you feeling your best.

Fueling your body right while traveling takes intentional effort, but with a little planning ahead, it’s totally doable. In my latest blog post, I’m sharing a real moment I had on the road (hello, fast food overload) and the steps I took to stay nourished and avoid the regret that often follows those quick-fix meal.

But I have learned more recently that slowing down and looking around brings an even richer adventure. Blooming where we are planted means to be intentional about embracing the season you are in and resist the urge to look ahead. This is easiest to do when, “everything is coming us roses” in our lives and we want to soak it in.  However, slowing down is most difficult when we are in a challenging season. We just want to get through it and move on to happier times. But always looking ahead dulls our senses and lures us away from sharpening and enriching ourselves.  Intentionally being present, even during hardship is a gift. When the headwinds are strong, and the waves are crashing down around us we can take a lesson from nature.  

I’ll admit, the word “No” has a bad rap. It carries a lot of negative baggage. Our first encounters with it go back to early childhood when we are learning about our environment and how we are to behave in it. It set limits on our actions and often squelched our desires. And if challenged, usually came with some unpleasant consequence. As toddlers, it became one of our favorite words to express ourselves and try often not met with a good outcome. 

But as adults, “No” can be one of the best tactics for supporting your overall well-being by helping to create space for your mind body spirit balance.

In today’s fast-paced world, it’s so easy to get caught up in the rush to do, be and achieve more. You’re running errands, attending meetings or squeezing in that workout, ending the day feeling like it was all a blur. But what if the secret to improving your health was really to slow down?

Mindful stretching has entered the chat

Nutrition doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, the simpler you keep it, the easier it is to make healthy choices that fit into your lifestyle. Here are five practical tips to help you stay on track and make better food choices without overthinking it.

Living your best self requires understanding the mind-body-spirit connection.  Your body is a physical presence and your mind controls how your body moves and functions. We teach a lot about fitness and nutritional habits to support your physical health. Your mind also controls how you think, which is a powerful force.

One of the biggest obstacles we face on our health and fitness journey is motivation. It’s constantly shifting: some days you’ll feel unstoppable, like you’re on top of the world, and other days you’ll feel completely drained and question why you ever set such ambitious goals in the first place. When those low moments hit, it’s crucial to remember two things: 1) it’s a temporary feeling, and 2) you need to ground yourself in a deeper why – a reason that can anchor you when motivation fails.