The other evening, I nearly fell off my chair when I read my friend & fellow health coach Kendall Covitz’s Facebook status:

“A trainer looked me up and down and said ‘I can make your butt smaller and shrink you.’ I didn’t say anything since I was working for another company. What would you have done?”

Yes, I was mortified this happened to her but the reason I was shocked is that the SAME EXACT THING happened to me the day before. (You’ll read all about my story below in a minute) Was this a new trend? I had to reach out to her to tell her my story. We quickly realized that not only did this happen to the both of us just two days apart, but it was the same trainer.

After making each other giggle and realize what the woman said to us was pure hogwash (we both know each other are beautiful even if that means we’re not stick thin models), we knew we had to do something about it.

You see, as holistic health coaches, Kendall and I both work specifically with women to help them feel beautiful in their own skin by eating … Read More!

#LaceUp365

Last month, I was invited by the lovely folks at New Balance to participate in the launch of their Lace Up 365 program to celebrate their 25th anniversary of their partnership with Susan G Komen.

To honor those who have been affected by breast cancer, Lace Up 365 was born so supporters could dedicate their workouts to breast cancer survivors (featured on New Balance’s site daily) simply by hash-tagging #LaceUp365.

And to kick off this fabulous, feel-good campaign, New Balance invited bloggers to participate in some of the newest & hottest workouts all around the city of Boston: Barry’s Bootcamp, November Project, The Handle Bar and Yoga at NB Fitness. Sweating it out for a good cause? I’m IN!

Before the event, I was sent a pair of pink New Balance sneaks, a pair of pants and some shirts with the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure logo. I absolutely love my super-bright pink sneaks, which I wear proudly & think of someone to dedicate my workout to every time I sport ’em!

Each event started with a special gathering where we heard from a New Balance representative, as well as the beautiful & inspiring … Read More!

With Thanksgiving Day coming tomorrow, I’ve been thinking a lot about gratitude lately. I’m a firm believer that expressing your gratitude & feeling thankful is the #1 key to a happy, love-filled life. Next time you’re feeling down or particularly un-grateful (like “HOW COULD THIS EVER HAPPEN TO ME???!), I encourage you to get cozy & jot down everything you are grateful for right now.

Here’s my list:

1. My family
2. Having a sister
3. My lovely fiancé Jason (even though the word still sounds kinda silly to me)
4. My writing
5. My blog
6. Love
7. My cozy apartment
8. Cuddling
9. Hot tea
10. Heat
11. My college girls
12. My best friends
13. Child’s Pose
14. Fresh-brewed coffee
15. My job
16. Good food
17. Our New Hampshire condo
18. sweetgreen salads
19. Fuzzy socks
20. Fuzzy blankets (especially “Pinky”)
21. My in-the-works e-book
22. My health coaching
23. Making people smile
24. Helping people see themselves in a more beautiful light
25. Helping people ween off dieting, deprivation & self-hatred
26. Real food
27. My future wedding – 10/24/14
28. Mom’s chicken noodle soup
29. Mom’s chicken divan
30. Dad’s Thanksgiving Day turkey
31. Thanksgiving
32. Grandma’s homemade…everything!
33. Running
34. Yoga
35. Meditation
36. Essential oils
37. Savasana
38. Vision Boards
39. #BostonStrong
40. My mac
41. My dog Sunny (who we had to put down last year but who was my “brother” growing

The other day, a colleague of mine posted this status on her Facebook page that really got me thinking:

“I am meeting SO many women entrepreneurs who have spent a ton of money on coaching programs when internally there’s a boat load of fear and other internal gunk that’s resulting in little return on investment. I hope for the day when we can all wake up and realize that to cultivate financial abundance externally, you need to feel abundant internally.” – Stacy, ZenConnect

When I first read this, I got defensive almost -But  I’m one of those women who have in the past spent a boatload of money on something I thought would “fix” me! After pausing for a moment to soak this in, I realized she’s 100% completely spot on.

To me, it all comes down to one thing: you can spend thousands and thousands of dollars on the best _____ (nutritionist/business coach/health coach/school/relationship guru, you name it) but if you aren’t invested in yourself first that money is going to get you squat.

And when I say invested in yourself, I mean really freakin’ wanting it. Being willing to learn & grow. Being OK with stepping outside your … Read More!

What lights you up? What are the things that make you feel complete, like you are living according to your truest self?… Read More!

Today during a business meeting at lunchtime, we got to talking about one of my favorite topics: food. More specifically the behavior in which we consume our food.

The gentleman I was speaking to commented on the importance of quality food, and just as importantly MINDFULNESS. He had recently hit a weight loss plateau, and instead of going into Diet-Crazy-Juice-Fasting-Panic-Mode he made one simple change: the WAY he ate at the table.

“I just started doing more of this,” as he flipped his iPhone upside down, “and less of this.” (gesturing eating quickly while texting) And guess what? He realized his food now tastes better, he feels more satisfied, lunch leaves him REFRESHED versus bogged down, oh and as an added perk: he lost the weight!

This immediately took me right back to my college days, as I’d stand in my kitchen late at night frantically shoving spoonfuls of low fat peanut butter and leftovers down my throat. The days I’d eat 5,000 rice cakes and never feel full, and the days I’d chug coffee with artificial sweeteners and sugar-free chocolate while making a tight deadline. I was one hot mess.

The minute I decided to actually eat my food … Read More!

Oh, jealousy. As much as we try to avoid it, sometimes it creeps up when we least expect it. And no matter what, it’s always downright ugly.

For some reason, jealousy always reminds me of Ursula in The Little Mermaid. Envious of Arial, the evil sea witch attempts to steal Arial’s voice & transform into a beautiful human being in order to win over Prince Eric. And while Ursula manages to pull it off for some time, eventually her true colors shine through. In the end, jealously never wins.

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but when it stems from jealousy, comparison and negative thinking, it aint pretty.

A few months ago, one of my clients shared a quote with me that really stuck:

“The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else’s highlight reel.” —Steve Furtick

After all, we truly don’t know their story; we have no clue what’s going on behind the scenes. And while we all struggle with insecurities and “off days” from time to time, the absolute worst thing you can do is compare your lows to someone else’s highs. Trust me, I’ve definitely been there and … Read More!

For those of you who don’t yet know, yesterday something incredibly magical and life-changing happened for me: The Boy & I got engaged. And for those of you who don’t know, The Boy’s real name? Jason. Let’s call him “J.”

And now for the million-dollar question, How did he do it? Well ladies (and gents), I’m about to tell you…

On Friday evening we were out in Rockport celebrating our beautiful friends Ross and Megan’s wedding. While we were dancing (and perhaps after a tad too much wine), J asked me if I’d like to go for a run with him in the morning on the Charles before we took off for his mother’s 60th birthday celebration.

I immediately laughed at him and teased him for suddenly showing such interest in exercise. While he most definitely works out from time to time, usually I’m the one pushing we go on runs together more often. He snapped back at me that it’s only going to be fall for so long and we should take advantage of the weather while we can. So I agreed.

The next morning I woke up exhausted and somewhat hungover. J was no longer in bed, so … Read More!