Healthy Chicks

Alright, I’m about to get real REAL over here on the blog. While I absolutely love all my fellow fitness professionals, coaches, yogis, etc. out there, I think lately there’s been a bit of a mixup when it comes to the whole body love thing.

Here me out. I see a lot of this:

“I lost those stubborn 15 pounds, and was able to finally love my body!”

“Work with me so you can lose the weight and then feel proud of who you are when you look in the mirror!”

“Look at my body!!!”

I also see a sh*t-ton of “body selfies.” And girl, more power to you if you’re able to get that 6-pack or you love the way your arms look when you flex. But is that really what it’s all about?

Is this really depicting body love?

Personally, I think we’ve got it all backwards.

For me, I wasn’t able to lose the weight (let alone transform my skewed relationship with food) until I gained some self-respect. I could run for miles & miles, and nosh on kale all day, and still look in the mirror and think I was fat.

You see, it wasn’t until … Read More!

The photo on the left is me right after graduating college. At the time, I weighed myself roughly 5 times a day, counted every calorie I put into my mouth, and ate mostly bland diet food.

I didn’t want to gain any more weight, and I constantly told myself I wasn’t good enough, pretty enough or skinny enough. (Note: this did nothing for my physical or mental health!)

I was self-conscious, afraid, living in fear.

Flash-forward 6 years, and I’m still the same girl but the only thing that’s shifted is my MINDSET. I don’t own a scale, and the last time I weighed myself was at the doctor’s office. The number meant nothing to me.

I don’t even care to look at the calories, as what I care most about is the ingredients and what it is that I’m putting into my body. I eat according to what my body wants & needs; some days this is kale salads, green smoothies and roasted veggies, and sometimes it’s a juicy cheeseburger, slice of homemade pizza or some decadent dark chocolate.

This past Saturday, Kelley & I hosted our first Soul Sisters Day Retreat. Destination? Spectacle Island. For those of you who don’t know, Soul Sisters is a monthly retreat for women looking to escape the city, reignite their passion and re-connect with their soul’s truth.

Our first official retreat (away from the city!) could not have gone any better, and I think I can speak for anyone who was there that it was purely magical. The theme of our mini island getaway was empowerment & bliss, and we let that shine through in everything we did throughout the retreat.

Here’s a quick recap of our beautiful day:

11 a.m. The women joined us at Long Wharf to check-in and meet everyone. Upon arrival, they were given energy squares from Organic Living Superfoods and an organic, cold-pressed juice, courtesy of Cocobeet! Big thank you to Onur from Cocobeet for keeping us hydrated & rejuvenated all day long…my favorite juice was Green Genes, but other creative hits were Kickstart, Watermelon Quench, Forbidden and Black Rose. I think it’s safe to say the snacks were a huge hit! We also gifted the ladies vegan lip balms from Hurraw! Balm (my absolute fave) … Read More!

TGIF my loves! This week has been fabulous indeed, as I’ve been training for two fun races (exciting announcement coming soon!), adding final touches for tomorrow’s Soul Sisters Retreat to Spectacle Island (which just sold out this a.m.!) and lots and lots of writing and personal soul-searching.

I couldn’t be more thrilled to bring you this week’s spotlight on Healthy Chicks in the Community — one of my best friends and Soul Sister Kelley. I first met Kel 4 years ago when we were working at a spa to make ends meet while completing our Health Coach Training at Institute for Integrative Nutrition.

We became close quickly, bonding over our love for good food, spirituality, and empowering others to feel healthy in their own skin. 4 years later, and Kel was a bridesmaid at my wedding last fall, and we’ve recently teamed up to launch Soul Sisters: a monthly retreat for women looking to re-ignite their passion and re-connect with their soul’s truth! I love Kel’s calming presence, delish home-made goodies she makes, and that she’s just a straight up genuine, no BS gal. I’ll let you see for yourself…you’re going to love her too!

NAME/AGE: Kelley Walsh/29

BLOG/TWITTER … Read More!

When it comes to dinner, we’re all about simplicity in this household. (Oh, and flavor of course!) These easy-to-make gluten free quinoa stuffed peppers did just the trick for our Monday night dinner this week. Hubby approved!

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers {Gluten Free}

makes about 4 servings (2 peppers per person)

What ya need:

• 8 medium bell peppers (mix of yellow, orange & red!)
• 1 c. quinoa (rinsed)
• 1 jar all-natural marinara sauce
• 1 package ground turkey
• 1 can black beans
• 1 Vidalia onion, chopped
• olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• about 2 c. shredded cheese (mozzarella, cheddar or monterey jack best!)
• salt & pepper to taste

1. Rinse quinoa & add to pot with about 2 c. water. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and cover for about 15 minutes.

2. In the meantime, sauté onion in olive oil on medium heat until cooked through. Lower heat, add in crushed garlic, and stir for another minute. Set aside.

3. In same pan, cook the turkey burger on medium heat. Once cooked, add in the marinara sauce, lower heat and let simmer. Mix in cooked quinoa, onion & garlic, and can of black beans. Add salt & pepper to … Read More!

Last month, I got really fed up with all the “Get Beach Body Ready!” stuff in the media and on the internet, so I decided to run a 21-day Beach Body Confidence Program.

Each day, the group was given a motivating mantra, lesson/challenge to to focus on and a journaling activity. It was a blast, and all the ladies were such a pleasure to work with!

At the end of the program one of the woman posted this message to our Facebook Group:

“Truly had some beach confidence today. Guess what I did? Sat out at the pool with a girlfriend wearing shorts and a SPORTS BRA. That’s right – let my belly soak up some sun with nothing covering it. Truly a first for me. And you know what? No one laughed or pointed or asked me to cover up.”

My eyes welled up with tears, and my heart instantly overflowed with joy + gratitude. I was so proud of her.

Why?

Because you are beach body ready.

Your body is beautiful…as you are.

You don’t have to hide or cover up anything…it’s your body!

You don’t need to do/fix/change anything in order to be seen as otherwise. … Read More!

Morning ladies, and TGIF! I don’t know about you, but this week went by slooow for me, most likely because last week we went away to VA for a good friend’s wedding and now we’re getting back into the groove of things. But now I’m officially ready for the weekend…and my good friend’s bachelorette party! (Holy wedding season!)

Anyway, it’s time for this week’s Healthy Chicks in the Community Spotlight! I’m stoked to introduce you to Glenneth — she has the warmest heart, vivacious personality, and she’s simply an all around rockstar! I first met her through the blogosphere (she’s a fellow wellness blogger and coach!) and I got to know her even better when she took part in some of my group e-programs that I run seasonally. I always admired Glenneth’s fearless attitude & positivity for herself and other women…she’s a bundle of fun. I’ll let you see for yourself!

NAME/AGE:  Glenneth Reed / 45

BLOG/TWITTER (If Applicable):  Your Path To Fit / @yourpathtofit (twitter) / @yourpathtofit (instagram)

CURRENT CITY:  Knoxville, TN

PHOTO TAKEN (WHERE/WHEN):  Color Me Rad April 2015 – Knoxville, TN

WHAT YOU DO FOR WORK:  Adwords Specialist and Project Manager for an Internet Marketing Company

NUMBER … Read More!

So, what’s a health coach, anyway?

What was your experience like at IIN?

I want to be a health coach…where do I begin?

What’s a day in the life look like for you?

Is health coaching right for me?

As a Certified Health Coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN), these are the types of questions I get each week both online, and in real life. While I love a good ol’ coffee date and certainly don’t mind typing emails, I figured it makes more sense to have all this good, juicy info in one place: here on the blog.

My journey all began back in the Summer of 2011. I was jumping from part-time job to job (everything from barista to spa concierge), searching for my purpose. I had all the passion in the world, but couldn’t figure out how to turn it into my career.

At the time, I was regularly blogging here on Healthy Chicks, and had just gone through some major body breakthroughs. That year, I learned that I didn’t need to count calories, go on restrictive diets or give up bread to be healthy. I learned that nourishing your body (through good food … Read More!