I am a highly sensitive person.

I was recently mindlessly scrolling through my Facebook to waste time when an article that a friend posted caught my eye.  It was called "16 Habits of Highly Sensitive People." (Found here.) I have no idea why, but I clicked on it.  There was a link to Elaine Aron's website to take a quiz to see if you are highly sensitive. I took the quiz.  If you scored 14 or more, you're most likely highly sensitive.  I scored 20 out of 24.  Did I freak out?  Did I start thinking, "Oh my gosh!!  I'm overly sensitive! I'm crazy!"  No.  Actually, I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief.  For the first time, I DIDN'T feel crazy!  I had an answer as to why I couldn't stand violent tv shows or movies.  I knew why I burst into tears at the drop of a hat.  I knew why music so strongly affected me.  I knew why I am so susceptible of "catching" other people's moods, good and bad.  

I am a reading junkie, but I find it hard to find time to read lately.  I have become a huge fan of Audible because I can listen to books while I'm working, driving, running, whatever.  I immediately went out and downloaded The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine Aron.  Let me tell you-I am not only learning so much about myself, but about my son.  He is also an HSP (highly sensitive person). 

Signs of HSP people can include:

• Being sensitive to loud noises 
• Strongly disliking violent television shows or movies
• Crying or getting upset easily
• Being extremely empathetic (this can be a good and bad trait!)
• Being easily overwhelmed by smells, textures, and bright lights
• Getting rattled when you have a lot to do in a short period of time
• Enjoying fine arts and music
• Being sensitive or shy as a child
• Arranging your life to avoid things that upset or overwhelm you
• Highly susceptible to other people's moods
• Being overwhelmed by negativity
• Strong intuition
• Low pain tolerance
• Needing frequent alone time
• Being a dumping ground for other people's problems (because you are empathetic)

This personality type can be one that can inhibit your life greatly if you don't know how to deal with it.  You can start to feel crazy.  You are probably often told, "Stop being so sensitive."  You may think you have anxiety, especially social anxiety.  I know I did, and I was extremely frustrated because I couldn't understand why no treatment I had tried for anxiety, both pharmaceutical and naturopathic, worked.  This book, however, is helping me to really understand myself and my son more.  It's giving me ideas for dealing with both of our high sensitivity in a healthy manner.  I feel like I can finally move forward with my life.  I feel armed with the proper tools to say, "Yes, I am an HSP and no, it won't inhibit me anymore!

If you feel you may be an HSP, I HIGHLY recommend you download or buy Elaine Aron's book, and know that you are NOT crazy, you are NOT overly sensitive, and you are NOT ALONE!!!

When the pain doesn't stop.

I had a miscarriage at 14 weeks over three years ago.  I went in for a routine checkup, and she was just gone.  No reason.  No signs as to why.  She was just gone.  

The next several months are a blur of darkness and pain.  I barely have any memories of them other than laying in my bed or in my bathtub crying and crying and crying.  But every storm ends.  And at the end of every storm is a rainbow.  A bright, beautiful rainbow.  Mine is a 2 1/2-year-old spitfire named Emalee.  

The trouble with grief, though, is it doesn't end.  It is always there somewhere.  It just gets easier to deal with.  Instead of hurting and being depressed all the time, the hours turn to days, then weeks, and then months between unbearable episodes.  I am at a stage in grieving the loss of my 3rd child where while I think about her every single day, I only feel overwhelming feelings of loss twice a year-on the date I lost her and around her due date, which is coming up next week.   

As time passes, I learn more and more ways to deal with my loss in a healthy manner.  I find ways to distract myself and keep busy.  I try really hard not to let myself have any downtime during those two weeks of the year because I feel guilty letting myself grieve when I have three healthy children who need me.  

Today I realized that I need to stop fighting these feelings and allow them to just play out.  I read a quote once that said it's okay to cry and have a breakdown.  Just don't unpack and stay there.  Yesterday, I had my breakdown.  Now it's time to pack up and go home.  All the tears in the world won't bring McKenna back.  It's time to focus on making a healthy life for myself and for her three siblings.  

SHAKEOLOGY!!! Why you NEED it and why you should buy it from a coach.

What is Shakeology?  It is an extremely yummy meal replacement shake that is LOADED with nothing but ingredients that our bodies need and usually don't get from our daily eating habits.  I'm not going to bore you with the long list of superfoods that are in it, but I will tell you what it's done for me.  

Since I started drinking Shakeology 9 months ago, my blood sugars are level for the first time IN MY LIFE.  I've ALWAYS had problems with crashing several times a day, and now I can't even tell you the last time that happened.  

It has pretty much taken away my bad cravings for most things.  It's pretty rare that I want to sit down and demolish a bag of chips or half a dozen cookies.  

My digestion is regular for the first time since I had kids.  After I had my gallbladder out, my digestion went from wacky to downright awful.  Within 3 weeks of starting Shakeology, it was normal again!

Oh, and don't even get me STARTED on how fast my hair is growing since I started drinking it.  I have always had short hair, but my trips to the salon were getting quite frequent, so I've given in and am letting my hair grow.  :D

I've heard over and over again that Shakeology is TOO EXPENSIVE, though.  Well, I guess that is a matter of perception.  To me, it isn't. It works out to just over $4 a day for customers and only $3.25 a day for coaches.  If you're going to go out for coffee or lunch, it is going to cost more than that, sometimes even more than double!  Plus, I can personally tell you that I haven't been to the doctor ONCE since I started drinking it daily.  My whole family got influenza this winter, but I didn't, and I'm normally the first one to get sick!  

So why shouldn't you buy it on eBay, Amazon, or other places online you might find it that aren't directly through a coach or Beachbody?  Well, would you buy your groceries through eBay? My absolute number one concern with this is SAFETY.  Shakeology is a FOOD.  It has an expiration date.  When you buy it through your coach, it comes directly from Beachbody, it is fresh, and it is sealed.  It also comes with a bottom-of-the-bag money back guarantee.  Even if you drink the whole bag, you can still return it in the first 30 days for a refund if you don't believe it's working for you.

I have heard horror stories of people buying Shakeology on eBay and getting bags that weren't sealed, product that was tainted, or having a bag that was filled with SAND instead of Shakeology!!  To me, the risk just isn't worth it to save $10, $20, even $30, especially when you can sign up as a coach and save over $30 every single time you buy it!

Another reason to buy from a coach is because part of their job is selling Shakeology.  This is how they make their money to support their families.  To me, it is the same as shopping locally versus buying from a big box store.  Yes, you might pay a little more, but you are helping to support a family that you KNOW.  I personally shop locally as much as I possibly can because I would rather support families in my small town than large corporations.  

If you are interested in trying Shakeology, I URGE you to please contact your coach!  If you don't have a coach, contact me here!  I would be happy to help you get started on your journey to a healthier you.  

SMILE!! You're going to get there!

I spent all weekend trying to decide what program I was going to do when my April accountability group started today.  I am just under 100 days away from my trip to Nashville for Beachbody Summit, so I knew it needed to be something that was going to give me kick ass results because I may or may not have raided my kids' Easter candy one too many times yesterday.  

Having access to Beachbody On Demand opens a HUGE library of programs to choose from, so it wasn't an easy decision.  I had to take into account that I don't have much time, so something that is 30 minutes or less was a requirement. I decided to go with P90X3.

Um, HELLO!!!  That workout is NOT easy, but it's effective!  Several hours after I finished it, my abs are STILL SO SORE!  

So why am I smiling even though I'm dripping sweat and am beet red?  Because I accomplished something this morning that I have NEVER done.  I did a FULL WORKOUT without modifying ANY moves!!!  

Just three short months ago, I was laying on my yoga mat bawling my eyes out after a workout because I still couldn't do a sit up without pushing myself up with my elbows.  I was so broken hearted.  I thought for sure at that point that I would have been able to, that my abs would've been stronger.

Today, I did it.  I was able to go from laying flat with my legs out and my arms over my head to sitting up into a V.  And then I fell over laughing like a crazy person.

Don't stop. If you've recently started on your fitness journey, DO NOT STOP.  It is a JOURNEY.  You aren't going to get fit overnight.  It's going to take time.  It's going to take patience.  When you get there, you are going to be so ecstatic and that the pay off for that goal that you thought was going to be impossible to reach is going to seem SO much sweeter!