I was finally tired enough of being tired.

::::Dusts off Blog::::

Hey guys! Man I've been a bad blogger! Can I start off by saying how busy we'v been?! 

School, sickness, baseball season began, crazy wind/rain storms, birthdays and all kinds of events in between. I am thankful to say we are all healthy now and adjusting to our newly busier schedule.

Before I get into what I wanted to write about today, I wanted to answer a question I've gotten in a few messages... Did I finish 90 Days of Core De Force?

The answer?

YES! YES I DID! 

How was it? How did I do? What results did I get?

All answered here:

Now to what I came here to write about. Being Tired.

I wrote a short post on this a few weeks ago and after speaking to so many friends and challengers afterwards about this, I realized that SO many people have been at that point or are currently in it.

The me on the left was so so tired.

Tired of having no energy.

Tired of being out of breath going up and down the one flight of stairs of my home.

Tired of still only fitting into my maternity jeans 9 months postpartum.

Tired of having no confidence.

Tired of not feeling like "me" anymore.

Tired of my PCOS symptoms getting worse and worse.

Tired of being TIRED of everything.

I was a yo yo dieter for all of my 20's. I looked for and tried any "magic pill' that popped up in store shelves. Thinking "THIS" would be it for me. (I cringe ad admitting this. But it's important to share.)

I was so wrong.

That was when 21 Day Fix came into my life.

Gone were the days of calorie counting, taking diet pills and eating "fat free" frankenfoods.

I learned how to cook healthy, measure out proper portions and not only did it NOT take too much time out of my day, but I started to enjoy it. My family started sitting at the dinner table again to eat together instead of sitting on the couch.

(My Carskey boy eating Fix Approved Fried Rice)

My kids started to roll around and "pretend" to work out with me. We were getting outside more and being more active together.

My daily Shakeology help curbed my sweet tooth and break my years of being a breakfast skipper.

For once in my adult life my metabolism and PCOS symptoms were healing.

30 mins of working out to the dvd's at home a day, eating healthy delicious portion fix approved meals and getting my daily Shakeology in.

There is NO such thing as a magic pill that works for the long term.

My family and I are the healthiest we've ever been. I'm a better wife and Mom for it. I'm a better ME for doing this.

21 Day Fix, Beachbody programs and the Portion Fix container system with Shakeology has helped change my life.

Wherever you are in your journey....

If you are just beginning, in the middle, at a plateau or debating on beginning..

Making that choice to take action, trust the process and put in the hard work will pay off. It can change your life.

From 21 Day Fix... 21 Day Fix Extreme... Hammer and Chisel and now Core De Force I can't image my life now without these programs, my #DreamBigTribe! So incredibly thankful for these ladies.

(Shout out to these amazing ladies that lost a combined over 100 pounds in the month January in our Virtual Gym Challenge!)

There is no perfect time to begin, just the time when you are tired enough of being tired. Each small step you make to live a healthier life will make a difference. Making the decision to commit, daily consistency, keeping your "why" fresh in your mind to fuel your determination will help you get there. 

If you would like to join me in my next group that starts on Monday 2/27 I would love to have you. You can click on the link here to get more info: http://bit.ly/DreamBigTribe

Is Core De Force really worth it? My 60+ day review of the program

I've been getting lots of messages asking about what program I've been doing. 

Is it worth it?

How many days is the program?

What can you eat?

Do you actually get results doing this at home?

Do you like it?

I can answer this short and sweet for you in the video below:

My official day 68 results pictures are on the video about. I can tell you though that in such a short amount of time:

- I have more endurance

- I don't have that "I need coffee to survive" feeling I used to have in the mornings

- I'm in a better mode.

- I have a healthier association with food. As a stress eater this has been a huge milestone for me.

- I look forward to pushing play each day.

- I've gone down 2 jean sizes

- I'm down 10 lbs and 13.5 inches.

This is the first time ever during the holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years) that I've LOST weight instead of gained weight.

I'm not the only one on my team that feels this way. There are how some of our challengers felt just three weeks into the program! 

If you are ready to commit to a program, get that fight back and take the stress out of learning to meal prep, cleaning out your pantry and sticking to clean eating all week long, I have the group for you. 

Our first ever Virtual Gym group is getting AMAZING results just one week in. Combined they have lost over 35 lbs and 27 inches! Amazing! 

Week 0 Begins: January 30th 

(Daily Workshops teaching you how to meal prep, clean out your pantry, get organized and more)

Week 1 Begins: February 6th

30 Days, that will not only get you results but it will create healthy habits you can take with you all year long. We also have a graduate program that is the next level in your health and fitness journey once you complete this challenge. So your journey won't end at 30 days, it will continue all year long and beyond!

Are you ready?

Fill out my online form.

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Have a blessed day!

Faith and Sweat: The Awakening

I began my coaching journey after losing 40lbs with 21 Day Fix and Shakeology and feeling like a brand new me. I wanted to shout from the roof tops what I had learned and had a passion ignited in me to help as many people as I could. That's where our team was born! Dream Big Tribe grew and grew and together we were building a community of women who had a judgement free zone, a safe place they could check in daily to share their achievements and struggles, and anything else on their heart.

(Before I started making healthy changes/Me as a new Coach)

Then I hit a personal road block that felt like continued hurdles one after the next. Only a few months into my coaching journey I was hit on the freeway in an accident that literally rocked my world. Months of Physical Theraphy/Dr. Apts and a diagnosis of PTSD left me feeling a wave of emotions of  feeling defeated and determined to come out of this stronger than ever. A shorter version? I was in a glass case of emotions (yep I just made an Anchorman reference).

Anxiety, forgetfulness, feeling like Luna Lovegood with my mind jumping all over the place. I really struggled with focusing on one task and getting it done 100%. My workouts, my nutrition struggled as I attempted to put myself back to the person I was, the results I worked so hard for before the accident.

I'd get close, then something else would come up. Another hurdle, another obstacle. I'd find myself thinking "Why? What this now?" And feeling like a failure, a fraud of a coach because I couldn't get my self together.

Fast forward to present day, I want to tell you something that I realized. All this time I've spent trying to get BACK to the person I was pre-accident wasn't what I needed at all. Why do I say that?

Because I'm not that person anymore. And that's 100% ok.

God gives us events, seasons in our life to help mold us and shape us into the person He has planned for us to be. All these's hurdles, obstacles happening that have left me wondering "why?!" are examples of this. I needed to stop going backwards, to stop trying to be a person I wasn't any longer.

Taking a breath here for a second.. this is really hard to put out there.

While I've been going through these struggles being the scenes, on the outside I was trying to act like I was comfortable with who I was. I would share sprinkles of my anxiety, struggles, and did my best at the time to try to show the "whole" journey. But I was still afraid of what others would think, that I was coming across as a walking billboard for products and felt like I wasn't truly worthy enough to be a coach for other people when I couldn't get my own stuff together. In all honesty? The workout programs I've been doing these past almost 2 years, drinking my daily Shakeology has blessed my life in so many ways. I have more energy, my health is better for it and it's been a natural stress reliever for me. It's why I became a coach, because I truly believe Beachbody's products/programs are one of a kind and offer the ability to make this a lifestyle change and not a "quick fix, magic pill" that won't last. I also know that I'm not good to myself or others, if I'm not being authentically my self, the person God has designed me to be.

I've been pretty open with sharing that part of my journey with others. The part I haven't been sharing as much.. Me as a person. The Jesus loving, absent minded, anxiety filled, coffee drinking, arts and crafts addict, pumpkin fanatic, country living, mommy, wife, friend, daughter, sister, person.. that I am. I'm ready to embrace that and be that kinda coach, and stop trying to be the coach I used to be. Now more than ever I have a passion ignited in me to help others find peace, love, and confidence in their own skin. To be authentically you.

(Me now: No make up, post workout, Faith, Sweat and all. Ready embracing this new season)

That's where this new season has begun. 3 words that have been ringing in my ears for weeks now.

Faith and Sweat.

Typically when I come up with a new challenge group... new blog series... new coach training, etc.. I spend weeks and sometimes months behind the scenes building it up before I launch it.

I'm doing things differently this time. I'm going to be sharing with you from the very beginning.

What is Faith and Sweat?

Faith is crucial. Faith in God's timing, in His plan. Also, having faith in the process of making healthy lifestyle habits. Knowing that things take time, that this is a journey and not something that will happen over night. A daily choice to have faith in that journey and knowing that God is good all the time. Even when the season seems foggy or dreary.

"Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will be moved. Nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17:21

Sweat. I believe with all my heart that God gives us opportunities and gifts/life experiences to put to work, as tools to make things happen. You have big dreams? You have goals planted so deep in your heart that you want to make a reality? You gotta put in the sweat, the hard work to make it happen. It can be scary, sometimes it may feel like your feet are glued to the floor because you are afraid of failing. The truth? You will never truly fail with the Lord God on your side.

Have faith in the process, sweat your hearts hopes and dreams... Together, Faith and Sweat. Mountains will be moved.

Whether you have health and fitness goals you have started and stopped more times than you can count, have financial goals you want to reach, or whatever it is that's been planted in your heart to make a reality... I would love for you to join me from the beginning of this new project. This new season.

What will be a part of this project?

Honestly? I'm not 100% sure yet (see I told you this is starting from square one). There will Mon- Fri daily FB lives here: https://www.facebook.com/lifelightup/

There will be daily tips, and sharing my own personal journey as I dig into my own faith and sweat.

There will be blog posts.

There will be me here to encourage you, fellowship with you either in our Dream Big Tribe community and/or privately as your coach.

I'm done trying to be the coach I think I should be, and ready to be the coach/person that God has planned for me to be in this season of time.

Will you join me?

FB Live Access: www.FB.com/LifeLightUp

Fill out my online form.

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Taking the first step: Where I was and where I am now

The day you make the decision to change the way you view food and your health can either be very a blurry memory or crystal clear.

Mine was crystal clear.

I was on the beach with my little family on my 29th birthday. Lily was almost 7 months old and it was her first trip to the beach. I was too self conscious to wear even shorts so here I was on the beach in the hottest part of the summer wearing maternity jeans and a baggy shirt. We had to walk a few blocks away and I remember feeling so out of breath, so tired. I couldn't even run around with my 3 year old for long. I had to sit there on the beach and encourage him to play in the sand instead.

My Husband took a picture of me on the beach with the kids and when I looked that the picture that night I realized how poorly I had been taking care of my body. Yes I was a new mom and there are body changes that come with that (all which are beautiful).

The poor eating choices, zero exercise, tired all the time and the realization I had lost my drive/passion to do the things I love outside of being a mommy hit me looking at that picture.

My health in my 20's consisted of a lot of yo-yo dieting, searching for one quick fix to the next and my metabolism was tanked from it.

I made a promise to myself then that my 30's were going to be my healthiest years yet. I was going to do it the right way. Clean eating, exercise, and resetting my mindset from this being a chore to a blessing was the way I was going to do it.

10 days ago I turned 31. I thanked God that I was celebrating another year, and was still on track with the goal I set out to reach 2 years prior.

21 Day Fix's exercise and simple portion control eating plan, my daily shakeology and a challenge group started this ripple effect for me. It's why I became a coach. I want to help others create that ripple effect in their lives too.

If you are ready, or if this very long but very true message touched you in any way. Will you fill this out below? I want to help.

Fill out my online form.

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Have a blessed day,

The "Stop, Drop, and Snap your Eats" Project

 Have you ever started a new week, a new month saying “I am going to eat super healthy, get my workout in everyday AND sick with it!”

I know I have.

Have you then days later said “well what the heck happened?”

I know I have.

Then you decide to just throw all those healthy ideas out the window and tell yourself “next month I’ll do this for real.”

I know I have.

Do you want to know how to stop this cycle? How to not only get back on track with your eating, but to create consistent healthy habits that will stick long term?

I’ve got the first step right here for you.

The “Stop, Drop, and Snap your Eats” Project:

Step #1: Either in the challenge group you are currently in, the Dream Big Project or even on your personal FB, IG or snapchat. That for 1 day, 24 hours, before you eat anything, you’re going to post a picture of it first.

Step #2: Take the picture above and post it wherever you are going to be sharing your eats for the day and use the hashtag #DreamBigTribe and say that you are taking the challenge.

Step #3: Whatever platform you choose, all day take a picture before you take a bite of your breakfast, snacks, lunch, maybe more snacks and dinner. Then before you eat, you post it.

You’re probably wondering what will this do? It’s going to give you a giant boost of accountability. You’ll look at that pic, look at your plate and think, “Should I really be eating this?”

At the end of the day, not only do you have a diary of what you ate that given day. But you have a new found sense of awareness of what you are truly fueling your body with.

Does this work? YES! Not only have I done this “Stop, Drop, and Snap your Eats” challenge myself many times, but I have many challengers who have done the same and it’s helped them get back on track with their eating!

Nutrition is 80% and Exercise is the other 20% when it comes to reaching health and fitness goals.  A big eye opener I had when completing the 21 Day Ultimate Reset, was how mindlessly I was eating... one of my kids left over chicken nuggets... a hand full of gold fish or a half-eaten string cheese. (Hey real life here).

So today I am encouraging you to complete this challenge. Will you Stop, Drop and Snap your Eats today?

 Comment below if you are taking the challenge. Once you’ve completed your mini challenge and ready for step #2 of creating a consistent healthy lifestyle change you can message me here: 

Have a blessed day!

5 reasons why people put off taking care of their health

Have you ever heard something said to you by so many different people that you finally look up and say "Ok God, I hear ya."? Well that's happening to me currently. What is it that I keep hearing? "It's time to get back to basics."

I need to stop complicating things... to stop making them more intricate than they need to be. Simply... go back to the basics.

I sat down tonight to write a completely different blog post but this topic came to me. What are some of the reasons why people put off taking care of their health? I'm asking me 2 years ago this same question and this is what I came up with.

1.  I don't have time to workout: I'm gonna debunk this right now. 30 minutes a day is 2% of your 24 hrs you've given each day. We spend more time scrolling on social media and or watching tv/netflix binges than that. 30 minutes is all it takes to get a good workout in and improve your health.

2. I do well for a week and then I fall off the wagon: Been there, done that. Many, many times. What gets me back in the swing of things? My daily encouragement/challenge group and accountability partners on my team. I know they will tell me to step away from the cheeseburger if needed and will always be there to say "you can do this love, don't stop now". In the same breath I also know they will tell me to enjoy that said cheeseburger if it's a treat meal that I have once in awhile instead of a daily thing.

3. I have a bad knee or (insert injury here): 80% of your results come from nutrition. When I was recovering from my accident last year I was able to maintain my weight loss by sticking with my portion controlled containers and 21 Day Fix eating plan without workout out for almost 3 months straight.

4. I don't know where to begin: I would love to be able to help you with that! Together we can help find what program is right for you and your needs, what your goals are and how to begin without getting overwhelmed or frustrated.

5. I really enjoy desert: Have you seen my shakeology pie recipe or my Sea salt caramel shake?! Yum! I promise you can still feed your sweet tooth with delicious chocolate goodness without eating junk.

I can tell you now more than ever....This isn't about fitting into ___ size jeans, this is about improving my quality of life. I lift weights and eat whole foods because I want to be strong, healthier so that I can be the wife, mama and person God has called me to be. 2 years ago by 10 am I'd be on my 4th cup of coffee and still ready to go to sleep. Now coffee is optional, I drink simply because I enjoy it in the cool of the morning. The energy I've gained is so valuable. The perspective is priceless. If it's been put on your heart to make a change and improve your health I would love to help you. You can fill out the short application below and together we can do this.

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Have a blessed day,

The life of a kid at R&M Ranch

One thing I get asked most often about our new homestead life is what do the kids do all day and do they like it? So here are a few things that the kids get to do here at R&M Ranch...

They help gather and collect eggs. Carson who's 5 also enjoys helping clean out the chicken and turkey pins on farm cleaning days. Lily has been known to crack a few eggs or two by "gently" setting them down. 

Tractor rides with Daddy. When Daddy is driving the tractor and working on the farm the world stops and these kids are in awe. They love watching him drive that tractor and bonus points when they get to actually ride on it with him.

They bring the goats banana peels, or greens from the scraps bowl in the kitchen. The goats especially enjoy those banana peels when batman brings it to them. 

They help plant things! Carson has big hopes for his first pumpkin patch. We're just hoping the seedlings last the summer so we can make that happen :)

When Grandpa and Daddy use an auger to bury stanchion polls you get to climb into said hole first.

Lily spends most of her days dressing herself to match her spunky personality, picking flowers and bouncing around like Tigger. We wouldn't have it any other way.

The kids are learning how to take care and be kind to all animals. Their favorite animal is the newest member of R&M Ranch... Bessie the cow :) Carson goes down and helps Grandma and Grandpa most mornings and evenings milk the cow and bring her food.

Impromptu dirt road runs while wearing jammies at sunset. 

Morning walks with Mommy. We try to at least walk the 1/2 mile loop around our Oak Grove each morning. We like to look for pretty birds, flowers and bugs (those aren't pretty).

There's also tire swinging with Bessie...

lots of dirt to mow...

And tractor driving to do...

At the end of each day the kids come inside to be washed up, I get to kiss their dirt smeared faces, put them in fresh jammies, and we get to sit around the table, pray and enjoy a meal together as a family. And I wouldn't have it any other way <3

With Love,