Lately

These past few weeks have been flying by. I’ve been busy with my health coaching program, and loving every minute of it! This week’s lectures were on vegetarianism, veganism, and other plant-based diets. And I can’t wait to get more into the actual coaching material soon.

I’ve also been busy with a Rapid Rem Party :)

Soaking up glorious fall walks!

Trying new Thai restaurants! The Pad Thai I had was amazing.

Exploring spectacular sculpture gardens!

Cooking African Peanut Stew for my work’s annual fall luncheon!

Snuggling with my kitty!

And dressing up as Carrie Underwood for Halloween! I didn’t feel good most of the weekend, but I was determined to use this costume so my sister and I had our own party on Sunday afternoon and watched Children of the Corn while sipping apple cider with bourbon :)

If you’re Halloween plans don’t start until tomorrow, hope you enjoy!

 

A Fun Fall Week

We had a beautiful fall week here in Wisconsin, and I’m happy to say I enjoyed it to its fullest!

I had this delicious breakfast last weekend of brown rice cereal, almond milk yogurt, almond milk, raw almond butter, chia seeds, coconut oil and raspberries. Lots of almond going on! My kitty was interested in the crackling sound of the cereal as well :)

That same weekend my sister and I went to a nearby corn maze. It was small and cute, and fun for $5.00!

Monday I came home from work to find a package at my doorstep. It was a welcome gift from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN)! IIN is the school I am enrolled in for my certified integrative nutrition health coaching degree. Such a fun surprise!

I enjoyed a few walks with crisp fall weather and crunchy leaves! I can’t believe this is the view on my regular walking trail. So beautiful!

I love the vibrant red colored leaves the most!

Just this weekend while on a walk on the lakefront I enjoyed a coconut milk chai. Yum.

And also went to a fall harvest festival with a friend! Lots of fun people, good music, and hanging out in the street. I had butternut squash soup and a mulled cider with brandy. So good.

I finished off the week with some pumpkin cinnamon rolls from Trader Joe’s – good, not great.

And a delicious almond milk yogurt with chia and raspberries. This is definitely my favorite non-dairy yogurt I’ve found thus far.

Hope your week was just as fun and delicious!

 

Living

This past Wednesday I decided to purchase last minute tickets to the Carrie Underwood concert in town. I’d known she was coming for months, and thought it would be fun to see, but never followed through and actually purchased tickets. The day before the show I thought to myself, I don’t have any plans for tomorrow night, I can afford a ticket, I love Carrie Underwood, so why not go?

Since I didn’t buy tickets until the day of the show it was hard to find anyone to go with, so I ended up going to the concert by myself…And it was amazing! I am so glad I went and did something spontaneous just for fun! Don’t be afraid to do/experience the things you enjoy just because you don’t have people to do it with, sometimes you need to take yourself out on a date night :)

Carrie, of course, was unbelievable. And the experience was so powerful and energizing!

Luckily there were three nice girls sitting next to me and offered to take a picture of me living and loving life!

I don’t know about you, but I need to start doing things like this more often. In the words of Carrie Underwood “I don’t want to spend my life jaded, waiting, to wake up one day and find that I let all these years go by, wasted.”

Moral of the story: do something fun and for yourself! Bonus points if you do it on a weeknight :)

Twenty Seven

Last week I turned 27. I spent my birthday surrounded by friends and family in NYC, and am so lucky to have such amazing, inspiring, fierce and beautiful women in my life! These ladies have been there for me physically and emotionally while I’ve dealt with some health issues this past year and a half.

And as you may have noticed, it’s been quite some time since I’ve posted here. Over the past year or so I’ve been struggling with everything from extreme fatigue and lower back pain, to weight loss, frequent trips to the bathroom, and severe bloating and distension after eating and drinking. [And all of this is apparently in addition to my Crohn’s disease].

When I say I am dealing with severe distension, this is what I mean. Upon waking, if lucky, my stomach has flattened out,  but as I eat throughout the day it becomes more and more distended, until it looks like I’m a few months pregnant.

Needless to say, with all of these stomach issues I’ve also had a lack of appetite, which has led to my passion for food and experimenting in the kitchen to become practically nonexistent…And also contributed to why I haven’t blogged in a year.

I wanted to write this post today because as a blogger and a health professional I think it’s important to be honest about both your struggles and successes. I think sharing your personal story and journey towards health has the potential to resonate with others, and maybe even help them. At least to let them know they’re not alone, and that this too shall pass.

With all that said, entering my 27th year I want to focus on positivity, gratitude, and being present. Although the stomach issues are still a daily occurrence, I’ve had an empowering mental shift which makes me believe that the year ahead will be my best one yet.

One reason I’m excited about this year, is that I finally had the courage to invest in myself and my potential, and I enrolled in the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN)! In one year I will be a Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach! For years now, I’ve let my fears drive my life. I focused more on the negative “what ifs…?” than the positive ones. Instead of being confident in myself and my abilities, I always found a way to convince myself they weren’t enough to really make a difference. Unfortunately, I think this mindset is quite common in women, and that is part of the reason I decided to go back to school.

Ready to rock my first IIN class!

Being  a Certified Health Coach will complement my Master of Public Health Nutrition degree, and allow me to do what I’ve always wanted to: help people achieve greater health and happiness by guiding them through holistic processes specifically tailored to them as an individual. And also helping them to see how truly strong and invaluable they are.

In a nutshell, a lot has gone on this past year. But as this one starts anew, I hope to get back in the routine of sharing with you all the wonderful things I learn in school, delicious plant-based recipes, and life in general! Thank you all for following along and please reach out if you ever want to chat :)

XO,

Sydney