With New Year’s Resolutions in full swing, we wanted to take some time on the blog this month to talk about the best way to go about hitting that New Year’s Resolution goal of losing weight.  The number one critique I hear from women when talking about their look is that they wished they could lose X amount of pounds first so they can really invest in their clothing.  Why is it so hard to reach this goal?

No worries I got you covered.  I am super excited to introduce to you Amanda Patrick from blisshealthcoaching.com. She is our first guest blogger of the year! Amanda has helped me with my health issues, giving me the best tips on how to utilize both foods and supplements to better my gut health. For those of you who know me, you know I can’t eat anything (no dairy, soy, egg and gluten).  LOL! I have a bit of a sensitive stomach, but after 11 years of living with this stomach, I am determined that it will be healed.  I have progressed so much the past few months with Amanda’s help; I have so much more energy and my gut side effects have almost completely diminished.  Check out Amanda’s article about investing in your health. Make sure you take a trip over to her site to check out her articles and tips on a healthier you.  Let’s make 2017 the year we start getting healthier for ourselves and our loved ones.

Why You Should Invest In Your Health
If I could share my heart with you for a second…running a home is hard, but running a home when you don’t feel good is VERY hard. I remember early in our marriage I never took the time to invest in myself. It was always one of our children that needed something or a bill that came in the mail unexpectedly and I put it off. There was so much guilt around spending time and money on myself.
Eventually, headaches started, brain fog set in and I started getting short tempered. Caring for the children became an exhausting chore instead of an enjoyment. I didn’t feel good and it was taking a toll on my house hold. I guess I looked at it as selfish to invest in myself, but that was a lie. By not taking time and energy to eat healthy and listen to my body I ended up with a few short hospital stays and got a glimpse of what I was putting my family through.
My family not only wanted me to be healthy they NEEDED me to be healthy. My husband needed encouragement and support. My kids needed a great example to look up to and a mom who had the patience for tiny tot’s messes.
The Lord calls our bodies a Holy Temple and I wasn’t taking that seriously. By not investing in myself, my health was damaging our finances, my marriage and my ability to be a good mother.
I want to tell you from my heart if you are waiting for the right time to make a change, you will be waiting forever.
Life is busy and it doesn’t slow down so you might as well start now.
Getting healthy doesn’t have to be a huge mountain to climb. I believe in making small goals for yourself that are doable.
For example, instead of saying “I’m going to eat healthy the rest of the year” try something like “I’m going to make a healthy choice for lunch today.”
By making smaller healthy choices you will gain confidence in yourself that YOU CAN improve your health and be a great example to your family.
There are so many different meal plans out there it’s hard to know where to begin. Let me say that eating CLEAN is always the best way to start.
Are there great vitamins and supplements out there…Yes! But if you are still eating junk food filled with preservatives, GMO’s, growth hormones, antibiotics, and chemicals, that needs to be addressed first.
It’s time to get back to basics with our food choices and serve our family the food that God intended that is Clean.
Man-made chemicals have taken over the grocery store and it seems so easy to just grab processed foods. Eventually, your body will start giving you “red flags” that toxins are building up inside such as hormonal problems, weight gain, brain fog, low energy and skin problems.
When we remove those chemicals and eat clean seasonal foods the way God has intended it gives our organs time to detox and repair themselves.
Our bodies WANT to detox, all it needs is your commitment to fresh healthy foods and reducing our exposure to toxic chemicals.
A simple way to start making better choices is by reading labels. As a general rule if it has more than 4 ingredients I think twice before buying it.
Don’t be afraid to try new fruits and vegetables in the produce section. We let our kids pick out a new vegetable to try each week.
At first, I had to look up the vegetables on Pinterest and see what in the world I could do with these foreign things…but we found a lot of new family favorites in the process!
When we place our focus on eating healthy foods, weight loss is a natural result, instead of forced calorie counting.

After all the Christmas parties are over it is the perfect time to get serious about improving your health. You are worthy, beautiful and you deserve to be healthy. Investing in your health is also an investment in your husband, children, and your future.
Where ever you are at on your journey to health I would love to partner with you.

I have a back to basics clean eating program that will give your organs a rest and allow your body to detox from all of the holiday sugar.
If you would like more information on how to eat clean, hop on over to http://blisshealthcoaching.com and take a look around.

Amanda Patrick