How I start my week

Every Sunday night I after the kiddos are in bed I set a timer for 15 minutes to pick up the house and straighten up my desk. This allows me to have a clean slate in the morning. I then make myself a cup of tea sit down at my clean desk and do the following: 1. Pull out a clean sheet of paper and dump my brain of everything I want to accomplish for the week. 2. Pull out my planner and colored pens to block my time for the week in this order: Pink= scheduled work obligations Teal= family obligations Orange= workouts Green= Isagenix/Health Coaching Appointments and activities Black or blue travel time is marked with a line to the right so that I know even though I do not have anything scheduled my time is taken Pencil Everything that I want to do that is not necessary 3. I create my Daily to-do list from my list, taking into account how much time I have that day. Click here to see the list I use. 4. I write 10 goals in present tense that I want to accomplish this year without looking back at last week. Every day I rewrite those goals without looking back at what I wrote the day before. This allows me to become more focused on what I want to really accomplish. Buy taking these few minutes every Sunday I am setting my goals into motion and creating a movement towards them. If you use a goal setting plan share with me in the comments below.

How I Start My Day

It is so important to start your day off right. Your morning determines the tone of the rest of your day. Your mindset is determined when you wake up. Ever heard the statement, "I woke up on the wrong side of the bed"? Well there is a lot of truth to that. If you start your day off grumpy and un-centered that is how you will spend the rest of your day. So how do you start our morning off on the right side of the bed everyday? Well, that is truly different for everyone. For some it means getting up early and getting in some exercise. It can also mean getting outside and enjoying some fresh air with morning tea or coffee. It ALL is about honoring what works for you and what your mind and body need. Growing up a gymnast my body is accustomed to working out in the evenings. If I even attempt to in the morning I am a big grumpy mess. It is a sure way for me to quit my workout half way through. However, the early morning my brain is focused and will retain everything. In high school I would get up early to do my homework as I rarely had time to after school so that is how my brain is trained. I love sitting and reading my Personal Development book. (click here for my book of the month). I can also bang out about half of my to-do list in the morning especially if the kids are asleep. I do have to be flexible especially with a 3 year old and a new born so my mornings are not always perfect, but I find when they are I end the day feeling soooo accomplished. Today was a good day. Here is what my morning looked like: 6:00 am- wake & feed Emerson 6:30 am- Morning cleanse while reading my devotional from The Daily Grind by family friend Susan Diamond (buy here) 6:45 am- Personal Development Book 10 minutes. I am finishing up Goal by Brian Tracy, again. (buy here) 7:00- Make coffee, journal, review goals for day, week & month. Look over to-do list for day. 7:30- Make breakfast for myself & McKalyn, usually eggs with Ezekiel toast or Oatmeal 8:00- McKalyn is a late sleeper so I usually have to get her up. Sit down and have breakfast with McKalyn 8:30- Take McKalyn to school 9:00- Begin my work day focused and refreshed.

Digging Deeper

“Dig Deeper” –Shawn T
Once or twice a week I hear these words being screamed at me through my T.V. by none other than Shawn Thompson, otherwise known as Shawn T. I try to do his Insanity and Asylum workouts at least once a week to help with my training. I also do it to see if maybe, one day I will be able to complete a workout without stopping. A few weeks ago I turned 36 and decided that this would be the year that I would test my physical limits. For over a decade I went to the gym with a set plan: lift, cardio, stretch then home. I could not stay from my workout because the type of competitions I did required a certain regimen. Every year I would hit a wall where I no longer wanted to workout. I would loathe going to the gym. Then I rediscovered my love of dance and running. In 3 weeks I will step on stage to perform for me in almost 10 years. I am pulling out all the stops and suffering from a banged up, bruised body. It is all worth it. In 5 weeks I will be running my first half-marathon. The training is killing me but I am digging deeper.
Often I train alone so it is up to me to push myself. I do what it takes to dig inside and find that inner strength and drive to get me through. The people who drive by me when I am running, I am sure, think I am crazy. I sing out loud. I talk to myself. I yell at myself. I even sometimes scream. Randomly enough, I often cry. Every session I ask myself, have I given it everything? Did I dance with all my heart? Did I run as fast as my legs would take me? Next time you train listen to yourself. Are you telling yourself you can’t do it or are you digging deeper and finding that inner voice to scream at yourself to push harder?

This is what it is like to have a coach

"If you believe you can or you can't you are always right"



The is so true! Watch this video and tell me if you have ever been Brock. Have you ever thought for sure that you were going to fail so why bother trying? Everyday I talk with clients who doubt their ability to succeed. When I ask them why they often don't know or they tell me, "Because so-and-so failed" or "I tried that once". However, no one call tell me "why". You failed or you think you failed because you had already predetermined that you would so why bother trying. This happens to everyone. That is why it is so important to have a coach. A part of what I do it work with people one-on-one to help them reach their goals. I don't allow them to doubt themselves. I am here to show them and you what you can accomplish. I am here to show you that you are Brock and YES you CAN do anything!

Email me for a free Health History Evaluation. emfitchic@yahoo.com

The year that changed my life

Have you ever had one of those moments where you realize just how lucky you really are and it overwhelms you? Yeah I just had one of those. In less than a week I will be celebrating my 36th birthday. Incredible! Exactly one year ago today I made a decision that I was going to stop wishing and start doing. I had been working two jobs 18 hours day and one of them I hated. I literally dreaded going every morning. I barely saw my daughter or my husband. I was unhappy, stressed out & tired. My turning point was the day I picked my daughter up from daycare and she clung to the women who has been talking care of her since six weeks old and cried because she did not want to leave. I had missed out on almost 11 months of my daughter’s life. (I am grateful for all that she did for McKalyn I know she was in good hands.) That day I made a list of everything I wanted to accomplish before my next birthday and made a vision board. I moved to back to my hometown of Caseville, MI which is this tiny, little resort town surrounded by farmland with a population of less than 1,000 in the winter time & far over than in the summer. I needed to be near family and do some soul searching. I had a lot of work to do. The hardest thing I had to do was give up competing, for now, so I could focus on me.

This afternoon I set off to run 6 miles, something I have not done in 6 years. As I finished my run in 52 minutes (8:66 min mile! Yeah baby!!), the last year of my life came flooding back to me and I actually was filled with so much emotion and gratitude I started to cry. Talk about your runner’s high. I realized that almost everything I said I wanted to accomplish was coming to fruition. Maybe not exactly how I envisioned it but my prayers have been answered. I am grateful for the fact that I am going to be 36 and I can run 6 miles. In 8 weeks I will be running in my first ½ Marathon with my cousin Katie which will be the first sport I have done in years where the winner is based solely on performance and not subjectivity. I have forgotten how much I love to run. (I had to give it up to do fitness competitions) I used to say that my runs were my time with God and today was a reminder why.

I swore that day at day care I would find a way to be home with my daughter and be the one to raise her. I was not sure how that was going to work as we did not have the option to be a single income home. In June I was introduced to a company called Isagenix by my coach Cathy and my teammate Lori. Not only have the supplements improved my health but the additional money I have made has allowed me to knock off one of my goals, becoming certified as a Holistic Health & wellness Coach. I have paid for my tuition completely from the money I have made with Isagenix. I have also been able to put that money towards debt and we are on the road to becoming debt free. In February I was able to enroll McKalyn in gymnastics classes and will be signing her up for swim lessons. All paid for by Isagenix! Not to mention that difference I feel in my body since using the products. I can honestly say that knowing these two women have changed my life. They are both women I aspire to be like every day for many reasons.

In August I was approached by my high school dance teacher to teach some classes for her while she recovered from knee surgery. I have rekindled my passion for dancing and will even be performing that the recital. They say you have a soul mate workout, well dancing is mine! Choreographing dances with a woman who was detrimental to my own personal growth and been incredibly rewarding. I am considering going back to school and sharpening my skills as a dancer so I can share this with others.

In September I was recruited by a Facebook friend Rach, who I have never actually met in person, for an on-line position with Under Armour. This job allows me to choose my schedule, eliminates a commute to work and allows me time with McKalyn. I am able to sit outside and work while she plays or at night I have an excuse to catch up on TV and sit on the coach while she is sleeping. It also enables me to have time to study for school and work on my Coaching and Isagneix business. Plus I get free gear for my new adventures. Thanks to Under Armour I was able to run outside all winter long! ANNND…..I am now a stay at home mommy!

Most importantly I promised I would have a happy marriage and a happy home. We had a very bumpy first 2 years. God tested our strength and showed us how strong we really are. During my run I realized that I AM HAPPY. I am truly happy. I have stopped putting pressure on myself to live up to other people’s (perceived) expectations and started to focus on what makes me happy and my husband happy. I have my best friend back and it feels amazing.

In one year I now feel strong, empowered, confident, unstoppable, happy, at peace, clear and ready to take on the world. I ONE YEAR!!!

What’s for this year:
1. I have also decided to run the Tough Mudder in Tampa in December 2012.
2. I am starting my own Coaching business, doing presentations and seminars and schools, dance studios, gyms, etc. This is something I have wanted to do for at least 10 years. Every year I put off because of fear and “lack of time”.
3. I am working on writing my first ebook/product to be available this Spring.
4. I am going to continue to take time for me so I can focus on the needs of myself and my family. This means continuing to spend my time with God and get out and run 3days a week. I am also adding a daily 20 minute yoga session to my mornings.
5. I am working on a business plan to open my own fitness studio (maybe dance too)

Why I love my Midwestern Thighs!

Nate Berkus made a very accurate statement this morning. He said that when men wake up and look in the mirror they see everything they like about themselves. When women wake up and look at themselves they pick apart everything wrong with themselves. This is a crisis of the American Culture. Why are women too hard on themselves? The funny thing is, and my husband agrees, guys don’t like really skinny girls! So why do women what to be so skinny? Guys like imperfections so why do we try so hard to be perfect? It is for the approval of other women who to be quite honest, are too worried about what they look like to care about what you look like. It is about time we change this pattern. So next time you get out of the shower and look in the mirror about everything that is wrong look at everything that is right! Time for me to get a little TMI here…. I have always been small chested and have been mildly self-conscious about it my entire life. Well, as many women have experienced, after I had my daughter what I did have well… deflated. I could spend time starring at myself in the mirror obsessing or I can remember the wonder of what purpose they served. I was able to nourish my daughter to give her the best health she could possibly have. And when she spent the 1st 2 weeks of her life it in NIC unit I strongly believe that it was because I was there every 3 hours to make sure she got what she needed that she was able to fight off every illness she has been faced with since. At 21 months old she has had 2 mild fevers and the stomach flu once. I have what my husband calls Midwestern thighs but as Shakeria said, “I can run for cover when I need to.” Find 3 things you normally consider flaws and tell me why you should love them!