Father's Day for my family is usually filled with family and lots of food. Gathering with all my extended family is always a blast and some of my favorite memories. While family time is always fun the pressure of family questions arise the second I walk into my grandparent's house. It's usually the same three questions; "where are you working now" "what do you want to do with your life" and "when are you getting married". Three questions that somewhat terrify me and I hate to answer. Like please tell me I'm not the only one who gets harassed by relatives. It's like they think because we are all getting together that something new and super life changing has happened since the last family bbq. I wish! 

As I sat at the table eating dessert with the fam, I listened for a while to the conversations. For many, many years it made me anxious knowing I was going to be asked what was going on with my life since I wasn't proud of anything. When I was in school I wanted to be done with it, once I graduated all I wanted was to go back. I never truly enjoyed any job I held since they all were part time gigs and could probably be done by a monkey. My confidence and belief in myself was low and I didn't want to have to talk about it with other people, even if it was my own family. As I sat and listened to the conversation about who's in new relationships or ended old ones, new jobs, new homes, and so on all I could think was how happy I was to be the position I am currently in. While I am not in love with the job I have it still pays the bills and allows me to work on my dream job on the side. While I don't love living home, I have a roof over my head with a refrigerator filled with food. While I would much rather be driving a range rover, I have a brand new leased car that always has a full tank of gas to get me to where ever I want to go. 

For so long I had been in a place of survival mode, feeling like the world was against me. Being questioned what I was doing with my life made me angry like people wanted to hear about me failing. The truth of it is though, it made me angry because I didn't honestly know and didn't want to look like a loser. BUT! I am in my 20's where most people have no idea what the hell is going on in their lives. I find some peace in the beauty of all this chaos. Yes I am not financially independent yet, but that is to come. It is so easy to get wrapped up and consumed in what we don't have because we simply don't have it. But what about getting wrapped up in what we do have. No, I don't have a high paying job and my own place like my cousin, but its not like I'm unemployed and living on the streets! It is truly all about perspective and how you perceive your own life. I was attracting so much negativity into my life because I was afraid. I lived with so much fear and hatred and anger because I was scared. Fear vs love. You can be terrified of any situation and think of all the ways it can go wrong, or you can love every situation and have faith that the best outcomes will be attracted into you life. 

Now when I talk to my family I am more eager to speak about what I'm planning. Maybe they wont understand, and that's okay too. But it doesn't matter if they do or don't because its my life. When I tell them I am writing my own blog along with my coaching and personal training, and hey I even started to write a book, everyone is more intrigued to hear about the good in my life vs the bad. We all have worked the jobs we don't enjoy or worked paycheck to paycheck and that is the same old story. Talk about positive and in return you will attract more positive in your life. 

Attention all girls and boys - men and women - all humans. If you haven't already heard of the book The Goddess Revolution by Mel Wells, well now you have. Let me tell you why this book will rock your world. I was looking for my newest read when I came across The Goddess Revolution. I thought nothing more then a good plane book for my trip to Disney world. I threw it in my carry on and that was it. When I couldn't get any shut eye on our flight I popped open this book to give it a go. The rest is literally history. Within the first 15 pages I had felt like coming across this book was nothing short of a miracle. It was like it was placed before me because it was exactly what I have been needing to hear. 

To rewind a little bit, I have struggled with losing the last "10 lbs" like most people do. I tried every kind of diet, weight loss trick, pill, lotions, wraps and corsets yet I really couldn't get rid of my little muffin top. I had danced most of my life and then fell in love with working out, so I knew my physical fitness wasn't so much my problem. I knew I wasn't an avid dieter. I would eat "clean" one week and then the next have a cheat meal everyday. I knew of course, that this yo-yo diet lifestyle I was doing wasn't working but I couldn't truly figure out how to break the cycle. I thought if I paid for a program, paid to work with a nutritionist, meal prepped all the right foods and kept a log that I would be on point with my diet. The only problem was, I could have paid my entire life savings and still wouldn't see any results. Why? Because rules are meant to be broken. Okay, so maybe not all rules, like laws. BUT! Why give yourself rules to follow when it comes to nourishing your temple. I mean think about it, the way we talk to ourselves is very important. If you say I can't have that slice of pizza now suddenly it's all you can think about. But if you say I can have that slice of pizza, I just don't want it you don't crave it so much. Sounds like a mind game, right? It somewhat is. Picking up Mel's book became one of the best things that could have happened to mind and my body. 

If you have been battling with your self love, your "diet" regimen and your overall healthy lifestyle take a read and form your own opinion! 
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The Goddess Revolution 

If you are anything like me, or most Americans you have a love hate relationship with fast food. TacoBell in particular. There is truly nothing better then going to fulfill your late night cravings with a crunch wrap supreme! Since I am such a lover of the bell, I will allow myself to have it as my "cheat" meal every now and again. I had gotten to the point where I was eating it almost once a week, and so I realized maybe I needed to make some better decisions. That is until one day I came across an article labeled "TacoBell is the HEALTHIEST fast food restaurant" Say what????? Before I could really believe what I was reading I had to do a little bit more detective work. And on my hunt to prove that my favorite unhealthy craving spot could actually be healthy, I found a few things; 

1. They offer vegetarian options that are certified by the American Vegetarian Association
2. They offer a low calorie menu called the "Fresco Menu"
3. They offer high protein options called the "Cantina Menu"
4. TacoBell has a dietition and product developer, Missy Nelson whom transformed their menu making it more healthy 
5.Missy has taken out all artificial ingredients, switched to cage-free eggs and decreased sodium in all menu items by 15% 
6. TacoBell plans to lower their sodium across all menu items by another 10% 

The best part of all of this? You now have options to eat healthier when other establishments are closed. I have ran into the issue of losing track of time and eating a late dinner. After 9 or 10pm on a weekday your options are slim to none. I usually (and like most others in this situation) will go to my last resort of fast food. Knowing that their is a fast food joint that is consciously putting healthier items on their menu is a nice way to reward our community. In general, most people are trying to eat healthier and create a healthier lifestyle for themselves. It is so much easier said than done, when you have unhealthy options available at a low cost and nearly 24/7. I always said I wanted to open up a spot that served healthy options like salads and wraps that was open 24 hours. I suppose the food industries attempt for something healthier would be Subway but as we all know that isn't the "healthy" option either. 

I don't want to say I commend Taco Bell for taking steps in the right direction for their customers, but its a lot better then offering salads that are over 1,000 calories or putting apple slices on the menu and saying this is our healthy option (cough cough). So maybe I will give them a pat on the back for a job well done. Or maybe I'm just ecstatic that I can still eat a few tacos late at night without all the guilt. Just so you understand, and don't find me insane! 

So thanks, Taco Bell for giving me a piece of mind. We so often get wrapped up in the calories or grams of carbs or fat that we neglect other components like sugar and sodium. Sugar and sodium the two "S" that you should always pay attention to. In my busy lifestyle I am often running around and eating things on the go. I was guilty, for awhile might I add, of chugging a protein shake or eating a protein bar and skipping a meal. What I didn't realize was that I was really just pumping my body up with sugars, sodium and carbs that would make me feel full short term and give me a little extra boost and then a crash soon to follow. And I have found even another reason to love Tbell for this exact reason! Peep below: 

Once again, Taco Bell for the win.