Mahalo Mom Podcast

In this podcast, I am reading episodes 10, 11, and 12 in the series, My Journey, My Rules.

In this podcast, I am reading episodes 7, 8, and 9 in the series, My Journey, My Rules. These episodes are about my weight loss story from the third week to the second month.

In this podcast, I am reading episodes 3, 4 and 5 of my series called “My Journey, My Rules”! I share my story about the shifts that I made during the first two weeks of my weight loss journey!

In this podcast episode, I am reading the posts that I wrote that describe the first few days of my weight loss journey. I share the first shifts that I made in my mindset and menu. If you are looking for some motivation to get started on your own journey....this is the podcast episode for you!

I was an assistant principal for 8 years and tipped the scale at close to 250 pounds. For several years, I tried to prove myself to others in order to advance in my career. I really wanted to be a principal of an elementary school. However, after many interviews and rejections, I decided enough was enough. I was done trying to prove myself! So, I closed that door, nailed it shut, and opened a new door! I left the school administrator life and went back into teaching. At the time, I didn’t know how this decision was going to make such a drastic impact on my health and my life!During this podcast episode, I share my career detour story and how it has impacted my weight loss journey!

In this podcast episode, I share my unhealthy habits from previous vacations and the healthy habits from this beach trip. I also share how I am now able to refocus my mindset even after several cheats.

I’d like to introduce you to my first healthy lifestyle influencer...Heather! Heather is my sorority sister from college. She lives in Pennsylvania, so we don’t get together very often. For the past few summers, we have been spending a week at the beach.We used to have similar eating and exercise habits. When we were together, we would eat a bag of potato chips and dip in one sitting, and exercise wasn’t a part of our routines.Until...in 2017, she started her own weight loss journey.When we went to the beach this time, she was eating healthy AND exercising.She was making healthy food choices and no longer would spank a tub of dip and a bag of chips with me.She went walking too! She would ask me to join her, and I declined.In my head I was thinking, (A) If I walked with you, I wouldn’t make it to the stop sign at the end of the road. (B) I want my foodie friend, Heather, back!In today’s podcast episode, Heather shares her weight loss story!

When I started my weight loss journey, I decided to tell my husband, Mike, exactly what I needed from him. I needed his support with my mindset, menu, movement, and motivation. It has been almost 2 years since I started, and he has followed through with these requests. On this podcast episode, Mike and I discuss how he has supported, encouraged, and motivated me along the way!

I confess. I used to be a mindless eater! Or should I say…I am a mindless eater? You might be asking, what is a mindless eater? For me, it’s like I have this unconscious instinct…to put food into my mouth. However, I have learned during this weight loss journey to shift this mindless eating behavior to intentional eating habits. In this episode, I share what each type of eating behavior looks like, and how I have made the shift to intentional eating.

Determining “my why” has been crucial as the foundation for my mindset during this weight loss journey. During my unsuccessful attempts at losing weight over the years, “my why” was for my children, my husband, my doctor etc. This time was different! “My why” was for me! In this episode, I share the story about “my why”, and how it has impacted my mindset.

I am so excited to share my conversation with Megan Outten (aka Mego). She is 24 years old and is currently an elementary music teacher. She has struggled with what she calls “being chubby” her whole life. She decided to change her old eating habits and add exercise to her routine. And, she has lost 89 pounds! In this episode she shares her story. My hope is that she inspires you as much as she has inspired me!

During my weight loss journey, I have learned to develop a new relationship with food. I used to be an emotional eater and eat just because it was “feeding time”. In this podcast episode, I share how my relationship with food has changed into what it is today...I now use food to fuel my body because taste is temporary!

After about one month into my weight loss journey, I knew I needed to add exercise to my daily routine. So, I strapped on some old sneakers and walked 2 miles. I struggled the whole way! As I progressed through my weight loss journey, I was able to increase my speed and distance. In this podcast episode, I share my exercise journey. And...to think it all started by getting enough courage to put one foot in front of the other!?

How do you keep yourself motivated? People ask this question to me all of the time. And...the truth is...there isn’t one thing that keeps me motivated. It’s a combination of many different things. Anything from a good motivational quote to being able to bend over and easily tie my shoe. But most importantly, my #1 motivator is me! I need to push myself every single day to strive toward my goal of living a healthy life! During this podcast episode, I share long and short term motivators that have kept me moving forward on my weight loss journey. My goal is for my list to spark some motivational ideas for you to apply to your own journey. Because...if you don’t push yourself...no one is going to do it for you!

At the beginning of my healthy lifestyle journey, changing my favorite foods was a priority. I had to eliminate the unhealthy foods that I was consuming daily and replace them with healthy options. In this podcast episode, “Shifting My Menu - Finding New Favorites”, I share my story about how I created my new favorite, HEALTHY foods. At the end of the episode, I have some ideas for you on how to apply what I did to your own healthy lifestyle journey!

I have a special guest on today’s podcast...my oldest daughter, Carley. Carley is 24 years old and has found a balance with her health. She is a fan of keto and CrossFit. This is a complete opposite approach than what I have done. However, we both have used the foundation of the 4 Ms — mindset, menu, movement, and motivation to move forward on our healthy lifestyle journeys.

A strong mindset is the foundation for a healthy lifestyle. We are always challenged with outside influences...unhealthy food choices, a variety of things consuming our time, etc. But I have found through my own weight loss journey, that my mindset has been the foundation. During this podcast episode, I talk about what triggered my mindset, the vision for my mindset, motivating my mindset, and protecting my mindset. I believe a strong mindset = results!