The Juggle is Real

It has almost been one full year since I became a mother. This has always been something I dreamed of, bringing life to a little one that resembled not only myself but my loved one! Don't get me wrong, being a mom is one of my favorite hats, but you should also know that I have a Type A personality. When Googling Type A personality here is the description: 

   The hypothesis describes Type A individuals as outgoing, ambitious, rigidly organized, highly status-conscious, sensitive, impatient, anxious, proactive, and concerned with time management. People with Type A personalities are often high-achieving "workaholics". 

Well Google, I think you hit the nail on the head, my personality to a "T" and why I decided to write this blog post. 

Rewind to a year and a half ago.

This was the time in our lives where we decided to move the gym out of the basement of our home to expand it in a commercial space. You could say that even before this move I struggled with balancing my life as a wife, daughter and business owner. I was personally all in for growing the business, I mean I "needed" to show everyone that I could do it.  That I could grow a business from ground zero and make my hypothetical dreams, that many giggled at and simply said "ya ok", come true! Therefore, it was the next step to my dream and getting pregnant was not happening, so we made the plunge.

Now to February 2017.

We found the perfect commercial space for the gym, this was really happening! Yes I knew what it would take and many would describe my habits as being a workaholic during this transition period. Many times, Jake (my husband) would come to the gym after working his 8 to 5 job and would log additional hours at the gym so he could "be" with me while I was awake. Home life at this point was just for grabbing food and sleeping, after all I was logging hours from 5a.m. to 8p.m. three days a week.

March 2017

Did I mention that we stopped trying to have kids during the business transition? Well it happened we are pregnant! This news was always supposed to be positive and we were struggling and we had a miscarriage, why were my feelings so mixed? Not only this, but man no wonder I was always so exhausted, the crazy hours plus my body is trying to make a human! Once again, my personality starts to get the best of me questioning, how will I do this, why now, what does maternity leave look like now?

April 2017 to November 2017 (Easton's due date)

We begin the interview process, add two employees, add a few new services like nutrition and group classes. A time in my life where I struggled. I struggled letting go of the business, training others to help me do what I created from ground zero was not easy. However, it needed to be done, as I was going to posses a new baby, the kind that I had dreamed of for years!

2018

WOW! My priorities have changed. All I wanted to do is stay home and be with that perfect little human, but now I was to juggle being a daughter, sister, wife, mom and business owner. How would I EVER master all hats to my Type A personality perfection? Well I haven't! I have failed time and time again. I have had to say no to many things, many opportunities and even no to a surprise party for my parents. THIS IS TOUGH! I have had learn how to let things go, like having a dirty kitchen or a dirty car and even what my limits are, how little of sleep can I operate on without saying or doing something I shouldn't have? I am also still learning how to do things at 85-95% rather than doing everything at 115%. Unfortunately, the time simply does not exist to give everything 115%.

Lastly, I am still learning how to juggle. The more things I "juggle" the more anxious I become and the less I like myself. Becoming tense, stressed and overworked is nothing that anyone lives for, so for the next six months I am going to work on juggling less hats. I am going to prioritize my hats and spend most time with those at the top of my list! Hopefully this will help me not only manage my personality traits but to also get back to mastering these hats nearing the 100 percentile. How many hats are you juggling?


-Gabby Skinner

Can you really change in 21 Days?

On January 8^th Jake and I decided that after having our first child it was time to tackle one of our largest struggles/challenges in both of our lives. What was the culprit that was holding us back from accomplishing some of our wildest dreams both financially and physically, FOOD! By no means are we ever perfect, but we both had an existing passion for exercise. For Jake it is running, he loves to simply get out and go! For me it is a combination of cardio and strength training. Regardless of the type we do a very good job of implementing this into our daily lives. However, when it comes to food we were out of control and getting pregnant only amplified this.

Now when one starts to talk about how they changed their diet, there is always two main excuses that come up – time and money. For us the major issue was time and to be frank laziness from the both of us! Back in July of 2017 we added Ashley Ward to our FITness Into A Lifestyle team who brought to our team a success story, as well as a passion for nutrition. Yes we picked her brain here and there on what we could be doing better and we even “took part” in her Fall 2017 21 Day Challenge. It was not until January where it finally sunk in for us and we were determined to take it seriously on January 8^th (Winter 2018 21 Day Challenge).

First, here is a snapshot at how our finances changed from July 2017 to January 2018 when looking at food specifically. 

You can definitely assume that our choices to eat out were also never the healthiest as we were living the “busy” American life where rolling through Runza or ordering delivery pizza was what we were consuming.  Since we made the change. our grocery bill has remained similar to previous months but we have been much more health conscious in what we buy.  The big change was focusing on making healthier meals at home, and avoiding the temptation and guilt of eating out for various reasons all throughout the week.  Although only seven days in to the month of February, our spending trend is also on par to mimic our month of January. Taking one large trip to Costco at the beginning of the month costing an average of $350.00 and adding $50.00 on a weekly basis to keep fresh vegetables and fruits on hand.  Going along with the change, we are also eating out once a week, making a point to make a healthier choice if we do go out(substituting veggies for fries, small instead of a large, or chicken sandwich without the bun).   This has resulted in hundred of dollars in savings thus far, but more importantly, a much healthier and sustainable lifestyle!

In addition to this wonderful financial success mentioned above that the 21 Day Challenge provided us, we both also experienced substantial physical success!

- Gabby Skinner

Testimonial Tuesday - Carrie

Good Morning!

This month we feature Carrie a longevity personal training client of 26 months! Carrie is a 46 year old, mother of five all ranging from the age of 21 years old to 9 years old and lucky enough to stay at home. It is easy to say that her personality is a natural go-getter! In her "spare time" you can find her baby sitting her nephews, in the kitchen making a few extra dollars by baking and being fully involved with her kid's school. Her journey with FITness Into A Lifestyle began on August 28th, 2015 with the personal goals of toning, specifically those areas that become problem-some for women as they age and increased physical activity level to keep up with all her kids! (Unfortunately, we did not take before or after photos, so here is Carrie in her family photos from 2016).

Since the very beginning, Carrie has always been a very diligent client, coming twice a week for sixty minutes each time. In addition, she spends every morning taking time for herself before the kids get up, by walking/running on the treadmill or outside! Dedication was never her issues, she was simply seeking a change in her routine and for education of how to work the areas she was not satisfied with.

In these 26 months Carrie has accomplished more than I can even summarize and hard to put on paper! If we were to look at Carrie's weight, she has lost none. If we look at Carrie's inch measurements, she has lost two inches. Overall, these values not too impressive. However, it is the work or volume of work that she has accomplished that is more than impressive! When we first began her cardio-respiratory fitness was 50% and now nearly tops the 90 percentile ranking. She also started back in 2015 squatting 10 pound dumbbells and now can easily lift 135 pounds for multiple sets and reps! I could continue with every lift we have ever completed, as she has seen success in all components of strength training.

Overall, Carrie has accomplished all of her initial goals while dropping two pant sizes and increasing her volume of work by 80%! She came to FITness Into A Lifestyle as an ambitious mom looking to provide guidance for her kids and just over the course of the last two weekends she has spent them running 5K's with her daughters, running 3.2 miles in 28 minutes and 34 seconds, placing third in her age group. She has been a perfect model of what we strive for at FITness Into A Lifestyle, making it truly a way of life rather than a chore, diet or fad. Give it up for Carrie!

Your Motivator and Companion,

Gabby Skinner
Personal Trainer & Owner
1900 E Military Ave, Suite 218
Fremont, NE 68025
402-459-1541
gabby@fitnessintoalifestyle.com