Sharing some tips on how you can use FAM (fertility awareness method) for period prediction for yourself, or for your tween/teen daughter! 

Hi friends! I hope you’re having a wonderful day so far! We’re living the summer life: swimming all day, meeting up with friends, hitting up the arcade, and packing for a fun trip. What have you been up to?

For today’s post, I wanted to talk a little bit about Fertility Awareness Method and how you can use this amazing tool for period prediction. Once you have the hang of it, it makes life SO much easier.

As you guys know, I’m a huge fan of Fertility Awareness Method. It’s my primary method of birth control and I’ve been practicing since I went off birth control back in 2008. Over time, it’s evolved so much! I used to have to track my temp and cycle signs on a paper chart and now they have amazing apps and technology.

****I only recommend FAM as birth control if you’re in a monogamous relationship and with the understanding that there is a learning curve. Also, remember that it doesn’t protect you from any sexually transmitted diseases or infections. It may take you a while to *get* your cycle, so just a heads up that you may want to use a backup method if you’d like to use FAM as a birth control method.***

While Fertility Awareness Method can be an amazing birth control tool, it can also be used for something incredibly valuable: accurate period prediction. If you practice Fertility Awareness Method, you’re able to know the exact day that you’ll get your period.

I was thinking about FAM and how much I love it… and then a little light bulb clicked in my head. It could also be used to know when a tween or teen girl is going to have their first period ever. How freaking amazing is that?! I’m going to share all of the details + how you can use this for accurate cycle prediction in this post. I wanted to share this info for my mama friends out there, or for those who are curious about tracking their cycle.

Using Fertility Awareness Method for period prediction

When I first discovered Fertility Awareness Method, I WISHED I would learned all about this when I was growing up. It turned my body from a complete mystery into something that I was empowered and informed about. What was happening inside my body wasn’t completely random each month; it was entirely predictable. I just had to track it and understand my cycle.

If I would have known about this information, it would have saved me from a particular instance in middle school when I was wearing white shorts. Ughhh.

Each month, we have distinct phases of our cycle:

1) Menstruation: day 1 of full bleeding (may be preceded by spotting but that’s not technically the first day of your cycle)

2) Follicular phase: follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) prompts the ovaries to prepare and release an egg

3) Ovulatory phase: this is when the egg is released and can potentially be fertilized

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Running, biking and other aerobic exercise help improve your health and fitness. Find out just how much aerobic exercise is right for you and how much cardio is too much.

Hi friends! How’s the morning going?? I hope you’re having a wonderful week. For today’s post, I updated an older *beefy* one with lots of fitness tips. If you’re wondering about how much cardio to do and need help with your routine, join us for Fit Team!

I frequently get variations of the same question. What is my weight loss goal? What cardio exercises should I do? What is a *good* amount of cardio I can do without losing muscle? What’s the bare minimum?

But what the core of each of those questions is ultimately asking is: How much cardio is too much?

Let me dust off my cardio queen badge and tell you a long tale.

How Much Cardio Is Too Much?

The Tale of the Cardio Queen

Back in the day, I thought cardio was the “end all be all” of health, fitness, and (what my goal was at the time) losing weight. I figured that more was better as far as cardio exercises go. Little did I know, I was burning my precious muscle away as I pounded the treadmill and was striding along on the elliptical.

It’s equally tragic and amusing to consider the amount of time I spent doing cardio, thinking I was throwing myself a solid to only later find out that it was overkill. I cardio-ed my little heart out, and there was a time when I was going an hour +, almost every day of the week. I was doing way too much cardio at high intensity. (This is also when I screwed up my me

 Today I’m feeling reflective as I celebrate a major milestone – 20 years of practicing yoga!

Hi friends, I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Ours was low-key and we saw Riverdance, which was everything.

While I was at hot yoga last week, I realized that I’ve been practicing yoga for TWENTY YEARS. It hit me pretty hard and I couldn’t believe how much life I’ve been through since I was first introduced to yoga. Moves, deployments, babies, highs, and lows, yoga has been a fairly consistent part of my life. I’ve cried during savasana, mastered certain poses, struggled with others, spent 90% of certain classes in child’s pose, and learned to truly be present and focus on my breath.

It’s been two decades of unrolling my mat, connecting with my breath, and flowing through sequences that challenge and transform my mind and body. It’s hard to believe that 20 years have passed since I first discovered yoga, and while I can’t do any crazy tricks and I’m not the most flexible bear, this practice has shaped my life in countless ways. So, in honor of this milestone, I want to share with you some of the lessons I’ve learned, and the rewards I’ve reaped over the past 20 years of practicing yoga.

(Maisey also wants me to tell you that today is her birthday! OF COURSE she’s getting a doggy cake and birthday song)

20 years of practicing yoga

My introduction to yoga:

My very first class was a Rodney Yee yoga DVD I picked up at Target on a whim. I was in college, feeling the stressors of a dramatic relationship and constant homework deadlines, and figured I’d give it a whirl. Instantly, I was drawn in by the sense of calm it brought me. I also loved Rodney Yee’s clear, concise instruction and his ability to guide students to a deeper understanding of their bodies and the practice of yoga.

Looking back, this was the perfect way to get started: it was zero pressure (because I was solo, at home, in my mom’s living room). I started to practice yoga regularly, mostly before bed, and eventually transitioned into studio classes. Over the past 20 years, I’ve taken hundreds of yoga classes in studios all over the US, from California to Orlando and many spots in between.

Hi friends! How are you? I hope you had an amazing weekend! Once again, Liv’s team crushed their competition; they took 1st, 2nd, and 5th overall for their categories! It was so much fun to watch them shine and enjoy a little Phoenix staycation. We’ll be back in a couple of weeks for the next one.

For today’s post, I thought I’d pop in and share a little bit about how my personal relationship with fitness has changed and my mindset around it.

When I first got into the fitness world, I was omgsoexcited about trying and doing all the things. I loved teaching all of the classes, taking as many classes as possible, trying new exercises and strategies in the weights room, and was absolutely in the honeymoon phase of fitness. This *phase* actually lasted for many years, hence the name of my blog and why fitness has become more than a hobby and the baseline for my entire career.

Currently, I don’t feel very Fitnessista-ish 😉 It’s become more of a box that I check… and that’s ok.

I don’t look forward to strength training on my own the same way that I used to, so I haven’t been lifting consistently on my own for quite a few months. I walked into the gym yesterday to teach a class, and the weight room felt so foreign to me, when it used to be a daily staple in my life.

Instead of using a lack of excitement as my reason to quit strength training entirely, I’ve done some other things that have helped me to stay consistent.

Right now, it involves taking classes (F45, hot yoga, barre, Sculpt Society), working with an amazing local personal trainer, and I enjoy encouraging others through Fit Team and with my one and one clients.

I’ve realized over time that health and wellbeing is so much more than what you do in the gym each day. Yes, it’s absolutely important to move your body consistently, but I’ve been emphasizing the other 23 hours in the day more than what I do for my workout. I just make sure to get in a walk each day, usually with Maisey, get daily steps in on my walking pad and doing chores, and strength train 3-4 times per week (whether it’s through training or taking classes).

When we lose the honeymoon phase of anything, it’s when we really need to lean into our dedication and commitment, instead of depending on excitement and motivation. Goals can impact our attitudes about certain things, and I don’t really have any fitness-related goals right now.

I’m not looking to get incredibly strong or lean. No PRs or races or distance goals in my near future. While these things used to be exciting and motivating for me, I don’t think they would be right now. Just typing the word PR makes me feel stressed lol. I just want to be healthy with tons of energy, have full function and mobility, and for

This post is sponsored by my friends at NOW Foods and they have so many amazing products, including my fave creatine, on their site. Use FITNESSISTA for 20% off. Also this is a friendly reminder that this post is not medical information and not intended to prevent, treat, cure, or diagnose any illness. Always talk with your doctor before adding new supplements into your rotation. 

Hi friends! How’s the day treating you so far? I hope you’re having a wonderful morning. For today’s post, I’m chatting about a huge reader’s request topic and one of my favorite supplements: creatine!

Creatine is often taken by athletes and bodybuilders to improve their performance, but it is also consumed by older adults and vegetarians for health purposes. Not everyone knows the right way to take creatine, how it works, or what needs to be considered before adding it into a supplement routine.

In today’s post, I’m sharing a guide that can provide some education and help with informed choices when it comes to taking creatine, depending on the purpose that it’s intended to be used. Friendly reminder that your doctor will help you decide if adding creatine is a good choice.

An Overview on Taking Creatine

Creatine is a supplement that can be taken as powder or liquid, before or after a workout. I prefer to take it as a post-workout, but the thing with creatine is that you need to take it consistently to see and feel a difference. 

What Is Creatine

Creatine is an amino acid that is stored predominantly in muscle cells, with a small percentage in our brain, kidneys, and liver. You can get creatine in your diet from animal-based products, such as seafood and meat. This is why vegetarians and vegans will likely have lower creatine stores than omnivores and can often benefit from supplementation. Since creatine can be used for energy production for heavy lifting workouts and high-intensity training, it’s often used for performance enhancement.* Your body naturally produces 1-2g of creatine per day in the liver and pancreas.

Creatine is widely studied, easy to find, and inexpensive. My favorite creatine can be found here!

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