Whew! I didn’t see it coming, but my household ended up with a case of the flu the past couple weeks. First my son got it and was pretty much glued to me for over a week, and then well after I thought I was out of the woods and he was well on his way back to health, I ended up getting it myself. But it wasn’t so bad, really (truly! a couple days of a sore throat, followed by just 36 hours of that true flu aching and all-over ick before I began feeling much better), and other than having pretty much no voice to speak of as I’m writing this at the tail end of a very long day, I honestly feel pretty good. Another solid night’s sleep and I’m golden — other than a slightly scratchy throat and an odd inability to taste anything the past few days.

The silver lining here — something I’m always looking for because it’s always there — is that we really didn’t get all that sick. Back when I wasn’t into the healthy lifestyle thing several years ago, the last flu I had wiped me out for 2 solid weeks. Missed work for 2 entire weeks (lived abroad at the time and did a lot of work from home, as I recall, in utter misery because it was deadline time). And this time it was almost … easy. (Yes, easy.) Even for the little man.

If that’s not motivation for nourishing your body with healthy food, I don’t know what is.

I’m annoyed, actually, that I got sick to begin with. :) After spending the first 30ish years of my life sick all the time (including every virus that went around), the past several years I’ve had at most 3 of the world’s mildest-ever colds, a reaction to a couple foods I’ll never eat again knowingly and otherwise haven’t been sick at all. I like my new track record, and I’m mentioning it not to brag, but just to share that when you switch over to a healthy lifestyle, there are benefits involved that you may not have anticipated. Like not getting that sick (and rarely getting sick at all).

Cool stuff, folks. Good nutrition and keeping your body strong begets HEALTH on top of looking and feeling how you want day to day.

It’s been quiet around the blog while I ensured that my little boy had as much mama-time as he needed, and I’ve got something HUGE and exciting in the works that I’ll be announcing to you in the next few days that I know you’ll love and immediately want to be a part of. I’ve also got some video ideas I’m itching to turn into reality to inspire you, but it may be a little bit before that happens.

In the meantime, live well and embrace your lean green side. It’s good for you. :)

I get lots of questions on healthy weight loss, and one of the most common is: Can you achieve body fat loss by drinking water?

I know, I know. You’ve probably heard the whole “drink 8 cups (64 oz.) of water a day” spiel so many times (more…)

Yes, after much ado I’ve finally entered the video era! And what better way to get started than with that age-old question: How will I know when it’s the best time to lose weight?

Today’s video is the first in a series called the LeanGreenMama Manifesto for Healthy Weight Loss — and I hope it helps you and motivates you to take action! Comments welcome (and keep in mind that this is my first-ever video, so be gentle!). :)

We’ve had some email trouble here in LeanGreenMama Land this week and last, so if you’ve emailed me and not heard back from me in the past couple weeks, please email me again. We had trouble sending email for a while and I will never know which messages didn’t get delivered. Sorry for the trouble!

I recently happened upon an interview with a spiritual guru who claims that there’s no such thing as life balance — that when we’re balanced out, we’re boring, we’re stagnant, we’re not reaching out for our goals. While I get what he’s getting at — that we as humans should always be aiming for something bigger than the current life we’re leading, whatever that means for each of us — I think he misses the point of life balance.

I’m a big believer in (and recommender of!) life balance, which is particularly challenging for moms! By my definition, achieving a balanced life means you’re taking care of yourself well enough not to feel crazed much of the time, not to feel frustrated and frazzled and always attempting to compensate for stuff we’ve done wrong. (more…)

Today I’m sharing my answer to a really great question I know is lurking in the minds of many, many overweight moms when they think about weight loss and their own ability to get the weight off and keep it off. Thanks to the subscriber who sent this my way!

Reader Question: Will I ever “get it right”? What is the right balance of improvement that I can sustain? (more…)

I get lots of questions about healthy weight loss from blog readers like you, as well as my ezine subscribers, and I’m sharing a recent weight loss tip I gave in case it helps another mom out there in her healthy weight loss journey:

Healthy Weight Loss Question: Do I have to eat beans and nuts to lose weight? It seems like I wouldn’t lose weight if I ate those items.

My Answer: As you may already know know, I recommend a whole-foods, mostly plant-based diet for health and weight loss purposes (more…)

I’m so happy that nutrition’s impact on health is finally getting some real attention in the media. In case you haven’t heard, there’s a new documentary that’s coming out soon called Forks and Knives, and I can’t wait to see it. It’s focused on the research and work of 2 brilliant minds: Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn.

At first glance, the film might not look like it’s your thing — 2 old guys talking about disease and healthy eating doesn’t necessarily sound all that exciting, right? But what you may not know is that (more…)

Are you standing in the way of your own weight loss success?Tonight’s monthly Inner Circle coaching call is called “7 Powerful Ways You May be Sabotaging Your Weight Loss: What You Must STOP Doing to Get the Weight Off for Good!” — and on this call, I’ll be discussing the 7 most common ways that overweight moms often get sidetracked or held back entirely from losing weight, as well as what you can do to make sure you don’t fall prey to these pitfalls. If you feel like losing weight’s been an uphill battle in the past, you don’t want to miss this Inner Circle coaching call!

The call’s FREE for Inner Circle members. If you’re not a member, there’s still time to get on board before tonight’s call — which will also be available as an MP3 download for you to listen to at your convenience on the Inner Circle members-only site. Join the Inner Circle now.

I came across a quotation today that spoke to me, and I wanted to share. You see, I used to be terrified — absolutely, utterly terrified — of making mistakes. It kept me paralyzed, kept me from taking chances, kept me from opening up about who I really am as a person because I was so afraid that if anyone could see the mistakes I made, they wouldn’t want to be around me. I credit this mindset for keeping me from pursuing my own weight loss for years as well (more…)