I have PPD (Post Partum Depression)

I shared a heart felt and personal post on some Mommy groups on Facebook last night. I wanted to get this off my chest. That's how I do it, I express myself on Facebook. It makes me happy and helps me deal with things.

I shared my struggles. The outpouring of love, support and comments from others who are also suffering was overwhelming. It made me realize that, as mothers, we need to talk about this. We need to shout about this from the highest mountain. No Mommy should suffer alone when there are so many of us out here willing to offer support, love and help.

I realized that the post on a private Facebook group wasn't going to be seen by anyone other than the group members and that this needs to be OUT THERE.

I realized that moms have their own stories to share. They have advice. They know of some amazing groups and websites that can help.

I'm sharing my post here. PLEASE share your story below in the comments. Share your support. Give your tips on how to deal. This post is your post. It's for all the mommies. It's for us to show our sisterhood and our love.

Here is my post:

I want to share something with all of you here.

Some of you already know, but it's not something I've gotten around to sharing publicly yet.
As you might already know, my son was born in August of 2012, and then my daughter was born in October of 2014. 

Having babies is difficult! VERY difficult. It's wonderful and joyous but comes with a whole set of challenges that can't even be imagined until you're in it. 

I had heard about 'post part depression' but I knew that would never happen to me. I was the happiest person I knew. 

After Finn was born I looked up what post part depression was to see descriptions of women who couldn't get out of bed or hold their babies. That wasn't me. 

After 3 1/2 years of suffering and keeping my symptoms secret for fear of someone taking my children away, after 3 years of struggling alone, when I FINALLY started to 'come out of it' I was able to see - I suffered from post part depression for 3 1/2 years.

I started to 'wake up' from the fog last October and then made huge leaps in recovery starting in January of this year. I now have more good days than bad days. But it doesn't take much to send me back, although it no longer lasts very long. 

I suffered from post part depression. I got out of bed every day, I loved my babies, I bonded with them, I never saw a doctor. I still worked and smiled in front of people. 

My symptoms involved horrible images in my head that scared me beyond measure. I thought my daughter was ugly for the first year of her life. I couldn't connect with people. I couldn't bear to make plans or go to events. 

I am healing. I am getting stronger each day. I learned who my true friends were, and they are fewer than I imagined. 

After 3 1/2 years of struggling to keep my head above water to breathe I can now say that I am healing. I can talk about this. I was THERE and it was ugly. 

No woman should go through that. I now reach out to new moms and I share my story and offer my ear. I will never judge. Trust me, I'm in no position to do so. 

Reach out to people. Ask for help. Don't suffer in silence, like I did for 3 1/2 years. Life is too precious.

~Gemma


I'm adding to this:
Here are a few things that helped me handle the horrible images that would flood my brain
1.) I would stop and 'check in' with myself. That vision was horrible. Do I really want to do that? As long as the answer was 'no' I knew I was still ok.

2.) My husband and I had a code. If the answer was ever 'yes', and I did want to do the horrible thing in my imagination, I was to lock myself out of the house (the kids safe inside) and call him immediately.

3.) I PRAYED. I did not pray for God to take my horrible images away. If you have ever watched or read The Secret (and if you haven't please do ASAP) you know that your mind does not process the negative. It's like when a person tells you NOT to think about elephants. What do you think about? ELEPHANTS. This is true when you pray. Praying for the BAD thoughts to go only brings more bad thoughts. I prayed for God to fill my mind with loving and positive thoughts. I prayed for thoughts of healing. I prayed for thoughts of love. I prayed for peace in my heart and my soul. I prayed for kindness, I prayed for patience. I prayed for all the things I DID want.
When the horrible images would appear I prayed feverishly for the good thoughts to come and be bigger and stronger.

And, let me be crystal clear, I am still dealing with this. I am not all of a sudden 'ok,' I'm battling daily to be my best self. I just try to do my very best every single day, sometimes 'my best' means that I publish a book, clean the house and get 4 new clients. Other days 'my best' means I wear my pajamas all day, sit on the couch and eat chocolate. They're BOTH ok. As long as I'm doing the very best that I can for that day I'm ok with that.

These things helped me. Please share below what helped you. The world needs us to speak up. Thank you. 

Will Shakes Help Me Lose Weight?

WILL SHAKES HELP ME LOSE WEIGHT?

Hey there everyone.

Ok, let's get real about shakes and weight loss shall we?
Ooh yes, we shall!!!



I just got a great message on Snapchat from a lovely lady who is doing a great job reaching her health goals by making small changes. She's starting to see results and is ready to kick things up a bit.

Her message said this...
"I was looking into drinking whey protein shakes. I was reading that they help build lean muscle. Would you recommend them?"

Let's dive right in:
I'm going to address this to the average person. That's you and me! For people who are training for a body building competition or a fitness contest or athletes, your needs are different and you have different reasons for using protein shakes.
This blog post is for the recreational exerciser and people trying to lose some weight.

You don't NEED shakes to build muscle or to lose weight. You can get great nutrition and great protein by eating REAL foods. There is nothing magical about shakes that will help you get more results faster. There are many benefits to shakes and there are many things you need to know so you don't buy shakes that are actually going to damage your health. Keep on reading...

Some people report gastric upset (aka GAS) with whey protein, these people typically have an issue with dairy. There are a number of protein sources in shakes besides whey. They are all great so try them all to see which one your body likes most. Sources include whey, soy, pea, hemp and egg. I like to change it up and use them all. Variety is super important when it comes to nutrition.

Benefits of Shakes:
CONVENIENCE
Shakes are super convenient. You can shake them in a blender bottle or throw them in the bullet and drink them on the run. Shakes are a great when the alternative might be skipping a meal altogether or going through a drive through for fast food, because, let's face it, eating healthy is time consuming. I no longer have the time to make my diet my main focus in my life. I have to make healthy eating as easy as I possibly can. This is where shakes are perfect for me.

VARIETY
When making healthy changes in your diet it's important to keep it fun and yummy. I love using real food for my protein sources but eating eggs. chicken, fish and steak can get al little boring at time. Shakes are a great way to 'shake' things up (pun intended). You can play with flavors and ingredients very easily so you don't get bored.

NUTRITION
A high quality shake will have great nutrition and a balance of nutrients, protein, fiber & carbs (if it's
a meal replacement shake. Protein shakes don't typically have carbs). And if you add some veggies, fruit and super foods (like chia seeds) to the blender then you can super charge your nutrition in that shake.


Drawbacks of Shakes:
QUALITY
Not all shakes are created equal. Too many products out there are lacking in ethics but full of hype. It has been proven that many shakes out there have false information on their nutrition labels. So a shake can say there are 25 grams of protein per scoop, but in reality there are only 2 grams. It is important to do your homework before you decide to trust a company. Look for independent studies, NOT just the studies that the company is providing you with.

TOXIC INGREDIENTS
Byproducts in many shakes out there can actually cause damage to the kidneys and liver. This happened to me. Years ago I was using just a general whey protein shake from my local chain supplement store. I was only using 2 scoops a day, I was eating a healthy diet and drinking a gallon of water a day and the product still affected my kidney function. In blood work my kidney levels were out of the roof. One month after removing the shake from my diet my levels were significantly improved. I have a number of friends who have had this same experience.
Artificial sweeteners are not safe and not a smart thing to consume, PERIOD. Many shakes out there have these in them to make them seem sweet. Look for ingredients such as: Aspartame; Acesulfame Potassium; Acesulfame K; Sucralose. Avoid these ingredients as much as you can.


Shakes and Weight Loss:
I absolutely LOVE to use shakes with my clients who are sugar addicts. I use a high quality meal replacement shake that is chock full of nutrition, protein, carbs, fiber and is low glycemic. This means that there are sugars in the shake, but they are healthy sugars and they are so balanced with all the other nutrients in the shake that they don't spike the blood sugar. Shakes like this are pretty close to a

miracle for someone who is addicted to sugar. Have you ever tried to give up sugar cold turkey? It's awful and it sucks!! The withdrawals, cravings and pissed off mood are overwhelming. I have rarely seen a sugar addict succeed at giving up sugar cold turkey. However, when I use shakes as a means to reset a person's habits and cravings I could put a tray of cupcakes in front of them on day three and they wouldn't even want one. IT IS IMPORTANT to note that the use of shakes should be a small part of a much bigger picture. I use shakes to help people kick sugar cravings and to help clients find convenient and varied meal ideas - but this is part of a bigger picture that includes learning to eat REAL FOOD.

Which Shakes Are Good?
With every single 'friend' on Facebook peddling some sort of Miracle Shake product these days it's important to discuss how you can tell a good shake from a crap one.
   - Do your own research. Get down and dirty on the internet and read reviews, check out Consumer Labs (you have to pay to join but it is SO worth it). Is the product GMP certified? Is it NSF approved? Who manufactures the product? Most companies pay outside manufacturers to slap their label on a bottle, this is not good. Look for companies that manufacture in house for most of their products (even the greatest companies have to go out of house for some things).
   - Read the ingredients: if there is a SECRET 'Proprietary Blend' are you able to look online and find out exactly what is in that blend? If not, RUN! Look for those nasty artificial sweeteners (listed above) and stay away if they have them.
   - Call the company and ask questions. If they don't know the answers then move on. If you can't get a hold of a human then move on. Ask to be put in contact with their team of researchers (typically available via email in a good company). If they don't have their own team of researchers and scientists to answer important health questions, RUN!
   - It's no secret that I am completely in love with the USANA Health Sciences company. Heck, I even partnered with them, they're THAT amazing. They have shakes, they have them in whey, soy and plant base and they have a number of flavors. This is the company I use the most and the ONLY shake product that I give to my kids (My kids LOVE shakes and it's a great way for me to know they're getting good nutrition). You can check out USANA on my page at www.QOLI. USANA.com
   - There are TWO other companies that I use and recommend: 1.) About Time - this is a whey protein and you can order flavor samples on their website to see which ones you like. They got their name because it's 'about time' someone made a clean protein. And, 2.) Sun Warrior - this is a plant based protein that I love too.

Learn about the USANA Health Sciences shakes and bars in this awesome video HERE

What questions do you have?
Did you find this blog post helpful? Do you have further questions? Fire em at me below.

Thanks for reading

~Gemma Rayne Fountain

Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, Exercise Physiologist & Fitness Expert

www.GemmaRayneFountain.com

* Need help with your weight loss? Check out my book.
'The Elephant in the Room - How to Overcome Your Psychological Barriers to Weight Loss Success' on Amazon
(https://www.amazon.com/Elephant-Room-Overcome-Psychological-Barriers-ebook/dp/B010JGJN6Q)

Please connect with me on social media, I'd LOVE to hear from you and will answer questions if you send them. 
Facebook - Gemma Rayne Fountain

Twitter - @GemmaRFountain

Instagram - gemmaraynefountain

Snapchat - gemmarayne
Pinterest - @gemmarayne

Youtube - GemmaRayneFountain
Podcast - COMING SOON!

Set ACTION goals NOT end result goals...

Set ACTION goals NOT end result goals...

Do you like to set goals for yourself?
I do. I LOVE setting goals for health, nutrition, business, etc. And I love to see those goals accomplished. I've learned the hard way how NOT to set goals for myself.
After years of torment not reaching goals I had set for myself I learned that I was doing it wrong.
Here's what I wish I had known years ago...

Set yourself up for SUCCESS not defeat!

Do your goals sound like this? 

     "I will lose 5 pounds in 3 weeks."

     "I will make $100 more each week by the end of the month."

     "I will get 20 new clients this quarter."

My goals used to be just like this, centered on the RESULT, the end goal. The problem here is that there is no focus on the ACTIONS that could actually result in these goals being achieved. 

Wanting these things is great but let's take a deeper look.

Setting this type of goal creates a vision of the end goal in your mind. You can see the result. You know you want that result. But then what? Without setting action goals of habits and practices that might actually result in you reaching these goals what typically happens? No modifications are made and the goal is NOT met.

Let's Remedy This Shall We?

Let's power pack your goals!

Instead of setting results goals - set ACTION goals of actual activities and practices that could actually cause those 'result goals.' For example;
   "I will walk for 30 minutes every day for the next 3-weeks."
   "I will do Gemma's 10-minute leg workout video on facebook every other day for the next 3 weeks." (here's the link https://youtu.be/8SkpBrZtAJE) 
   "I will approach 5 new potential vendors every week this month."

   "I will go to 2 business networking events every week this quarter."
These are ACTIONS that you control. They are MEASURABLE. YOU are able to see your triumph over these each and every day, thus feeding your sense of accomplishment, self worth and success.

At the end of You can view all your successes and feel great about yourself.
This is a good thing.

We all need a little more 'feel good'!

So let's ALL set ACTION goals that we control and set ourselves up to succeed in every goal we set.

...Some quotes that inspired this post: From Living With Joy by Sanaya Roman

"Create something that is delightful tomorrow - one small step, or one small point oR action that will bring you one step closer to your goal."

"The mind likes to have a sense that it has accomplished things; you must keep it satisfied."

"When your emotions are heavy and sad or negative, the aura around your body is dense. It's like driving with a dirty windshield.  You can not see clearly or far."

"...change is much more involved that simply asking for something and having it. You may need to go inward, expand your faith and trust, and open your heart...You also need to let go of many old images about who you are."

Thanks for reading

~Gemma Rayne Fountain

Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, Exercise Physiologist & Fitness Expert

www.GemmaRayneFountain.com

* Need help with your weight loss? Check out my book.
'The Elephant in the Room - How to Overcome Your Psychological Barriers to Weight Loss Success' on Amazon
(https://www.amazon.com/Elephant-Room-Overcome-Psychological-Barriers-ebook/dp/B010JGJN6Q)

Please connect with me on social media, I'd LOVE to hear from you and will answer questions if you send them. 
Facebook - Gemma Rayne Fountain

Twitter - @GemmaRFountain

Instagram - gemmaraynefountain

Snapchat - gemmarayne
Pinterest - @gemmarayne

Youtube - GemmaRayneFountain
Podcast - COMING SOON!

Thin People Have a Sweet Tooth Too.

Savory Secret:
Sweet Tooth Appeasement #1
(Choc. Covered Strawberries)

Thin people have a sweet tooth too. They just learn how to control IT so IT doesn't control THEM.

I'll admit that lately, with two small children running around the house I have not exactly been the poster child for self control when it comes to chocolate. But there are still times when I try to do it better. Here's one of my 'go to' treats to keep my sweet tooth at bay without throwing all my hard work to the dogs. 

Shopping list:

~ Fresh strawberries (preferably organic so you don't consume all those cancer causing pesticides)
~ Chocolate bars (milk, dark, and/or white) - (again, preferably organic)

Melt 4-5 squares of the chocolate either in the microwave or in a pan. If you do it in the microwave keep a close eye on it and stir it every 30 seconds or so. The chocolate can be melted but look like it's still in squares if you just peer in the microwave window. Stand 4 or more feet away from microwave when it's in use!
If you use a pan put the stove on low heat and stir constantly.

Once melted dip strawberries (that you already washed) in the chocolate and lay them on a plate or piece of wax paper to cool and solidify.

If you want to get fancy you can melt one of the other chocolates, as they are each a different color, and drizzle over the already dipped strawberries with a fork to make them look striped and decorated (NOTE: this is very impressive at parties).

Eat a few of these next time you have a SWEET TOOTH ATTACK. You'll satisfy your chocolate/sugar craving, and the strawberries are sweet and juicy yet nutritious. This is much better than downing an entire pack of Oreos.

P.S. In my experience white chocolate takes longer to melt and starts to solidify faster, it is also a little more difficult to drizzle!

Bon Appetit

Thanks for reading

~Gemma Rayne Fountain

Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, Exercise Physiologist & Fitness Expert

www.GemmaRayneFountain.com

* Need help with your weight loss? Check out my book.
'The Elephant in the Room - How to Overcome Your Psychological Barriers to Weight Loss Success' on Amazon
(https://www.amazon.com/Elephant-Room-Overcome-Psychological-Barriers-ebook/dp/B010JGJN6Q)

Please connect with me on social media, I'd LOVE to hear from you and will answer questions if you send them. 
Facebook - Gemma Rayne Fountain

Twitter - @GemmaRFountain

Instagram - gemmaraynefountain

Snapchat - gemmarayne
Pinterest - @gemmarayne

Youtube - GemaRayneFountain
Podcast - COMING SOON!

Today I am thankful for _____________! (AKA, Being Unapologetically Me.)

Hello friends;

Today, in my FREE online course, 'Manifest Your Dream Life - The Power of Visualization, Positivity and more" I asked the question, "Today I am thankful for ______."

It was a 'fill-in-the-blank' question for the course participants to answer.

What is magical and amazing about this course is that I learn something new about myself every single time I teach it. As we evolve and grow new lessons are brought to the forefront and made clear for us as we are ready to receive them.

To this question, here is my response:

Sometimes things in life cause us to be tentative, fearful, isolated and introverted, even though these traits are not our nature. 

To share a little more about myself, without writing a novel, from the years 20015 to 2010, for a number of obscure and emotional reasons, I ran away. 

I disappeared. I left my family. I moved to a different state all alone and no one knew where I was for quite some time. Those years were both the worst and best of my life. Without my family I was so alone and so isolated that I sunk into a deep depression. I was so lost and contemplated ending my life on many occasions. However, that depression lead me to life saving therapy and a shift within me that allowed me to let people in more than I ever had done before. And, without my family, their comments, opinions and influence I was able to accomplish great things all by myself. 

Coming back to my family was ever harder than leaving. Each of them had mourned my leaving in their own way. Each of them had a Gemma sized hole to fill when I abruptly removed myself from their lives. They each missed me for their own reasons and had moved on. When I returned there were a lot of emotions swirling around with everyone. 

Coming back I knew my family loved me, but they weren't going to let me back into their world easily, they too had been hurt. So, for the past 5 years I have tiptoed around them, always feeling like the outsider at family gatherings. Watching my family embrace my husband and children fully but not quite there with me. 

I have been going through all the motions of being a family member without feeling like I truly belonged there.  I didn't act like 'myself.' It's hard to be 'you' when you feel like a third wheel in your own family. I thought I was doing this to allow them time to get to know me again, but the truth is, I didn't know who I was around them anymore. 

Through my own online course, 'Manifest Your Dream Life - The Power of Positivity, Visualization and More,' as well as some intense soul searching and introspection I have been able to reconnect with who I am and what makes me ME.

So, when posed with the question this morning of what I am thankful for this is my response:

Last night we had a family gathering for my Uncle's birthday. I had an amazing, empowering and awesome attitude about the whole thing. I, literally, said to myself, "FUCK IT!!! I'm ME. I love them all, I know they love me. But, if they're not going to like me, let them not like the REAL me." Last night I was 100%, all out, unapologetically ME. I danced with all the kids, I took them outside in the rain, I told loud funny stories, I asked people what they were up to (always felt like I should already know what my cousin's husbands were in school for or their wives did for a living, but I honestly did not know. I was afraid to ask.) And, you know what? They all looked at me differently. My cousins looked at me like they found me again, finally. It reminded me of that scene in the movie "Hook" when the lost boy grabbed Peter Pan's (played by Robin Williams) face and says, "Oh, there you are Peter." I was me again. I know I missed me and wonder if they did too. 

It was, for me, the best family gathering since 2005.
It felt amazing. I felt like me again.

So, I am thankful I'm finding ME again, unapologetically!

If you like what you just read please subscribe to this blog.
I'd love to connect with you on social media. You can find me on facebook (Gemma Rayne Fountain) and on Twitter (@GemmaRFountain) and my website, www.GemmaRayneFountain.com.

I blog about health, nutrition, fitness and finding happiness as a woman and as a mother. 

I'd love to hear your feedback, it gives me inspiration to keep on blogging so please comment below and share with friends you think might resonate with this blog. 

Thanks

~Gemma Rayne Fountain
Exercise Physiologist, Integrative Nutrition Health Coach & Fitness Expert.