Happy New Year to my beautiful FFC community!

It has been a wonderful year.

I launched MarlaMeridith.com on June 25th this year.  It has been a vibrant six months full of learning and creating a fabulous online community.  FFC has been a wonderful way to inspire myself, while inspiring others.  It is great to be creative again!   Coming up with original art, photos, recipes and editorial content for you guys is such a big part of my world.  I am grateful for this opportunity.

Each day presents itself with unique challenges and hurtles that I strive to overcome.  Trying to find and maintain daily balance in work, play, mothering, exercise, blogging and living is serious business.  It is a full time job….but I LOVE IT!!

Now that we have blown through another year we have time to reflect on what is working for us in our lives and what is not.  It is time to take a personal inventory.  You might want to create a list of goals for the new year?  Maybe you need to make some slight tweaks, perhaps some larger modifications?  How do you feel when you wake up in the morning?  Energized or still groggy?  A clean, healthy breakfast consumed within one hour of waking up can help with that.  What about throughout the day?  Do you have loads of energy dips and crashes?  Is it hard to stay awake?  Do you feel icky after certain meals?

Stay tuned to MarlaMeridith.com and I will help you find and restore energy…….through creative, healthy recipes that work for me and my family.  Not only should your meals taste great, you should never feel deprived.  Food is one of life’s most greatest pleasures.

As a fit foodie mom of two wife to one, I will continue to provide you with inspiration this 2010!

Each one of you need to find what works best for you.  How lean do you want to be?  Perhaps you want a lot less body fat and a lot more lean muscle mass.  Mindful eating, portion control and exercise can get you there.  Each of these components work together to create balance, there is a synergy with the two.  We can’t workout hard and expect to eat whatever we want.  I have tried this and trust me, it does not work!!  I call it the

Workout-Pig Out-Guilty Need to Workout Again syndrome….a VERY vicious cycle.

Inevitably, you feel depleted and icky.  It will be hard to manage moods and your life with this sort of routine.  Back when I was marathon training (when I most needed extra clean and healthy calories) I would deprive myself of good fats.  My body would then crave calorie over load in the form of  fat and sugar.  I was constantly on the quest for a quick fix.  Usually by the time the afternoon rolled around I felt zapped of energy and entitled to some huge calorie ridden dessert.  And I would have it.  Then I wouldn’t feel so good.

Today I don’t want to live bound like that.  I never want to feel deprived and I don’t want to binge on sugar.  It is not worth it!!  Of course I have occasional goodies, usually in the form of Layer Cake. On the average I have a treat a few times a month, it is whatever I want it to be.  I LOVE to thoroughly enjoy my occasional indulgence.  Remember, I said balance and not deprivation.

Here I am going to publicly declare some of my New Year’s resolutions with you, my dear readers!  This will help keep me accountable for my actions.  Perhaps we can share some resolutions together!

• I will stick with my 6 mini meals per day.  They keep me strong and help prevent energy crashes.
• I will limit refined sugars and when I do indulge (which I will!) I will try to stick to a mindful portion size.
• I will continue to inspire others to live a clean, healthy, yummy life!
• I will provide continuous love and support to my friends and family.
• I will be the best mom, wife and daughter I can be.
• I will let go of attachments.  This will help keep my mind clear of debris.
• I will be treat my body and mind with kindness.
• I will be gentle with myself and others.
• I will choose my words wisely.
• I will listen and learn daily.
• I will not take things personally.
• I will not make assumptions.
• One day at a time, I will strive to always do my best.

Wave Bye, Bye to Dips and Crashes

I used to have huge dips and crashes throughout the day.  I found it hard to achieve balance.  I tried high carb, very low carb, too low fat, way too much sugar, too much exercise, too little exercise.  Basically a huge gamut of things that did not really work.  My energy levels were difficult to sustain throughout the day until I got the energy in vs. energy out ratio right.

I eat 6 Mini Meals per day and I exercise.  The fun part about mini meals is in two to three hours you get to eat again!  Mini meals help sustain your energy throughout the day.  Some days my exercise is more intense than others.  I make slight caloric adjustments depending on how much exercise I have done.  I usually move my body for about 45 minutes. Three to four days a week is usually weight lifting and the other days are a walk or other light cardio.

When we travel, I only like to go places where we can exercise out doors: skiing, hiking, swimming, surfing.  At the very least, the fitness center needs to be close by.  My preferred workouts are outdoors, where they feel like “play” not “work.”

Staying On Track

We want to leave a meal not feeling full and bloated.  The rule of thumb is when you are done with a meal you should feel like you could still eat more……but hold right there.  Do not eat more! Otherwise, your energy levels will get all busted up when you otherwise might not want them too.

I read a fabulous quote the other day that went something like this:

“Trying to find things to do in between meals!”

That would be me, you too???

I love to eat, but let’s do it mindfully and respect our bodies!

Let’s work together to get it right in 2010.

Together we will find a healthy, happy balance!