Join The Connection with Heather Palmer

by Heather

What kind of habits could you start &/or break in 4 weeks? Think of eating, mindset, balance between all the things we ladies do in a day, just imagine what could happen in 4 weeks.

This spring is your chance to go all in for 4 weeks, this is your chance to join the connection with Heather Palmer ( aka me).

Join the Connection with Heather Palmer

With so much going on in your life, it’s hard to find time to be good to yourself. That’s why Jericho McMatthews and Elise Joan created a program designed to bring more balance and joy into your life—and help you get in great shape. FIRE AND FLOW takes the stress out of getting healthy and fit. For 4 weeks, you’ll alternate between Jericho’s high-intensity strength and
cardio FIRE workouts and Elise’s low-impact, body-shaping FLOW workouts. Each one is only 25–30 minutes. The goal is to work you out, not burn you out!
By the end, Jericho and Elise will help train your body to be active, as well as help train your mind to embrace new opportunities, release anxiety, and quiet the self-judgment.

We will also be learning & applying how to reduce inflammation in our bodies with foods to rid our bodies of the bloat, gas, irregular bowel movements that will help with better moods & sleep & energy.

What makes FIRE AND FLOW unique?

• Workouts are only 25–30 minutes, 6 days a week, with 1 rest day.
• The unique schedule alternates high-intensity FIRE days with low impact FLOW days to help you go hard but have enough time to help you recover and feel rejuvenated.
• Show yourself major love with the FIRE AND FLOW 4-Week Journal. Containing 5-minute self-care prompts and a handy habit tracker, this journal is part inspiration, part creator of healthy routines. Fill it out daily to hype you up and give your mental health a boost!
• The program also includes 4 FIRE and 4 FLOW bonus workouts that focus on abs, glutes, arms, and flexibility. These can be stacked onto any workout.

What are the FIRE AND FLOW workouts like?

• Jericho’s strength and cardio FIRE workouts help sculpt muscle, boost your metabolism, carve definition, and torch calories through metabolic conditioning.
• Elise’s FLOW workouts are important to your fitness and recovery—they bring balance to your workout routine by helping you build core strength, improve mobility and stability, and reduce stress.
• Workouts include modifiers and intensifiers. Whether you’re just getting back into working out or you crave a hardcore sweat, FIRE AND FLOW lets you do you.
• Equipment needs: light, medium, and heavy dumbbells and Resistance Loops ( you can order the loops through me)
• Optional equipment: mat

Nutrition is KEY and we will be tackling this head on. We will learn what foods can cause inflammation & bloat. We will learn how to eat and when. Recipes & more out the wazoo for you.

What's Included

Access to the Fire & Flow workouts along with membership to the full library for 12 months
me 1:1 for coaching & support.
Access to a private group for community & encouragement, a journal for mindset, and more…
A kickstart at healthier eating habits that start with learning what foods cause discomfort, bloat & gas
The possibility of weight loss
A greater shift in your mindset on your being as a whole.

KEY DATES!

I will be hosting 2 separate private groups. Join 1 or both.

TEST GROUP WITH HEATHER

Prep week starts Monday, May 30 and will run for 5 weeks

VIP GROUP WITH HEATHER

Prep week begins June 27 and will run for 5 weeks

You are going to click this button below, which will open up a google form, fill it out for prices, dates, access to the sample workout when it comes equipment, goals, to be put on the must have it now list & I will be in touch with all the details.

Lifestyle

Pre Baby Body? No Thank You!

by Heather

I was pregnant, twice in my 30’s, and all I heard through out both pregnancies is – don’t worry your body will come back. It’s only for a year. Well – it’s been 11 years since my last baby and I am still waiting for that pre baby body to return. Or am I? Pre Baby Body? No Thank You! This post is about my mind shift change on my body after baby.

Pre Baby Body? No Thank You!

I have learned a hard lesson. My physical body is always changing. I was a chunky baby, applauded for rolls on rolls. Then as a child I was way underweight & was told my mother was starving me as I was too thin. Then puberty hit – let’s not go there today. Every day something literally changes with my body. Then at around 16 I’m comfortable in my skin. And I think I am done with the changes. Wow I was wrong. Between 18-24 it’s like puberty all over again. I like to call this phase my growing into my adult body. But I didn’t handle those changes well, in walked an eating disorder. But around age 25 I was settled with what I looked like, I liked what I saw in the mirror & was content. Then I hit 30. there should be a book about this. Some kind of warning signal that at this wonderful age EVERYTHING changes again. I started putting on some weight, i wasn’t as active and boom – I am pregnant.

All through my first pregnancy I was told don’t worry about gaining weight, you will bounce back. You will get your before baby body back. Nourish your baby. Take care of yourself, it’s only for a year. the weight will drop off after. and on and on the lies went. Well, at the time I had no clue they were lies. But the impression was on my brain. So when my 11 pound, 24 inch baby was born – every day I awoke with the anticipation of a child on Christmas to see if my pre-baby body had returned.

Pre Baby Body? No Thank You!

It took me 2 years to lose the baby weight from my first pregnancy. No one told me how hard it would be, I went from a negative double A in bra to a double D and that was a whole new ball of wax for me. But on that journey I couldn’t help by notice the body I had, 2 years post partum was in no way a resemblance of the body I had before baby. But I couldn’t dwell on that too long as I was pregnant again. And for a whole 9 months the same lies were told to me about how easy it would be to get my pre baby body back. So when my baby was born, I was eager to begin the work to get my pre baby body back as I was done having children.

Now many of you know my story of how it took me 7 years post baby to lose the weight. How it was about hormones out of balance and how I corrected it with food. I will save those details for another day if you are new here. But …. I lost 45 pounds and something in me wasn’t right.

See that picture, the one right above. That is me January 2018, I had lost 45 pounds, balanced my hormones, the scale read the same as before pregnancy #1 – but what stared back at me in the mirror WAS NOT the same body I had back in 2006 – before baby. Where was my pre-baby body? Can I get a refund? What went wrong? My stomach used to be flat. I never had rolls. My breasts were perky. My skin wasn’t saggy, WHAT WENT WRONG?

Pre Baby Body? No Thank You!

And this is the lesson I had to learn. My body before baby was gone. That body does not exist anymore. See, my body will always show the proof that it housed 2 babies. I can never have a prebaby body as I have had babies. It was a hard lesson, a hard mind shift change & it took me a while to get it. What I had to come to realize is that I now had a clean slate. A brand new white board to write all over. I now had a day 1 to start a new journey. A new story. And this time I was in charge.

I get to dictate my weight, the size of my thighs, how heavy I can lift, I get to create the image that will stare back at in my mirror. And this will be, it has been, a journey I have loved. I have shared most of my adventure on my Instagram account & you can catch it there.

And… when you are ready to begin your journey – I am only a message away.

So, if you scroll back to the top of this post.. you will see me today, actually this morning, checking out my booty gains. I like my body now, it housed 2 babies, been through a ton and is stronger, leaner & more badass then ever.

Here is my secret. I have been consistently consistent since day 1 of this journey loving myself. I workout 20-45 minutes a day, maybe 4-5 times a week from home, I have a system in place to hold me accountable, I have created a community of like minded women to push me on my hard days & I have learned to eat foods that serve me & not bring guilt & shame.

You are never too old to begin. I am 47 & I am only just beginning to create a body I will live with through till old age.

Pre-baby body? no thank you! I like my body after baby way better!

Lifestyle, Virtual Fit Gym

We All Have the Same 24 Hours

by Heather

We All Have the Same 24 Hours

I did it! I completed my 7th workout program this year. This one was by far the hardest I have done to date. 13 weeks. 90 days. And yes I am stinking proud of myself. And this post is going to slap you in the face. Tough love time. If you can’t handle the heat, leave the kitchen now. You have been warned. See…. we all have the same 24 hours. It’s what you choose to do with them that counts.

This program wasn’t about developing show muscles, or losing weight. It was for me about strengthening my flexibility, mobility, range of motion & tackling the inner dark parts of my mental health.

I started this program August 9, 2021 and here we are on November 6th, 2021 and I am done. I mentioned in my IG stories today that all the people who were watching me then are still watching me today & this could be their celebration if they had said yes to their health.

We All Have the Same 24 Hours

I was so stoked to start this program. I had asked a lot of people to join me and many said no. The top reasons were:

I don’t have the time to commit
I have a physical limitation
It looks too hard

Well.. now here is the part of this post where it gets tough. So … I am warning you now.. leave if you can’t handle some tough love.

It was not hard. Our bodies will only go where our minds go. I had to trust my trainer, trust the process and trust my body would respond in ways it was designed to. And yes my body delivered. Disfunctions I never knew existed in my shoulders & hips were pointed out & corrected. This program got easier because my mobility got better. And it pains me to hear women talk down about themselves. Sweetheart – you are so much stronger then you give yourself credit for!

We all Have the Same 24 Hours

Physical limitation? Um.. I have no meniscus in my left knee, that means it is 100% bone on bone in that leg. PAIN CITY EVERY DAY. So yes, some moves I had to modify and that is a-ok. I live with chronic pain of degenerative osteoarthritis in that leg on top of that pain. This program took the exercises that physical therapists use in rehab and reverse engineered it to make it preventive. Work on that mobility so you won’t injure yourself. And yes I am stronger in my leg as a result of this.

The #1 reason for people not joining me was time. They all said they didn’t have the time. Yet somehow… each of those persons found the time EVERY SINGLE day to watch my progress on my Instastories. The average person spends 145 minutes a day on social media. I only asked for 45 of those minutes a day.

Some said the commit of 13 weeks was too much as they had too much going on in their life. (insert big sigh) My life has been crazy. The last 13 weeks have been insane. Let me breakdown the stresses I faced in the last 90 days. Not to brag.. but to show you we all have the same 24 hours and how we use them tells a story.

Since August 9th I have had to deal with:

Back to school rush with 2 kids ( Middle & Jr High School)
Back to work routine
The stress of the 4th Covid Wave
The first day back to work 2 parents threatened me
I have had sick kids with vomit on my bus
My bus broke down on a highway with kids present
I had a stalker follow my route one morning in the dark
Almost been hit by multple deer
2 children were suspended off my bus in the first week back to school
It’s sooo dark when I leave I stress over the safety of each child boarding my bus
My hubby had a birthday
We had Thanksgiving AND Halloween
I had breast surgery in which a lump was removed & I had the post surgery recovery to deal with
My daughter made Comp Crew for karate which added 2 extra nights out to our already 3 nights out a week for karate and now takes one Saturday a month out
I had a bout of food poisoning
An IBS flare up as well

And I know I am forgetting more.. but you get my point. LIFE IS CRAZY. Life will never slow down, there will never be a right time, a better time or a calmer time. EVER.

And to add in the mental struggle of showing up. I was not motivated every single day of the last 90. There were day’s I went back & forth listing every reason to NOT workout. But when I have goals to be a better human. Learn how to show up better in life. This space I give myself every day to workout is where I can put those tools to practice. If I can prove to myself I can do pushups or cleans or over head carries I can do the hard things in life. I said yes on August 9, and here we are 90 days later. The time was going to go by anyways. Least with me saying yes to myself, I don’t regret where I am today and that is in a different space, better body then I was 13 weeks ago.

If you don’t make the time for your health today. You will soon be forced to make time for your illness tomorrow. #enoughsaid

Lifestyle

Easy Summer Morning Routine

by Heather

Whether you are a morning person or not, I have found 4 simple tasks I do each morning during the summer to help me wake up, prepare my body for the day & to get my mind set on the positive. Here is my Easy Summer Morning Routine.

4 Easy Tasks to do Every Morning

Now don’t get me wrong, I am like every other human out there. My alarm goes off, I hit snooze a few times lie in bed procrastinating whether I should get up or not and my bladder usually wins that battle.

That battle in my mind has set me up for the day. A day of procrastination, doubt & laziness. This summer I have found 4 simple tasks to do right after I pee that has set my day up for success. Mindset is everything and it is soooo connected to my body. When both my mind & body are in harmony I can move about my day without worry, without stiffness and I can be calm & relaxed no matter what my day unfolds. Here is my Easy Summer Morning Routine.

Easy Summer Morning Routine

After the bladder is happy I head to the kitchen. I use room temperature water and fill an 8oz glass. I squeeze 1/4 lemon slice juice into, add a pinch of pink Himalayan salt & head outside.

You have just gone 6-10 hours without water (you were sleeping) and you are dehydrated. Your body went to repair mode while you slept & during that process puts the garbage into your system to be evacuated so help it along with a glass of water. And it’s 8oz towards your daily goal intake done!! Room Temperature so it doesn’t shock your system with being too cold or hot. Lemon is great for vitamin C and has many cancer fighting properties. The Himalayan salt to replenish your electrolytes you lost while you sleep. And please don’t use processed table salt. Get the good stuff – it really does the body good.

Now grab your phone or mp3 player. Put on a good tune and head outside. The sooner you can get natural day light onto you the better. (this is why this is my “summer” routine, you will have to come back later for my winter one). If you are like me sleep is hard. The amount, length of and quality is not great so helping my circadian rhythm aids in tonight’s sleep being better. Our bodies have an internal system that regulates sleep & wake cycles and the lack of natural light can off set this system. So the sooner you can get natural daylight on you the better. 3-5 minutes each morning is great!

I have my phone with me to play my favorite tune and while the sun lands on me I bounce ( dance like a crazy perso) on the balls of my feet for the duration of that song. This wakes up my lympatic system. The good tunes always puts me in a good mood.

"The lymph fluid cannot move on its own. It moves as a result of your body movements. Bouncing helps to open and close the one way valves of the lymph ducts to allow free flowing removal of waste. This is important because when toxins build up in your body you will have reduced energy levels".

Now I prefer to do this bare footed. I am usually checking in on my garden during this time. You know making sure the pumpkin flowers need help in pollinating, seeing what veggies are ready to harvest & just to be grounded, also called earthling. This electrically connects me to the earth. The benefits help my sleep patterns, my energy levels, can reduce inflammation & helps promote better blood flow.

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There you have it, my 4 easy tasks to an easy summer morning routine.

Implementing these 4 things into my morning each day this summer has helped my mood, energy levels, hormones & over all total wellness. Connect with me on Social Media & let me know if you tried any of these Easy Summer Morning Routine and how do you feel!

Lifestyle

Are You Up For It?

by Heather

In my experience with working with people on their health journey, the #1 reason why people stop & start all the time is lack of accountability. They think they can’t, begin to believe it & stop showing up to make it work. When I created a path of accountability for me – that was the end of the yo-yo. It’s been 4 years & counting for me. So this spring i want to offer you the ultimate challenge that comes with accountability up the wazoo. Are you up for it?

This is not a physical transformation group, this is all about mental toughness, designed to develop all of the characteristics you lack in life that have landed you where you are at today.

There are 5 activities you must complete each day for 75 days. If you alter, forget, justify an excuse to not do one or more then tomorrow you start over at day 1. Now, I have been following people online for the last year who have been doing this challenge & most have to restart multiple times because of the lack of accountability with themselves & the lack of community to help.

I don’t know about you, but I am ready to push myself & see what I am truly made of.

The daily tasks are this:

Follow a diet, any way of eating but you must stick to it 100% so that means no cheats, no sneaks, no falling off the wagon
You must drink 1 gallon of water every day.
You must complete two 45 minute workouts a day and one must be outdoors
Take a progress photo of yourself every day
Read from a book ( no audio or podcasts allowed) 10 pages of personal development.

That’s it. It’s not really that hard when you think about it. But doing it alone can seem daunting, difficult & yes scary.

Are You Up For It?

Now here is what I am offering up.

I will host an online accountability group for the duration of the challenge. Day 1 will be May 1, 2021 sooooooo.. that means April is prep month. I want you to succeed, I want you to come out on day 75 amazing. That means I will work with you 1:1 on getting your water intake up now so a gallon won’t be hard work. I want to help you design a fitness plan – even if that means walking, let’s do it. AND of course eating. I will eat the HUTT way with macro counting and will work with you on how you want to eat & teach you how so when May comes you are set.

I am not making any money off of hosting this challenge. This is just me being me, wanting to work with you to better yourself. And yes I plan on doing this along side you. If you are willing to give everything you got then you need to join me.

Don’t think about what you would be giving up. Think of what you will gain:

confidence
grit
belief in yourself
fortitude
endurance
perseverance
a drive to win

I can help with tools if you don’t have a fitness plan, a way of eating plan. And I thought it would be sooo cool if we all read the same book so we could use our group as an online book club too!

If you are ready – Let’s go… the only catch is you must be over 18 years & live somewhere in Canada, USA, UK or France for the app we will use to host the group.

Send me an email right now to heathersrunningdiary@gmail.com with the subject line 75HARD and let’s begin the path together.

Lifestyle

Pride is the Original Sin

by Heather

I get asked a lot how I stay motivated. How do I keep going day after day, week after week, year after year. How have I stayed on track, kept the weight off and still remain positive. The secret lies in accountability. And in this one action, human nature is displayed in full effect. Pride is the original sin.

Let Me Explain

As a health coach, one of the tools in my bag is ACCOUNTABILITY. Not to be confused with babysitter or hand holding. My story is 7 years it took me to lose 50 pounds. I remember it was April of 2017 I created my Instagram account as a means to stay accountable. I figured someone somewhere would notice if I didn’t post that day and call me out. I needed that level of support to keep me going. It is hard work doing it alone. I had no friends on the weight loss journey I was on, I had no weekly meetings to attend or someone to talk to. I was alone. But somewhere I thought I could do it on my own, without help, my way on my terms. How hard can losing weight really be? HA HA HA, I have to laugh at myself IT IS FRIGGIN HARD WORK!

I talk all the time about online accountability groups I host. And in 2018 I found out for the first time what this is. I was excited that I wouldn’t be alone on this journey. I had other people all with the same end goal. GET HEALTHY & STAY HEALTHY. Virtual cheerleaders from all over the country supporting, encouraging, being there for me. It was wonderful. I talk about this all the live long day as it’s a great tool. But it saddens me when I invite a woman who immediately says NO. I used to take it personally, but then I have to remember where I was just a few short years prior.

Pride is the Original Sin

I was listening to a live call the other day from a fellow lady on her health journey. And she was sharing her story from unwell to health. She started with these tools back when all the programs were on DVD’s. And the coach that was assigned to her ( you get one free when you purchase a product) invited her to join an accountability group she was hosting. This lady, said NO. Looking back she said it was because she was afraid of failing with someone knowing. She was afraid of falling of the wagon (again) and being ashamed. If she was going to fail, she wanted to do it on her own terms. She realized one day that her pride was standing in the way of her achieving great things. Her health being #1. When she got out of her own way. Said yes to the accountability, yes to being open, honest & willing to support other woman along the way – well that is when change happened. And here she is today, healthy, maintaining her health & earning an income for her family.

I see this all too many times myself. Some how we think we can do it alone, but we aren’t telling ourselves the real reason. We are letting our pride stand in the way of us being all we can be. Pride is the original sin.

When I was carrying around that extra baby weight that would not come off. I was ashamed. I was embarrassed. I would hide under layers of clothes to hide the rolls, I would only show my head in photos not my clothed body. I hated that people saw me as over weight. I hated the judgement I THOUGHT they were projecting onto me. Oh she over eats, she is lazy, she is…blah blah blah. NOOOOO, that was all me. My thoughts, my negative self telling me that is what people were thinking.

Ladies, if you are carrying extra weight I will bet you dollars to donuts it’s not because you are over eating. Let me tell you my story in a nut shell:

My Story in a Nutshell

I had my last child spring of 2010. I was cleared to lose the “baby weight” at the 6 month post partum time frame. I had a challenging recovery.

From Fall of 2010 to spring of 2017 I did all of the following to lose the weight:

all the cardio
counted calories
joined Weight Watchers (I gained 15lbs with them)
Joined Curves & worked out every business day for a whole year (only lost the 15lbs I gained on WW)
I wrapped myself in wraps to lose fat
I used every fat burning cream I could get
I did diet pills, fat burners
I think I even tried the Special K cereal diet
I tried Slim Fast
Meal replacement shakes & starvation

I DID IT ALL. I can’t count how many times I tried, failed & tried again. I was almost at my giving up, breaking point when I found ACCOUNTABILITY. My story is true that pride is the original sin. Our Pride, our ego’s always hold us back from great things.

The weight came off & has never returned. It’s a lifestyle.

So, the next time I invite you to join me. It’s not out of judgment or shame. It’s because I see my old self in you. It’s ok to be lost. It’s ok to have tried everything. It’s ok to rest. Accountability is what has kept me going since 2017. The weight hasn’t come back, I have some great new friends in my life, an online community that motivates & inspires me daily. If it weren’t for them I might have quit. But I had to get over myself. Admit doing it on my own isn’t working as well as I had hoped and that I needed help.

When you hang out with eagles you will learn to soar! Trust me.