Nikki Cheak (00:02.324)
Okay. Welcome back to Real Food, Real Energy, Real Life. And today we're going to be kicking off a brand new four part series called Feel Good Summer. And this series is honestly for you. If you're a mom that's juggling everything right now, you've got concerts and practices, field day signups, graduation preps, you're planning your summer camp calendar, right? You've got snacks and like your calendar probably looks like it's just honestly been hit with confetti canon.
And somewhere in the middle of all the chaos, you've probably had this thought. I'll just take care of myself when everything calms down. Okay. I'll figure it out when it all comes down. But I honestly, I'm going to challenge you on this because here's the thing that we don't talk about. And it's, if you're always waiting for life to slow down before you take care of yourself, you're always going to be waiting. And so I'm going to say that again. If you're always waiting,
for life to slow down before you take care of yourself, you're always gonna be waiting. And so this month, I'm gonna be walking you through four real life episodes with food shifts and mindset tweaks and energy habits that honestly don't require an overall, like an overnight overhaul, but are absolutely gonna help you feel like yourself again by the time June 1st comes. So today I'm gonna be sharing three things I'm personally doing this month to keep things simple, steady and.
honestly just to actually doable. Okay. So let's go ahead and jump in. the first thing is, you know,
Nikki Cheak (01:44.024)
Let me guess you've skipped a few meals lately and dinner's been the drive through more than you like. Your body feels off. You are bloated, you're tired, and you're maybe even a little bit snappy at your people. But deep down you're wondering, is this just how it's going to be right now? And why doesn't anything seem to work anymore? And honestly, it's even trying even worth it if I can't do it. And if you've had those thoughts going on in your brain, first of all, you're not alone.
And second of all, no, it's not you. You're not broken and things can work. And so we're going to shift that right now. And I'm going to start talking about some of the things that I'm doing this month and things that you can do too, because they are totally doable, even in the midst of all of the craziness that's going on in the month of May. And let's just be honest, May for moms is insane, right? We've got all of the things and it's like, it's called May-Sember now or something.
So let's talk about these. The first thing that I'm doing is I am going to break my fast with protein, not just with whatever's easy, okay? And I know that I've talked about protein before because it is so important. And maybe you've heard me say this or maybe you haven't, but I follow a 1410 intermittent fasting schedule. So I don't always eat like right when I wake up in the morning, but you know, here's what I've learned as a coach and as a mom.
how you break your fast matters way more than when you actually eat. Okay? So for years, I would wake up and I'd walk downstairs, like go hit the coffee pot, turn my Nespresso on, right? And I would grab my kids leftover waffles and just call it breakfast. Okay? Because it was easy. And because the kids were already asking for things and I was trying to get them out the door for school, right? But then by like,
10 o'clock, I was exhausted, I would crash and I honestly start snacking and then I'd snack all evening because I wasn't taking care of myself in the morning and then I'd be bloated before bed, right? So now I've truly make that first meal count. And so when I break my fast, usually between eight 30 and nine 30, I always do it with the following things. I'm always making sure that I have at least 30 grams of protein.
Nikki Cheak (04:09.646)
I always have healthy fats, some sort of healthy fat, fiber, absolutely fiber. And you know, this just tells my body like, okay, I've got you. Like I can, I am taking care of myself and I am preparing it for the day. And so just some things that I like to eat. I will make myself some chia seed pudding with almond butter and some berries.
Right? So that's got some protein. It's got some healthy fats. I always make sure if I'm making chia seed pudding, I add a scoop of protein in. And then I will do, you know, maybe some avocado toast with eggs and greens and a cottage cheese and berries or, or honestly, even I've done like chicken in the morning or leftover taco meat on top of eggs, but it's not about what you're eating.
Like if, yeah, you can have leftovers from dinner last night, but also it's about the fact that you're fueling your body the right way. Okay. And I always, always, every single morning when I break my fast and I'm having my, my meal, I'm also always having my cup of coffee. I've switched from having my coffee first thing to having my coffee when I break my fast and I always break it or I always have my coffee. I always put a scoop of protein powder in it.
Okay. So I'm getting between my breakfast and my protein. I'm probably getting 45 grams of protein, at least for breakfast in the morning. Okay. So I want you to think about what you're breaking your fast with right now. Like, what are you having your for breakfast? Okay. And how does it make you feel a couple hours later? So think about that. Notice that over the next few days, as you're waking up, as you're eating breakfast, really think about it and notice it. Okay. Moving on.
Habit number two that I am really leaning into is ditching the all or nothing movement mentality. Okay. Here's the thing guys. we're going to talk about workouts because it's something that so many of us put off. and if you're anything like I used to be, your brain tells you if you can't do a full hour long workout, it doesn't count. If you can't commit to five days a week, why should you start? But here's what I want you to imagine. I want you to picture a mom.
Nikki Cheak (06:30.528)
Okay, let's just call her Brooke. She is a busy mom. She's juggling multiple kids with multiple sports practices, work meetings, grocery pickups, meal preps. Okay. She's trying to kind of be a superhero, but she is the hero in this story. Okay. And today let's just say she laces up her sneakers and she walks for 12 minutes at her son's soccer game, soccer practice. Okay. That's not just a walk. That's her building momentum.
That's her telling herself, I matter even in the middle of all of this craziness. And what I want you to know is that you don't need a perfect routine. Okay. You just need a pattern that keeps you moving. And in this six week reset, I teach these shorter workouts, right? We work through smaller workouts that are actually going to support fat loss and your hormones without wrecking your energy. In fact, you're going to feel even so much better after, but even outside the gym, 10 minutes of walking counts.
Squats like I'll stand up and you know, I've worked from home for 15 years, but I will stand up and I will do squats For 30 seconds. Okay, or 10 squats, right every hour. I've done that so many times because it just is movement Stretching before bed like all of these things count So think about it for a second What would you change if your movement wasn't if your movement goal just wasn't ideal? But actually just what can I do this week? Okay
What can I focus on this week to move forward? Third habit that I am really leaning into, especially in the month of May, is making dinner a no-brainer, okay? And this is, I often hear this so much when I've talked to my moms or when I talk to friends. It's like I had every intention to eat well, but dinner just like flatlined me. It took me out, okay? You had a plan, but then someone had to practice. You forgot to thaw the chicken and...
Maybe you end up in Chick-fil-A drive through for like the third time this week. I mean, it's happened to all of us, right? But here's what I want you to know. You're not the problem. The expectation is. Okay. Doesn't dinner doesn't have to be like this gourmet over the top thing. And I know that if you're like me, your kids, before they even go to school, before they even have eaten their breakfast, they're asking you what's for dinner. Okay. And so.
Nikki Cheak (08:56.342)
I want you to remember that the things that are sometimes the most boring are actually the best for you. And that's okay. You can make it fun. You can make it different ways. But what's saving me right now is crock pots, crock pot recipes I can throw in at eight o'clock in the morning, protein that I can prep ahead of time. I, a lot of times, will throw in some chicken into the instant pot on a Sunday.
and I will shred it with my Vitamix, okay? And I will have some chicken for the entire week. So easy. Honestly, it takes less than 30 minutes to do all of it. Stick it in the fridge, have it for the week. I can make some taco meat and have that for the week or just plain ground beef and then you can season it when you use it. So these are just some different things that you can do to prepare ahead of time that don't take a lot of time. And then, you know, there's always a couple of no recipe recipes that I rotate in all the time.
But when I don't have to think about dinner, when I, you know, and I kind of get to that 5 p.m., like I'm not panicking and I stop that 5 p.m. panic spiral. And honestly, the freedom, that food freedom matters just as much as the food, okay? So if dinner is the hardest part of your day, I want you to grab my Crock-Pot Meal Guide in the show notes and it's gonna be really focused on real food, okay? Protein and.
It's going to require, it's going to help you get rid of that decision fatigue, honestly, because decision fatigue is making a lot of things just even worse. Okay. So I want you to zoom out for a second. If may feels like chaos, because honestly it is, it really, really is here is your simplified game plan. You're going to break your fast with protein fiber. Okay. Those are non-negotiables. You're going to move your body in a way that works for you and not somebody else's plan, because of what you're doing is building momentum.
Okay. You're building momentum and I want you to take the pressure off dinner and make it easier to win. Okay. Grab that crock pot guide. So this is how you shift the trajectory of your week. This is how you feel better and you don't burn out. Okay. They're small. There's, you know, there, there are things that you can do and you know, that's how we move forward. So I want you to go in to the show notes, grab that crock pot guide. Trust me. You'll thank me later.
Nikki Cheak (11:22.636)
And then if you want something more structured, but it's not overwhelming, go ahead and check out the six week reset. And please, please, please share this with a mom friend who's also running on empty right now, because my goal is to reach as many moms as I possibly can to let them know that taking care of themselves and feeling good isn't just something that you can put off, but it's something that you can do now. And then I would love it if you would leave a quick review if this episode helped you at all today.
because honestly it helps more women find the support that they need and get through this crazy mom life but still feel good doing it. Also make sure you hit follow so that you don't miss part two of the Feel Good Summer series coming up next Monday. And if today's episode gave you even one idea that makes your week easier, I want you to run with it because honestly this season is not about doing everything, it's about doing things that actually are gonna help and move the needle. So until next time.
You've got this and I am right here with you.
