My world has changed, transformed and improved over the very short course of the last two weeks.

My disconnect from posting has not been with the intent of leaving you hanging…as a matter of fact I am pretty sure you have been seeing what I have been up to if you have been paying attention to my Facebook wall.

I am going to spend this week giving you the updates on where I have been and where I am going.

Most importantly on where I hope you will travel with me.

A journey. A movement that is changing the world. Your world and the one around you.

I am going to share with you first the challenge that myself and other members of the FTR Nation embarked on last week.

I am sharing this with you for two reasons…

1) To demonstrate with you that we are all human. Being vulnerable, fearful and enduring growing pains is part of the evolution of life.

2) In the hopes that as a How Does She Do It Mom you will embrace the concept and challenge yourself this week.

Here is the challenge…

The FTR Creed….

• Today I will be audacious.
• Today I will declare and proclaim.
• Today I will be authentic.
• Today I will see myself and others.
• Today I will be a nexus.
• Today I will cultivate my legacy.
• Today I will follow a Kaizen path.

For all the detail on how to embark on the 7 day Challenge check out Brian’s post.

To see how it changed my life watch these two videos below…Choose to change your life today.

Day 1…Of the 7 Day Challenge

Day 7…Of the Challenge…my life changed (yes in 7 days)

PS: I have NEVER shown this much vulnerablity in my life…let alone on camera to the world wide web. If I can do it so can you.

A couple of months ago, if you would have asked me what I was proud of… I would have answered anything and everything to do with my kids.

Today, I still am proud of my kids and will always be, but I am proud of who I am and what I have been doing to find who I was before my kids became a part of my world.

Me.

My interest; my passions.

To be honest, I suffered way to long at just being a mom and living through my kids. Don’t think they aren’t my pride and joy, they are,  but I put myself on hold too long.

I went through a hard postpartum and was at the point of questioning everything in my life. Things that always seemed so important to me just became a duty.

I went to work every day.

Played with my kids.

Talked with my husband… but I was not there anymore.

It was like I was an outsider starring at my family and seeing time fly by.

I didn’t do anything with passion anymore… just enough to get by.

I always wanted a career… I had that career.

I always wanted to have a family… I had that family.

Funny how, I had gotten what I wanted but took it all for granted.

I was just not happy anymore. Negative. Things were truly falling apart.

I took made a decision with my husband to stop work and stay at home with my children because I wanted time with them but the most important in this was to find myself.

Carrie seemed to have slipped into my world at this very moment.

Every time I read her blog posts, I felt shivers.

Here was someone that seemed to speak the exact thing that I had been feeling for so long but the difference between her and I. She acted on this feeling and changed her world.

A true inspiration to me, I started reading How Does She Do It Mom and slowly became a part of her movement, Mom Fitness Makeover.

At first, I was a little scared and that’s why I only took baby steps into her revolution.

Scared of what? The unknown.

I was always skinny before my kids and I have battled with my weight since my first pregnancy. I thought that my weight was the only problem but after I started coaching with Carrie just in the last month…I am a new person.

I, like most other mothers, put my life and my interests on hold for the well being of my kids.

Now today I look at the situation from a different perspective, I was always there for my kids and provided them what they needed but put myself on hold.

I want my kids to grow up and be confident in whatever they do; to have passions and how best to provide these opportunities to them than by showing them that I have interests and passions too.

I have a life.

I am their mother but I am also Lorie.

Opportunities seem to be knocking at my door.

I always wanted to write and well 2 weeks ago a journalist position became available at the Family resource centre on the base. I jumped on this opportunity. I am still nervous about it but I take it in strides because the minute I start writing it all seems natural.

My self confidence is soaring and I have come to realize that it wasn’t my weight the problem.

It was my whole thinking.

I was hard on myself and have come to realize that you attract what you put out into the world.

Carrie has asked me to have a gratitude journal and well my post for today is that I am grateful to embark on this train to regain my self-confidence and to have had Carrie slip into my world to inspire me.

Last week I was rather quiet here on my blog. I left you a little bit of a teaser as to what I was up to but today I have a much more in depth explanation.

How Does She Do It Mom is about living your dreams, pursuing your passions and inspiring change. Which is exactly why my fit into “FTR Nation” was both natural and exciting.

You might now realize it yet but in being a HDSDIM you are in fact also a Free Thinking Renegade…without question.

Take a look at the video that we shot last week about “who we are” and see how it resonnates with you and your life.

I am beyond intrigued to know your thoughts…so please share your comments below.

What do you do when you have two people who are seemingly working towards the same goal but are building seperate roads?

Option 1: To keep building seperately and take twice as long to get there.

Option 2: To join forces and build at a more rapid pace.

My mission is simple in life (not small however)…to change the world.

Anybody who knows anything about changing the world knows that it is no small feat and without question a journey that is better travelled with others.

About four weeks ago FTR Nation (The Free-Thinking Renegade Nation) was incepted. Brian the “Idea Genuis” behind the vision and Donovan Owens the “Thechinical Genius” have been building what I quickly came to recognize would be a worldwide movement…sweeping the nation and inspiring change.

In a few short weeks it became crystal clear to me that our missions were one in the same. Mine is simply different as it is centralized around Moms.

Trusting my gut as you have come to know is something I take very seriously.

When my insides started stirring I knew I had to start assessing.

After some good hard thought and consideration I made the desicion to join the FTR Nation.

Don’t fret this is not with the intention of abandonning How Does She Do It Mom…not in the least.

This is going to be a catalyst for H-Mom and you as well.

As you watch the growth of FRT Nation and my role in it you will beleive more than you may have ever before, that you really can do anything.

How Does She Do It Mom won’t change.

Mom Fitness Makeover will still be out there.

Coaching women and inspiring change is still at the forefront.

Ladies we now have a bigger voice…a bigger audience….a grander source of inspiration.

Change the world today….start with you.

How Does She Do It Mom – “The Voice Of The Woman You Used To Be…And Are Looking For”

That headline for this post is also what makes up the quote that sits on the wall opposite me while I work every day.

Today in particular it strikes me as even more profound.

My life has been a process of evolution and growth.

I change and grow and learn new things about myself with each passing year.

I have not found myself yet.

Simply because I morph into a new person with each new phase.

I am sharing this with you today because I have made, discovered and found a new path that is leading me in a slightly different direction than the course that I was on two weeks ago.

A change the world decision…looking forward to sharing it with you all in weeks to come.

How Does She Do It Mom – “The Voice Of The Woman You Used To Be – And Are Looking For”

I am a mother.

I am a fiancee.

I am a daughter.

I am a sister.

But those aren’t the mere definitions of me..

I am a business owner.

I am a blogger.

I am a writer.

I am a model.

I am a creative director on photo shoots.

I am a make-up artist.

I am a life coach.

I am a personal trainer.

I am an “inspirational” speaker.

I am (was) a fitness competitor.

I am a photographer.

I am a dancer.

I am sure the list is longer.

You may be thinking that is too many “I am’s”.

Here is what that long list makes me….

A better mother…one who can role model to her children how to live, how to breathe happiness and love.

A better fiance…one who can love wholly and give all of herself to the man I am blessed to share this life with.

A better person…

Who are you?

What defines the person that you look at in the mirror each morning?

If you can’t get past a list that includes the first four and maybe the addition of your job, you need to start working on you.

The woman who was there before all the others.

The woman who wants to be better for herself and the ones she loves.

I dare you to sit down and start your list today.

If the woman in you is no where to be found…lets start looking for her.

Become the woman you were meant to be….

How Does She Do It Mom – “The Voice Of The Woman You Used To Be…And Are Looking For”

PS: To all my Mom Fitness Makeover‘s out there please take a moment to share your list with the readers who have yet to find this part of them…and in doing so take the time to recognize your achievements over the past year.

Everyone has a story and if you listen carefully to those stories I guarantee that from each you can glean a new lesson or something of inspiration.

Last Friday I marked the decision to not compete with the addition of new tattoo, one that I posted about a few weeks ago. Tattooing is a very soulful experience for me.

It can represent anything from the end of a chapter with a new beginning to a massive shift or learning experience in my life.

This one was not unlike the others. And like all others I became engrossed in a conversation with the tattoo artist.

A deep conversation about life ensued and we found ourselves on a topic that I am not a stranger to, the power of removing negative influences from your life.

She told me a story…one that will leave you speechless and reflecting on your “closet”.

A woman who was morbidly obese lost over 200lbs without so much as lifting one weight or running one block.

Her doctors were confounded and could not understand how without alterations to diet and exercise she was able to do this.

Her answer was simple and powerful, she told them that she simply removed everyone from her life that was had a negative influence or energy around her. Unbelievably what followed suit was the notable loss of weight.

Perhaps you are sitting there thinking it not possible. Let me tell you from first hand experience that the negative people suck you dry, emotional muggers I call them.

The friends who think that it is ridiculous that you want to go to the gym instead of our to eat.

The family member who calls you up just as you are about to go for a run to complain about their life and guilt you into talking to them instead.

The grandmother who makes you feel like a horrible person for not eating her food.

The colleague who taunts you with stressors all day leaving you exhausted and opting to go home and is in front of the tv with a bag of chips.

Indeed you are the one who lets these people affect you. Victimization doesn’t have a home here at How Does She Do It Mom…so you have to own that responsibility.

However with the awareness of what these people do to your life you have the choice to remain entangled in relationships and allow yourself to be affected by them or to take care of yourself.

My “social circle closet” as I call it has been renovated many times.

As I grew people drifted away from me.

As I evolved I lost intrest in placating to the whims of the “Negative Nancy’s” who were doing nothing but trying to bring me down.

As I became more self-assured I lost patience for the “high-school” bullshit that people would levy at me.

My stress level has decreased.

The word “guilt” no longer exists in my vocabulary of emotions.

The relationships that I chose to maintain are with people who are genuine, authentic and who share positive energy with me.

My life has changed inconceivably because of this.

The woman above had a new lease on life.

Perhaps a renovation is in order in your own closet?

How Does She Do It Mom – “The Voice Of The Woman You Used To Be…And Are Looking For”

Coming off the tail end of my decision last week to not compete in fitness anymore I find myself reflecting on a time not too long ago…

April 2010, Brian and I were sitting in our kitchen, notebooks in hand about to launch ourselves into one of our full-scale “life crafting” conversations.

Brian started by tossing a question at me that unexpectedly rattled me, “What are you passionate about? What do you want to do?”

I was stumped. My heart started racing, stress set in and I found myself at a complete loss of words and thoughts the same.

I had absolutely NO IDEA.

The extent to which I had lost myself was undeniable at that point and was a cold slap across my face.

I teared up because the emotion was overwhelming and mustered the words,”I don’t know…oh my god I don’t know what I am passionate about.”

If you have ever come to this realization…or if it is perhaps happening to you right now as you read this you know that it is an uncomfortable, scary and lonely place to be.

But I digress, happily because that conversation and moment in time has put so much perspective on today.

I took that finding and made it my mission to pursue passions…that I had yet to uncover.

When you walk away from something you have known to be a part of your identity, fitness competing in my case, it can leave you with a void, a gaping whole because you aren’t “that” person anymore.

Not me…not this time.

Having invested in myself, learned about myself and pursuing passion I have created a litany of things that I feel “passionate ” towards.

So as I step away from this world I have known till now I am embarking on the creation of a new part of my identity,  something that has rested in my soul as a passion for a long time.

Tomorrow I start my life as a dancer.

I hear music with my body…it reverberates in my soul and I want to move.

The beauty of the body arching, twirling and gliding in tune to beat.

The sensuality of being able to convey  how the music makes me feel without having to use words or even touch.

I have had a dancers soul since I was a little girl…I walked away from a part of my identity this weekend, only to have found another piece of me.

What makes your soul dance?

What makes you heart skips beats when thinking about it?

Passion should not be something you dream of having one day, it should be something you breathe, feel and live.

How Does She Do It Mom – “The Voice of the Woman You Used To Be…And Are Looking For”

C2

PS: If the realization hit you hard just now, that you have lost this part of yourself and are ready to find it, drop me a personal email at hdsdimom@gmail.com …let’s find your passion together.

In one simple sentance I can update you on how competition went this past weekend…

I didn’t compete.

Clearly that sentence however doesn’t answer the throngs of questions that are going to be levied at me if I were to leave it there.

14 weeks of cutting (hard) for competition.

14 weeks of dieting and counting every gram of macro nutrients that went into my body.

14 weeks of watching my body miraculously transform into a sleek and lean package of muscle and curve.

14 weeks of my life spent preparing only to come to the decision last week that I wasn’t going to compete.

I can see you sitting there right now with your mouth gapping open and in complete shock, asking yourself, “What was she thinking?”

About two weeks ago I became very aware that my “gut” was speaking to me. At first I opted not to listen, kept marching along on the same path that I had laid out for myself. However if you have ever tried to avoid listening to your “gut” you know that it is one noisy and loud presence.

It was a culmination of things that I started noticing…

Looking in the mirror I was completely in love with everything I was seeing. Lean muscle was popping everywhere, I felt better than I ever have in my own physique.

Add to that the fact that getting to that point was easy for me. The habits were not challenging to adopt and maintain for me. The training ideal, because I love lifting heavy and the nutrition optimal, because I wasn’t feeling deprived. I realized this is something I can easily do forever.

The big one however was this nagging thought that kept popping back into my head…I couldn’t wait for competition to be over. It was started to feel like a speed bump in the middle of this perfect training and nutrition plan I had adopted.

It was going to throw of my eating for a week. Depleting me calorically and in turn affecting my emotions as well.

It involved spending all day standing around in a bikini, heels and “man tan” caked all over me…not really a comfortable place to be.

I was eager to get it over with so that I could move on to my “perfect” body for life and my new ventures in the world of dance…a true passion.

So that is what my “gut” was spitting at me for a week but I kept trudging along.

Until last Tuesday when I was hit, and I mean HIT with an epiphany…one that changed my life in a day and is marking the path for the rest of my life.

There I was sitting happier than I have ever been with my body and new habits that had formed in the last 14 weeks that were easy to maintain….why screw that up?

Being in stage shape is great..for the day that you are there but the reality is that it doesn’t last. It can’t be maintianed for any length of time nor is it healthy to stay at that place.

I found myself wondering why would I push myself to a place that I could not possibly be able to keep only to have to watch it fade away in the days after competition. Especially when I was thrilled with where I was already.

Why would I spend a day competing…when I really didn’t enjoy the process all that much.

So I opted to do what so few people do in this world…bow out when the time was right for me. Not push myself to an extreme that would leave me emotionally unhappy and struggling afterwards (and yes I know this to be true based on last year).

Society would deem me a failure perhaps because I did not see through to my goal of getting on stage.

In realtiy I sit here a winner of the best kind. Staying true to myself. Trusting my gut. And following the road that makes me the most happy.

You have heard me say it a thousand times…goals and dreams have to be dynamic, just because you set them doesn’t meant that they can’t alter and transform while on the path to reaching them.

Who knows something better may just form in the process.

I for one can attest that “something better” has come out of this for me…a new level of living. A healthy nutrition plan and a training regime that I adore. My “perfect” body for me that will only improve over time.

Most importantly however…the reminder that I really do live my life in pursuit of the things that I truly desire for myself and the knowing that my soul will always guide me…when I listen.

How Does She Do It Mom – “The Voice Of The Woman You Used To Be…And Are Looking For”

C2

You all know my stance on role-modeling and living your life the way that you preach…

Today’s post is a beautifully written piece from Brian that I pulled from his Facebook wall…I won’t say anymore. Enjoy.

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Steve Jobs: My Audacious Tribute…

I have watched as so many pay tribute to Steve Jobs this week.

Posting the quotes of this maverick revolutionary.

Casting the image of this icon as their own personal profile pic.

Writing touching “RIP” status updates about this renegade visionary.

But the true weight of his legacy will pass if we do not cease in remembering him merely through passing homage.

Veiled platitudes.

I don’t believe he wanted us to revere his quotations as much as he was asking his to live by them.

So, I say this to you:

Have you altered your own life course because of his remarkable lessons?

Re-set your internal compass to a directional pathway where absolutely nothing is impossible?

Steve Jobs was the Freethinking Renegade.

He wrote the great dissent.

Created the ideas whose time were not yet here.

Envisioned a changed planet while the common sat comfortable in the one we already had.

Innovated and relentlessly pursued.

But who will be next?

Who will fill the shoes of this legendary giant among us?

Decide to be audacious in a world of conventional?

Do the extraordinary and then make it routine?

Push the bar higher and then force us all to acclimate to a new standard of excellence?

Rebel against the cloak of normal; searching not to fit in, but to stand out?

Steve Jobs was not a myth nor was he an exception…..

He was an example.

Of what every Freethinking Renegade could do if they chose to.

My tribute to this fascinating non-conformist is to live with as much eccentricity as he did.

Confound expectations.

Build the FTR Nation into an empire of soulful and purposeful people; working endlessly to exhume the greatness we all have tucked away inside.

And let it be known now.

Let it be said this day.

When I am called and my time here is through, I do not want shallow acknowledgments or trivial gestures…..

I want you to live the way you know you can; and teach others to be equally as extraordinary.

I want you to pursue with purpose; and leave in awe all who dare to watch your journey.

I want you to champion the Freethinking Renegade Manifesto; preaching audacity as the solace our world needs.

Let that be my only legacy.

RIP, Mr. Jobs…… With much audacity, I accept the torch you’ve handed me…….

……. We all need to.

Be Audacious; Change the World.

BG

P.S. – To My FTR Nation…. Pass This On….