The Day Exhaustion Took Over

November 22, 2016 By Lindsay Gee

Be careful.
Take time for yourself.
You need to rest/sleep.
Self-care is so important.
You are important.
You can’t keep working at this rate, one day it’ll catch up with you.

Yeah. I’ve heard it all. And, until it actually happened, I just smiled, nodded and agreed with the person spouting their wisdom…then I got back to work.

For the past 4.5 years, I’ve worked hard. I mean, really, really stinkin’ hard. Most days (not all) I work 15-16 hour days but lately it’s been more like 20 hours per day. It takes time and energy to build an empire and plan for world domination, and with only 24 hours in a day, I tried to put most (if not all) of them to good use.

Until I couldn’t.

For the past month, I’ve pushed myself past what was healthy. Past what I knew I was capable of. But, the demands were there and the work had to get done. No one else could do it. My team was already taxed to the max, so as the leader of my crazy company, I needed to step up, give more, do more, push more and get it all done. And I did.

Until I couldn’t.

Last Friday I woke at 1:30am and started to work. That was atypical, but recently, my mind just won’t shut down. If I wake to shift in bed, I’m up. There’s no getting back to sleep. I’m a classic insomniac. And that is not something I say with pride.

So last Friday I woke at 1:30am and got to work. By 7:30am when my kids woke I’d put in a solid 6 hours of work, was ahead of my plan for the day (how couldn’t I be?!) until it all came to a screeching halt. All of a sudden I was shaky, agitated, exhausted, nauseous and to be honest, I’ve never felt so awful in my life. I managed to get my kids to school then headed to bed. I tried to sleep but couldn’t.

I was restless, my body wouldn’t settle, my mind wouldn’t stop. I had things to do, but no energy to do it. No amount of willpower was getting me out of the hole I had dug for myself. My body wouldn’t rest. It was revolting against me the only way it could…by knocking me flat.

It was time to stop. I had hit the wall of exhaustion and it felt like the worst illness ever.

I’ve never been scared of my body before, but I can honestly say that last Friday, I was scared. I didn’t know how to stop, to breathe, to rest. I couldn’t stop or breathe or rest.

So, I reached out. To friends, to family, to loved ones. I broke down so I could build back up.

It’s true that your body will only handle so much. You and your mind can push and push and push and still feel like you can push some more, but your body is the ultimate gauge of how healthy you are. Because when it’s maxed (and after 4.5 years I think I’m finally maxed), it gives up. No notice. It just…stops.

You drop.

It’s not a pleasant fall and it’s been 4 days of medication, fever, sleep meds and self-care to get my feet back under me. Four days isn’t so bad…but I still have some recovery to do. I have to rest.

As I laid in bed trying to rest, the following questions kept coming forward in my mind: Why do I push so hard?

There are the typical excuses of world domination, founding a company, wanting to be successful, showing up all those who doubt me, etc…but the real reason? I think it’s because I don’t want people to think I’m not working for them. I want people to know that I’m working…literally day in and day out…to help build our business. I need them to know that they haven’t sacrificed their family’s lives for someone who sits around and does nothing.

And that’s where I’ve gone wrong. I’ve sacrificed my own body for this. I’ve sacrificed my health for this. I’ve sacrificed my own family for this. And while our mission at Hot Mama is extremely important, it cannot be at the cost of me.

It cannot be at the cost of me.

I went to the doctor on Sunday and she asked when I wanted to be admitted to the hospital. I didn’t even tell my husband that. She said, “do you want to be admitted now or would you like to keep killing yourself for another week and really feel the depths of exhaustion…because you’re there now…next step is medical”.

Well…holy shit.

Oops.

Talk about a wake-up call.

So Mamas…here’s me . Claiming myself back. I talk and I talk and I talk about the importance of prioritizing. Of putting yourself high up on your list. But I certainly don’t practice it. I try to. I do small things, but it’s time I role model to all of those who follow me the importance of rest.

And yes, right now…I need medication. I need meds to help me sleep. I’m okay with that. Because after a few nights of sleeping from 9pm to 7am I’m slowly crawling back to myself. I’m committing to rest. I’m committing to me and my own importance.

I’m important. It’s time I start treating myself like it. I need rest. And so do you, Mama.

Don’t be me. Don’t push so hard and work so hard your body breaks and shuts down. Learn from me. I am not a martyr so I’d best stop acting like one. I will commit to rest. I will commit to sleep. I will commit to these things because I know I need it.

I’ll write about how I plan to take care of me soon; maybe I’ll even come up with the ultimate self-care guide. But for now, I commit to sleep. For now, I will use the medication my doctor gave me, but soon I will come up with a new plan to help with insomnia and I will let you know what works for me and what doesn’t.

But Mama, please listen: if you’re tired, exhausted, pushed to your max…don’t be me. You need to stop. Put your head on your pillow, tell yourself you’ve done the best you can with the time you’ve had each day and rest. Just rest. Rest your mind, your body, your soul.

Just rest.

Because trust me when I say that if you don’t, your body will eventually take over your mind and the results are not pretty and they are certainly not fun.

Rest, Mama. You need to rest. Ain’t no shame in that. And that is what I’ve learned over the last four days. There’s no shame in resting.

And rest I shall.

Wanna Help Me Sleep Tonight, Make Some Money AND #FinishStrong?!

November 10, 2016 By Lindsay Gee

I stay up late. I stay up late a lot. Or wait…maybe it’s that I wake up super early? Hmmmm. Anyhow, let’s just say I work long hours, ridiculously long hours. And, you know what? I don’t mind one bit. I love what I do. Founding a company like Hot Mama, well…it’s a badge of honour I wear with pride. Incredible pride.

With 24 Hot Mama franchises now up and running, you bet your sweet buns I’m proud.

We empower women, inspire families, promote family fitness and build community. A community of women like no other. If you need a safe place to get fit or increase your fitness, if you need support as you struggle with Motherhood, or if you simply need a wild, crazy, silly authentically true group of women, Hot Mama should be your home.

My goal is to start a complete and total mass movement of family fitness with Hot Mama. I also want people to know that when they go to a Hot Mama business they will be welcomed with open arms, loving smiles and strong shoulders to lean on. I want all of that in every single franchise we open. Not only do we offer free classes to postpartum women to help combat postpartum depression, we provide incredible fitness programs and challenges and support and love and respect.

That’s Hot Mama. That’s who I am and that’s how I want to always be remembered.

So, I work tirelessly on this business. We have helped 100’s of women (if not 1000’s now) climb out of depression and anxiety. We have helped many women accept who they are. We have lifted women on the hard days and rejoiced with them on the good. I am so honoured and grateful that we have helped so many.

So what keeps me up at night?

I toss and I turn because I know there are women in communities that we currently do not have a location that desperately need us. Women who are in the depths of the darkness of postpartum depression. Women who have no idea how to begin their fitness journey. Women who are tired of being judged for their mothering choices and just want to find a safe place to land. Women who want to push and drive and dig and be role models of healhy living for their children. Women who want to drink wine, do burpees and laugh. Laugh a lot.

We have helped so many in the few franchises that we have. But, I know we have to help so many more. I know this is essential to who we are. I know the good that can be brought to a community with Hot Mama. I believe in us and what we do 100%. I believe in me. I believe in our franchise owners. I believe in our headquarters team. I believe in all the Hot Mamas in our community across Canada and now the UK. I believe.

So, I’m asking YOU to help us spread the word. We want to FINISH STRONG in 2016. I’m pushing to open at least 8 new franchises in the next two months. Gasp. I know, right? How can I do that? I’m going to ask YOU to help. I’m going to ask you to send people to our website and encourage them to apply for their own Hot Mama business. If you’re in the community and you know and love what we do, we’re asking you to think of at least three people you can send our way.

We can do a lot of good. But, we need you. I need you. I need help spreading the word. And, because I’m asking of something from you I’d love to offer you a referral of $500 – $1000 per franchise sale that you refer (um…they do have to purchase though, I can’t pay ya just to refer). That means if you refer someone to us by sending them our link www.hotmamafit.com/franchise, and they purchase before December 31, 2016…we are going to pay you. Oh yes we are.

So…do YOU know 3 people. Can YOU send 3 people our way that you think would embody love, support, community, fitness, role modeling and family? Do you know someone who is passionate about helping women, getting kids moving and is a lover of all things family? THEM. Those are the women we want to talk with.

Thank you. Thank you for reading this. Thank you for thinking about our community. Thank you for being you and supporting Hot Mama and all we are trying to push forward.

With incredible gratitude and much respect, I ask this favor of you. Please check out www.hotmamafit.com/FinishStrong for more information.

Please, help us spread the word so we can #FinishStrong in 2016

Hot Mama’s 25% Stronger Fitness Challenge

November 1, 2016 By Lindsay Gee

With the close of our first round of #RockYourRoutine, a fitness challenge accepted by 150+ participants, I was at a loss as to what to challenge our Hot Mamas with next. You see…our next #RockYourRoutine challenge where we challenge you to commit to 3 workouts per week of at least 30 minutes (proof via sweaty selfie) doesn’t start until November 28th. So…we have a whole month where I feel like I need to challenge you!

Enter…Hot Mama’s 25% Stronger Challenge!

I got to thinking…”Lindsay, you love pushups. Why not a pushup challenge?”. I was contemplating doing 100 pushups per day for the month of November. But then I heard all the physios, chiros and medical doctors gasp at my audacity. So, I thought “I bet we can build up to that. I bet we can get 25% stronger ever quarter of the month”. So…that’s what we’re doing!

We’re working our way up by 25% increments to 100 pushups per day for the last 8 days of November. But my babies, my sweeties, my lovelies…have no fear…we’re going to start with 25 pushups per day for the first 7. Then we’ll move up to 50 per day for the second quarter. 75 pushups per day for the third quarter and then we’re gonna ROCK right back into #RockYourRoutine with 100 pushups for the last 8 days of November!

YAY! Right?! You’re super excited?! You’re in?! Right?!?!?

Go on…head over to the Hot Mama HQ FB Group, join the group and accept the challenge. OR, if you have a local franchise in your area, just commit to the challenge in your local FB Group! What’s in it for you?! Well…complete the challenge and you’ll be entered to win a level of our at-home-super-fantabulous-metabolic-boosting-28-day workout plan, IGNITE. That’s RIGHT…we’re even going to give away something for getting stronger! Woop!

Here’s the challenge:

The Ultimate Reset: Hot Mama’s Yoga/Surf Retreat 2016

October 24, 2016 By Lindsay Gee

Every year I plan a weekend away for our Hot Mamas in Tofino, BC. It’s our annual Yoga/Surf Retreat and 2016 was our 4th time out. We seem to do a better and better job of planning the retreat with every year and this year I came away from the event with no question as to whether the Mamas had a good time or not. Their smiles, sighs, grunts and energy spoke volumes all weekend.

Getting to the weekend, however, was no small feat. It seemed that with every step I took, something was trying to pull me away from actually being able to go. The weekend had been planned for months, but the week before an event is…well…just a bit hectic. Checking, double-checking, triple-checking hotels, activities, workouts, travel, gifts, etc…it’s a lot. On top of that, my husband had surgery a week before we left. And, not a small surgery, a pretty major one. Recovery didn’t go as smoothly as we’d hoped and he spent 5 extra days in the hospital. My house was hit by a demon flu that took us all down (except my daughter who apparently has iron guts). But no matter…I forged ahead. I will overcome. Then our fish died. I’m not kidding…really universe? REALLY?

Oh…and the Friday we were to leave was a Pro-D day! What the heck?! Kids at home, too?! With a husband just out of the hospital?! GAH! Okay…quick mad scramble to get the kids taken care of so my husband (who got home from the hospital the night before) could rest for the day (thank you to my amazing neighborhood friends!) and playdates organized as much as possible for the weekend so he can rest. Phew. Okay. I’m gonna make it!

When you organize an event, the night before you leave is always ridiculous. Little things pop up and apparently if you’re me, you decide it would be a really nice extra treat to make 4 batches of homemade Larabars to add to the gift bags because…well…a personal touch goes a long way. And, I needed to make them super peanut buttery and chocolatey because one of the Mamas coming can’t have peanut butter at home because of allergies and she LOVES peanut butter. So…that’ll be a super nice treat!

Midnight before the event and I’m madly organizing gift bags and wine because there should always be gifts upon arrival to a weekend away for Mamas who never take time for themselves! I had #hotmamastrong hand-stamped silver bracelets, Hot Mama tanks, pink and black gloves, the damn homemade Larabars, peanut butter cups (obviously) and of course, a bottle of wine. YAY!

The morning of departure: all organized and ready to go! Phew! We were Tofino-bound. In a torrential downpour. But…we made it. And when we got to Tofino, the skies cleared, the air warmed and it was a gorgeous afternoon.

25 Hot Mamas began their weekend with a workout on the beach. The sun was shining, the Mamas were swearing and my heart was filling. You see…I love teaching. It is what I’m meant to do in this world. When I teach, my soul sings. During that first workout, I found me again. There is just something about women, sand, burpees and sweat that fills me up. The energy these women brought to their weekend away was incredible. Everyone was ready to let go of everything at home and just experience the weekend. And what a gift to give yourself!

After that first workout was free time, dinner and then our first of three yoga classes. Our yoga instructor, Andrea Ting-Letts, is magic. There is no other word for her. The light around her, the energy she gives out, the positivity she radiates…you can’t do anything but embrace and love her and her yoga practice. It was delicious. All three classes were delicious. First class was an hour long guided stretch…with wine. Yes, we all brought wine to class. Second class was scheduled for after surfing and was an “Assisted Nap” and was possibly the most luxurious hour of the weekend. Our final yoga class was (early) Sunday morning and energized us for the rest of our day. See? Andrea is magic.

Alright…back to the play by play. On Saturday we started our day with a workout…because what better way to start a day?! And then it was breakfast (read bacon) and then surf time!

I loooooove surfing. Now, I’m not great at it, but if you were to ask me what my favorite moments are during this weekend I will always, ALWAYS say it is looking around at all the women surfing and seeing nothing but smiles. Seriously. Big, huge, white, amazing, brilliant, beautiful smiles. Everyone. Every. Single. Person. Now that energy? That’s amazing. We have lessons with Surf Sisters, an amazing company in Tofino that I would highly recommend for your surf lessons. And, although it was a little chilly (read really friggin’ cold) while we got the lesson, once we hit the water it was nothin’ but laughter, smiles, effort and joy.

Small shout-out to one of our Mamas who is quite fearful of the water…and ROCKED her surfing. Putting yourself outside your comfort zone and kicking fear in the face? Well…that deserves a massive amount of pride…I hope you cover yourself in that pride for months to come.

There’s also something so therapeutic about the ocean. I’m not sure whether it’s the waves and it’s power literally kicking the s**t out of you for hours on end, or if it’s the physical effort involved, but when you finish surfing, you seem to feel “cleansed”. All the troubles, all the worries, all the angst gets washed away. It’s so awesome.

The rest of the weekend is a blur of wine, walks on the beach, lazy hours staring at the ocean, silly conversations with incredible friends, yoga practice, delicious dinner (minus the jello dessert…what the f**k was that?!), sparklers, hotel room shenanigans (not the dirty kind…jeez!), dancing (for some) and a lot of laughter and love (for all). Le sigh. Perfection.

We finished our weekend away Paddleboarding with Pacific Surf Company. The lesson they provided was great and got us out and on our boards quickly. Now, it was a little “swelly” out there and some of our Mamas just weren’t feeling it. I’ll recommend that you try paddleboarding on a lake in the future because there really is something exquisite about being on the board. The rest of us, well…we got out there and paddled around on the big ocean blue. Rainbows came out to play, the sun beamed down on us and the magic of the ocean was once again brought to us. Thank you, universe. Mad respect.

And then…it was over. Just like that, the weekend was over and it was time to get back to reality. My hope is that all of the Hot Mamas who joined us for our weekend away in Tofino had a magical time. I hope that you have memories that you will laugh about for years to come. I hope that you took the time you deserve to sink into yourself and honor all you do and all you are. I hope that you slept. I hope that you got to rest. I hope you laughed and loved and cheered and honored one another.

Most of all, I hope this weekend was a reset for you. I hope that you feel rested and energized and ready to conquer anything and everything you want to conquer. Thank you. To all of you who were a part of this past weekend, thank you. Your energy, love and humor have brought me back to me and I am so grateful. I hope to see you next year…because oh yeah…you bet your sweet buns there will be a next year! Bigger and better than ever before!

See you there?!

5 Ways to Increase Your Energy TODAY

October 14, 2016 By Lindsay Gee

Your body is meant to feel good. You know that, right? You are supposed to get up in the morning with energy and make it through the day with energy to spare when you put your head on your pillow at night. There shouldn’t be dips and valleys in energy throughout the day. Your energy should be a constant flow through you, not high and lows. Our bodies are meant to take us through this life feeling good, strong, healthy.

Now granted, there are trying times in Motherhood. There are sleepless nights, teething babies, tantrummy toddlers, children learning boundaries and teens with attitude. Whatever stage of Motherhood you’re at, there are trying times. Absolutely. But wouldn’t it make the most sense to give your body a fighting chance at feeling as good as possible in spite of all the outside demands in your life?

Oh yes! Yes, it does!

Ask yourself these five questions to see if there might be ways for you to “tweak” your energy and help you feel better, with more energy…all day.

Are you getting 8 hours of sleep per night?

Okay, this one even makes me laugh. I’m chronic 4-5 hours of sleep per night gal, but the goal is for us to shoot for at least 8 hours. Can you imagine? I just…I can’t even wrap my head around this one. But, some day…some day I’ll get there.

I digress. Sleep. It’s mega important. While you’re sleeping your body and brain are doing a lot to repair the damage you did during the day and get you ready to rock your day when you wake. Your brain is busy forming new pathways so you remember things. A lot of the so-called “Mommy brain” has to do with sleep deficiency. There’s no way you can fire on all cylinders when you don’t get sleep. The brain just hasn’t had time to restore itself and form informational pathways. Poor big brain.

AND, know what else? Sleep helps you feel less hungry. What the what?! Yup. While you’re catching your zzz’s, your body is working hard to ensure the hormones that make you feel hungry (ghrelin) and full (leptin) are balanced. Little to no sleep? Ghrelin increases and leptin decreases so you feel more hungry. What happens when you feel hungry? You eat, goober. YOU EAT…when you don’t need to.

So, for the love of your grocery budget…get some sleep!

Are you eating throughout the day at proper intervals?

Let’s talk breakfast first, shall we? It’s been said over and over and over that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. There’s a reason and it’s because:

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

I hate to be blunt about it, but…no wait…no I don’t. Eat your damn breakfast, people! I’ll even one-up it: eat your damn breakfast within two hours of waking up, people! In both Hot Mama’s 12-week nutrition education program, Body Smarts and our at-home IGNITE program we this as one of our #1 “Rules”. Why? Because it breaks the overnight fasting (unless you sleep eat), helps replenish your supply of glucose and, if you eat a healthy breakfast (Fruitloops not included) it provides energy and nutrients you’ll need to keep energy high throughout your day.

Speaking of throughout your day: eat meals and stop grazing.

I want you to shoot for eating your meals and snacks every 2-4 hours with a break of at least 2 hours without putting food into your mouth. This helps keep your body in a relatively stable zone when it comes to energy available for you to use. You’ll have a lot fewer sugar swings and dips and valleys of energy if you are able to maintain this schedule. Give it a whirl if you don’t do this yet and let me know how awesome (or not…in that case, we’ll need to talk) you feel.

Are you drinking enough water?

I recommend that you drink between 2-3L of water per day. If you’re finding that you’re constantly hungry, I encourage you to drink more water. Many time hunger is actually a desperate plea for water. What kind of water? It doesn’t matter! Cold, hot, fizzy, flat, sweetened with fruit, with a lemon, with a straw, from a bottle, from a mug…I sound like a Dr. Suess book. Just drink the water!

Fill up a 2L bottle with water and make sure it’s gone by the end of the day. Your body is made of 75% water. Your blood? 90%. Yeah, it’s kinda super uber important. Water is important for weight maintenance (or weight loss should you so desire), heart health, brain health and it’s a major factor in energy. If you’re dehydrated you’re going to battle fatigue. So, help yourself out. If you’re feeling sluggish and tired, try drinking some water.

FYI…coffee is not water. No. Bad. Drink water. It’s the clear stuff, comes from a tap. Drink it.

Are you being active 60 minutes per day, every day?

Increase your energy C’mon, you had to know this one was coming. Exercise can help give you energy. Hormones, metabolism, endorphins, strength, cardiovascular fitness, muscular endurance…oh my! Exercise and physical activity can help you in so many ways (I could write a book!), but let’s just talk about a very basic concept: the fitter you are, the easier your days are going to be.

When you’re stronger, the loads you need to carry throughout the day aren’t as difficult. When you have a better cardiovascular fitness, the demands placed on, or your feelings of perceived exertion throughout they day, will feel like less. You’ll be able to carry, haul, drag, twist, turn, dance and play for longer periods of time without fatiguing and taking a break.

Don’t even get me started on how GOOD you can feel after a workout. Endorphins, hormones, self-confidence, pride. Fitness and exercise benefit you in so many ways. So go on, go be active.

Why 60 minutes per day? That’s the recommended guidelines from the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology…for both adults and children. That doesn’t mean your sweating and heaving and huffing and puffing that entire time. That means you have a 10-minute dance party with your kids, you go for a 20-minute walk, you take the stairs, you start including walking meetings. Whatever it takes…60 minutes. Every day. For the rest of your life. YAY!

Do you take time for self-care?

Listen, I know you’re busy. I know it doesn’t seem like you can fit it in on top of everything else. I know that some of you will think taking an hour out of your day just for you is selfish. Let me be the probably 100th person to tell you: it’s not selfish, it’s critical. You need time for you. You need to time to rest, relax and breathe. You’re important. Your energy is important. I bet you’re the glue that keeps your family together…but if you dry up and get crusty you’re no good to anyone. Nice visual, oui?

Take the time, Mamas. Grab a tea and your favorite book. Book a pedicure. Go for a hike on your own. Go for a coffee with a good friend and laugh until your sides hurt. Plan that girls night out you so desperately need. Go on…go laugh and have fun. Be you. Embrace you. Enjoy you. Reflect on the positive things you’re doing in your life and focus on the good. They’re there. I know it.

It’s time to take time for self-care so that you can have the energy that your family and friends need and want from you. You’re important. Treat yourself that way.

So Mamas…how’d you do? How are your energy levels? Are there things that you can change today that can help you battle fatigue and a lack of energy. Choose one thing to focus on today. What’s it going to be?

Our bodies are meant to feel great. We’re meant to have energy all day, every day. So, make some small changes and let’s see how very good you can feel.

Me? I’ve decided to take time for self-care. I’m going to book myself a pedicure. How about you? What are you going to do today for your energy? I’d love to hear about it…comment below and let me help keep you accountable!

Good luck! You got this!