Courtney
Writer, mom, and licensed therapist exploring what it means to heal, unlearn, and rewrite your story.
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3 Tips to Beating Diet Boredom
Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Progresso™ through their partnership with POPSUGAR Select. While I was compensated to write a post about Progresso™, all opinions are my own. When you tell someone that you are trying to eat healthier the last thing they probably think of is flavorful foods. The stereotypical “healthy diet” usually consists of bland chicken breasts, steamed green beans, and rice or potatoes. My biggest pitfall when it comes to sticking with a diet or eating plan is that I default to those same safe, boring foods. Then I get bored and I want to eat all the unhealthy things. That can turn into a full on…
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Returning to CrossFit after Surgery
Tips for a Safe and Gradual Return to CrossFit Note from Courtney (2025): This post was written in 2014 during a season when I was deeply immersed in weight loss and CrossFit. While my perspective has evolved, I now approach wellness with much more softness, self-compassion, and curiosity. I choose to leave this post up because it’s part of my story. I don’t believe in erasing the versions of ourselves who were just trying their best with the tools they had. If you’re here seeking answers, just know: you’re allowed to change. You’re allowed to grow. And you’re still worthy no matter where you are on your journey. I can’t believe…
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Weekend Recap & Menu Planning Monday 10/6
Another week has come and gone already. Worse yet, the weekend came and went even faster! We seem to be on this trend of having one busy weekend followed by a not busy weekend. When we have a busy weekend it is stupid busy. When we have a not so busy weekend it is such a breath of fresh air. The hubs’ family wanted to spend some time with Payton so we were on our own Friday night. So we had a random date night. An early Happy Hour dinner at Bar Louie in St Charles followed by coffee at Picasos. It was fun and spontaneous! Saturday we had a great morning workout…
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Time to Be a Grown Up: The Importance of Reviewing Your Health Benefits
http://member.clevergirlscollective.com/track?u=10185&g=821 I’ll be the first to admit that “grown up” responsibilities aren’t my favorite thing. Just a few days ago I spent half the day tracking down tax waivers, insurance statements, and other paper work we needed to get plates on one of our vehicles. It wasn’t fun, but it was way better than getting a ticket for not having plates because I just “didn’t feel like doing it” – Right? Being a grown up may mean I can buy whatever shampoo and conditioner my little heart desires (my parents made us use V05, because it was cheap), it also means I have to pay attention to important details in…
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Lucky Number Seven
October 1, 2007. It was a Monday. I was sitting in the house my hubs (then Fiancé) shared with his 2 friends waiting for him to get home. He was at work. We were chatting, probably on skype or MSN Messenger (remember that?!) I had flown to Missouri to go with his family on a weekend vacation to Branson. I met his Ree & Pa, spent time with his family, and was scheduled to fly home to Florida that Tuesday. We had been engaged a little less than 2 months and were knee deep in planning a wedding for December 29th. We didn’t know when we’d be able to see…
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Weekly Workout Round Up 9/30
Yesterday marked 7 weeks since my Abdominoplasty/Excess Skin Removal It was also the start of my second week back to working out. Everyone has been asking me how I’ve been feeling and if any movements bother me. So, I’m going back to recaping my workouts and adding in scaling notes. If you are returning back to workout out after any kind of hiatus, especially if you were off for medical reasons please take it easy and talk to your doctor. I’ve been communicating closely with my doctor and let him know exactly what we do at CrossFit and asking if there should be any restrictions. Every doctor is going to be…
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Menu Planning Monday 9/29
Not too long ago I wrote a post about how I meal plan. Since menu planning is such an important part of my routine I decided to try to make it a regular part of what I share here on the blog. I hope sharing my meal planning tips and ideas helps you find new recipes or meal planning ideas. So, here goes Menu Planning Monday! I’ll be linking up with OrgJunkie for her Menu Plan Monday Link up! Sidenote: For the last year or so I was following a strict meal plan from my nutrition coach. It was extremely helpful for the season I was in, but it was so stressful…
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Manitoba HempPro 70 Protein Review
No matter what kind of nutrition idea you subscribe to getting adequate protein is always going to be important. Protein is essential to good health! Most people struggle to get enough protein through whole foods so you will see a lot of people supplementing with protein powders. Not all protein powders are created equal. I know it can be overwhelming to think about. There are so many varieties of protein… Whey, Isolate, Soy, Pea, and the list goes on and on. When I’m looking for protein I want to know I am putting the best possible nutrients into my body. I was given the opportunity to try out Manitoba Harvest’s…
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Out of the Ordinary Day
Hey Guys! How is your week going so far? Seems like my week has been SO long. How is it only Wednesday? Today is a super special day… It’s my husbands 29th birthday! So we decided to take the day off. Payton had school so after working out this morning we went to breakfast with some friends then headed home to clean up before making the trip out to Sump Coffee… Mid-Week Coffee Date for the win! Obviously I love coffee, so a new coffee experience is always welcomed. It was a great ambiance. It was really all about the coffee. They buy their beans green and roast them. The…
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6 Weeks Post-Op Abdominoplasty Update
Find my previous Abdominoplasty updates here I DID IT! I made it 6 weeks. That is a huge milestone with an abdominoplasty. My doctor told me I could start working out again at 6 weeks, so you know what I did first thing Monday morning? I worked out! It was strange and amazing all at the same time. I started out slow with the warm up. Nothing really hurt but I could feel a lot of tightness right above my belly button. It actually felt more like tightness in my skin than in my muscles. I ended up skipping the pull up/ring dip EMOM. Pull ups and ring dips didn’t…