Well, I have had a whirlwind of a few weeks over here. I missed all of you so much! I can’t express enough gratitude for your patience while I got some important things sorted out. Some scary things. Are you ready for the announcement? Here goes!

I will no longer be blogging at Faith Fitness Fun.

Yes. You read that right. I will no longer be blogging here at FFF.

That’s only because you will now find me blogging somewhere else.

I sincerely hope you will join me at my new site and blog – Best Body Fitness at www.tinareale.com

You might wonder, “why the change?”

After getting my NASM certification, I knew I would have to make a choice. Sit on my certification and keep going with the blogging I have set up here on FFF. Or do something new that can allow me to start doing something with the passion and goals I had for myself when first deciding to get certified.

I couldn’t do both. I couldn’t run two separate sites. Or blog and seek out work somewhere outside the home as a trainer. I just couldn’t.

Which is why I’m here now. Taking a leap of faith and leaving behind the known for the unknown.

I shared this quote last week, because I couldn’t think of anything more fitting. This change is painful. It’s painful to say goodbye to a site I love. It’s painful to think of losing any of you. It’s painful to know my dreams could crash and burn right around me.

But, it is beautiful. It is beautiful to do what I know is right and trust the journey.

Time for the details!!! What is Best Body Fitness even like???

Best Body Fitness will be a site dedicated to helping others achieve a healthier lifestyle. A place to encourage a fit, strong, healthy body as the best body you can have. I will offer online personal training services (and am open to communication in setting up in-person training in my area). While I will provide online training, that is NOT the focus of Best Body Fitness!! It will still be a personal site.

I didn’t want to give up something I love so much with blogging – and I won’t. We will still be able to connect in that same capacity over there. I think the community is vital to having a site that encourages others in a healthy lifestyle. Which is why I will still be blogging there. It will certainly take a different format with a bit more focus on sharing fitness, motivational topics, recipes, and such…but I refuse to turn into an impersonal site!

You will still get personal updates. Still catch up on my running, my family, my thoughts, “Stuffed With Emptiness” posts, etc. You will still see similar topics to what I cover here. Just at a new place. Not more than once a day. A bit more fitness, healthy living focused. And with training offered through the site at a very affordable price. A full MONTH worth of workouts and support for less than a one HOUR session with most in-person trainers. You know I love a deal!

PS – I will NOT be hounding you every day with “Train With Me!!!” comments! 

Go ahead and check out the FIRST POST now! Then, pretty please:

• SUBSCRIBE TO BEST BODY FITNESS
  • IN A READER (BY RSS)
  • OR BY EMAIL
• LIKE THE NEW FACEBOOK PAGE (would love your support! and will be taking down the FFF page within the next couple of weeks)
• CONTINUE FINDING ME AT THE SAME TWITTER ACCOUNT (just as @tinareale now instead of @TinaFFF)

Also, be sure to let me know if you’re interested in any training or if you have any questions. Send them to me at [email protected]

Before I sign off here, I must do something:

Thank you for making FFF such a wonderful part of my life. Thank you for the endless support. Thank you for believing in me. This isn’t goody-bye. It’s just a new beginning. A new beginning that I hope you will take with me. Cheers!

Thanks to Plum Organics for sponsoring my post about tips for baby feeding magic. What if you let baby choose what's for dinner? Check out their cute "Quest for Yum!" video and see what happens!

As parents, we want the best for our children. We help them to feel loved. We strive to teach them right from wrong. We play with and encourage them on a daily basis. We also hope to give them healthy habits for their life. I know all too well the battle healthy eating can pose between mother and child. It’s certainly not all fun and games! If only it were like this:

Plum Organics hopes to motivate healthier eating habits in children beginning at a young age. They offer an entire line of healthy snacks for babies and toddlers – from organic freeze dried fruit to blended meals for babies. It’s always nice to have healthy options like these available. Over time, I have also learned some other ways to help get my kids eating healthier overall.

Set the Example. Kids pay close attention to the actions of the adults in their lives, including eating habits. One of the biggest motivating factors to get children to eat healthy is to lead by example and eat the foods you hope for them to eat.

Give A Choice. When shopping for groceries, encourage your child to pick out a fruit or vegetable to eat during the upcoming week. At meal times, let him or her choose between two or three different options. For example, “would you like carrot sticks or apple slices with lunch today?”.

Use Different Cooking Methods. You could surprise yourself that kids may like vegetables if they are prepared a bit differently. For example, roast vegetables with a little bit of olive oil to bring out a less bitter taste. Cook carrots with a small amount of honey to add just the touch of sweetness to help them appeal more to a child. Blend fruits into a smoothie. Make things in bite-sized pieces, such as mini-meatballs or even tofu-nuggets, which can open a child to trying a new food.

Amp It Up! Get excited about healthy eating! Make a big deal about a healthy snack. I love making “green monsters” for Makenzie. The bright green color makes the snack fun and gets her excited about drinking it. She also loves “chomping on carrots like a rabbit” or making faces out of various cut up fruits/vegetables.

Dips. So many kids love to dip things. Find a variety of healthy dips to motivate your child into eating a larger variety of foods. Everything from yogurt to hummus to peanut butter to a sugar-free ketchup make great options.

Bake away. Baked goods are a fabulous way to sneak in healthy food items. Add grated vegetables to bread and muffins, like my favorite Pumpkin Carrot Cake Bread. Use fresh or dried fruit in quick, easy, homemade bars. Bake casseroles that include vegetables and healthy proteins chopped into small, bite-sized pieces along with some cheese to appeal more than a pile of chopped produce on their plates.

Check ingredients. It’s inevitable that packaged items like crackers, cereals, hot dogs, and more will be part of a child’s meals. Try to pay attention to the quality of ingredients to choose the best of what is available. Pay attention to things like the names of ingredients (look for ingredients you recognize), less sugar, whole grains, and sodium content.

I believe with a little time and thoughtfulness, we can all help our children achieve better eating habits. It takes some planning and consistency, but it can be done. I don’t believe in forcing certain foods on children, but the above practices can help children venture out into adopting healthier choices without pressure. Keep trying, and with time you may find healthy eating a seamless part of parenthood.

I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. To learn more about Plum Organics, visit their Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/PlumOrganics.