Fit Mama of the Week: Monique

Monique is a busy mom of THREE boys. She also works a full time job outside of the home. Yet, she managed to get healthy by eating right and exercising. If Monique can find a good balance with her busy schedule, there really isn't a good reason why anyone can't. This is why we chose Monique as our Fit Mom of the Week as we definitely feel she can be an inspiration to us all. She sets an example as she sets fitness goals (hiking half dome, completing obstacle runs, etc.) to stay fit. We've always encouraged you mamas to set definite goals you can grasp. Yes your overall goal can be to 'Get fit' or 'Get healthy' but how are you going to get there? Set smaller goals...sign up for a 5k...complete an 8 mile hike...etc. Because having that feeling of accomplishment is priceless! Seeing results can take a long while. You have to be patient. This is why we suggest setting small goals along the way to track progress! Monique is a great example of this.

Name and Age?
Monique and I'm 32 years old.

Do you have kids? How old are they?
I have 3 boys, ages 15, 8 and 6 yrs old.

Do you work outside of the home? If so, what do you do?
I'm a Medical Assistant. I work full time 8-5pm.
Have you always been into fitness? If not, why did you start? I haven't always been into fitness. After I delivered my second son and lost some of my baby weight, I slowly started thinking about fitness and nutrition. One day my husband told me he wanted to climb Half Dome in Yosemite. So I slowly started 2007 off at a small mom and pop gym doing just cardio (cardio was my best friend for a long time).  I trained with my husband for about eight weeks and I ended up hiking Half Dome that same year. I trained for this by using the stairmaster and elliptical 3-4 times a week.

I then joined an In Shape health club in 2008 and got a personal trainer. He helped expand my horizons with fitness. Of course it wasn't easy staying on my fitness journey. I would fall off and start up again. But in 2009 I started working out at lunch EVERYDAY. In 2011. I joined Core Performance which is an athletic training/boot camp style workout. This also helped me get over plateaus in my fitness journey.

I've since done a few runs (survivor mud run, neon night run & an obstacle course run (Recon Run) that I thought I would never accomplish but had always wanted to. When I started doing these runs, I started to really get more confident with my body/my inner self. It's funny how the small things help boost your confidence. More recently I've been focusing on building muscle definition and one day, I hope to compete in a women's body building completion. Lately, my favorite way to exercise is by lifting weights at the gym and completing whole body circuits.

How do you stay motivated ?
Staying motivated is still a struggle but because I enrolled into Core Performance 3 days a week I feel obligated to go to class which helps me stay motivated. I also joined a gym next door to my job to work out at lunch which makes it easy for me stay active and helps me stay away from eating out during the lunch hour all the time.
How do you balance work, family, and staying fit?
I usually work out in the mornings before work or during lunch. My family is very supportive so it makes it much easier to balance fitness and family. I have to say that I'm really blessed with the greatest support system from my husband/mother in law and my 3 handsome boys. My husband/mother in law take care of the boys/make dinner while I go work out. The boys help out by cleaning up their own messes, and doing any extra chores if needed. They are my fan base and cheer me on every step of the way.

Share what you would eat on a typical day. Breakfast: typically, a green smoothie with kale/spinach/protein powder/cucumber /celery /green apple. Lunch: Quinoa/grilled chicken breast with some veggies Dinner: Salmon/veggies 
What are some of your favorite healthy snacks for yourself and your kids? I have such a sweet tooth and so my favorite healthy snack is plain Greek yogurt/1 scoop of vanilla whey protein/chia seeds and blueberries/or banana oatmeal with dark chocolate chip cookies. My kids favorite snacks are oranges, watermelon & celery with peanut butter. 
What are your fitness goals for this year? To accomplish the Spartan Race, as well as to build more muscle. 

Who or what is your biggest inspiration? My family is my biggest inspiration because I want to be a good example for them. Reading food labels before choosing certain snacks/drinks is something I just started doing in recent years. The boys hate it when I do it but I catch my older one doing it now and I'm so proud. The little things are always the biggest things to be proud of.

My charge nurse is also one of my closest inspiration she's a full time nurse in her 40's teaches kickboxing/does ju-jitsu and is training to get her 2nd degree black belt and loves fitness as well. She inspires me because it shows that even in your 40's you could accomplish anything you set your mind to.

Congratulations Monique on all of your accomplishments. We are so proud to have you as our Fit Mama of the Week. One thing that stood out to us is how Monique's oldest son has started reading food labels! Kids really learn by example. I want to point this out because I truly believe that we need to teach our kids tools on how to be healthy and fit by example. We can't just tell them what to do. And we should try to do this while they are young so that they are better prepared when they have to make healthy decisions on their own as they get older. We can't be with our kids 24/7 or for forever and so just like every lesson in life, you want to at least try to prepare your child for what may come up. Fit Mamas=Fit Kids!