MEET TAYLAR!
Congratulations to Taylar for landing our May feature as our newest Movin’ Mama!
Taylar is 28 years old, residing in sunny Florida with her husband and 10 month-old baby girl. She is also 18 weeks along with Baby #2 (it’s a boy, so exciting!). When she’s not enjoying time with family or gardening, she’s working hard as a Dialysis Nurse.
We asked Taylar how she’s living well today, and here’s what she shared…
How do you typically start your day?
Nothing too exciting, just get the baby ready for daycare and then I head off to work. I usually try to drink a whole bottle of water during the 30-minute car ride to work since I am trying to stay hydrated more lately.
Do you attend a local gym? If not, how are you staying active?
I have a gym at my community center, but sadly have only used it once! Thankfully I have a dog to walk everyday; plus I run around at work all day as a nurse, so I have no problem getting my steps in!
My family also spends almost every weekend walking around Disney World so we get a lot of exercise in then, considering how large the parks are.
What is one of your recent go-to healthy dinners that you like to cook at home?
I recently started an herb garden in my backyard, so I am obsessed with roasting vegetables with fresh rosemary. Yum!
My favorite healthy meal is to roast sweet potatoes, red and yellow peppers, and onions in the oven tossed in EVOO with salt, pepper, garlic powder, dry Italian seasoning, and fresh rosemary from my garden.
I then cook ground turkey in a pan and toss it all together with a little bit of mozzarella cheese. It’s sooooo yummy! Plus I always have leftovers to pack for lunch at work.
What do you do when you want to have “Me” time?
My favorite “Me” time is spent with my friends at our “book club,” which is more like a wine club. I also recently have gotten into gardening and I really enjoy cooking. I love to try new, healthy recipes. I will be starting Nurse Practitioner school in 1 month so I assume my “me” time will have to go on the backburner for a bit, but I am okay with that to advance my career!
Name one wellness goal for 2017 and how you plan to track your progress.
My main wellness goal for 2017 is to not gain too much weight with baby #2 to avoid high blood pressure late in pregnancy.
When I got pregnant this time around, I still had 8 pounds on from baby #1 since I was only 6 months postpartum. Keeping this in mind, I am trying to be very careful. So far I am doing better weight wise than I was during my last pregnancy, even though I started with a higher weight, so I am happy with that!
What has been your biggest challenge with wellness since the birth of your daughter and how are you overcoming it?
My biggest wellness challenge since having my daughter is figuring out what weight loss plan works best for me. I tried everything in the book to lose weight after having my daughter including a diet called THM, keto (super low carb), shakes, eating smaller meals more frequently, sugar-free diet. I finally find what eating style works best for me after much experimentation.
I am now in love with intermittent fasting, which is something people have practiced for years but is recently gaining some popularity. Some benefits of IF are increase of HGH levels, reduces insulin levels, cellular repair, and gene expression (which protects you from cancer). Here is a more detailed article providing evidence based research on the practice.
Who do you lean on most for support when it comes to wellness, and why?
My family. I want my husband and children to be healthy, so I think it is important to learn as much as I can about food, and practice a healthy lifestyle myself to show my children the way.
What do you love most about being a new mom so far?
I honestly love…Everything!
What is one piece of candid advice you’d like to share with other new moms regarding general wellness?
My advice would be to conduct your own research on different lifestyle practices that YOU are interested in. There are a lot of health myths that people believe because they have heard it so many times, but they may not necessarily be right for you.
What Makes You Move, Mama? 