Nourished & Strong with Stacy

Sometimes stress doesn’t look like what we think it does…

Lately I’ve been trying to figure out some digestive issues bloating, changes in my stomach, and wondering if certain foods are the culprit. But then I stopped and realized something…

Look at everything my body has been navigating over the past several months.

✨ Recovering from an accident.
📚 Preparing for nursing school.
🩺 Learning to manage hypoglycemia.
💪 Training harder & more consistently than I have in years.
🧠 Finding healthier ways to cope with stress & OCD.
🌸 perimenopause & hormone health

None of those things are “bad.” In fact, many of them are positive changes. But they’re still stress and our bodies don’t always distinguish between good stress and bad stress.

Sometimes stress shows up as fatigue.
Sometimes it’s emotional.
Sometimes it affects our sleep.
And sometimes… it shows up in our digestive system.

This is exactly why I share my own journey & talk about the things I’m actually living and learning. If something I’m experiencing helps another woman feel seen, ask better questions, or give herself a little more grace, then it’s worth sharing 🙌🏻

😫 Bloating? Before You Blame Body Fat… Read This.

One thing I’m learning in my 40s is that our digestive system changes.

Sometimes that lower belly isn’t body fat at all!

It can be:
🥗 Changes in the foods we’re eating.
💪 A big increase in protein intake.
🦠 Changes in our gut bacteria.
💧 Hydration.
🚶 Activity level.
💊 Medications.
🌸 Hormonal fluctuations during perimenopause.
💩 Even constipation can show up as bloating even if you’re still having bowel movements!

I’m paying attention to patterns:
✔️ Am I getting enough water?
✔️ Am I eating enough fiber?
✔️ Have I changed any foods recently?
✔️ Am I sleeping well?
✔️ Could hormones be playing a role?

As women in our late 30s, 40s, and beyond, it’s worth remembering that our bodies are constantly adapting. Give yourself grace, stay curious, and don’t let one bloated day convince you your hard work isn’t paying off 🙌🏻

& btw… I don’t just share random health topics: I share what I’m learning as I live it. If something I’m navigating can encourage or help another woman, it’s worth talking about.

Stacy 🫶🏻

📚🏋️‍♀️ Habit Stacking: My Secret Weapon

Nursing school is busy. Life is busy. But I’ve learned something that has made a huge difference…

Don’t compete with your habits combine them.

✨ I listen to nursing lectures while walking on the treadmill.
✨ I review material while doing easy cardio.
✨ I count line dancing and paddleboarding with friends as joyful movement instead of “extra exercise.”

Instead of trying to find more time, I’m making the most of the time I already have.

Research shows pairing a new habit with an existing one often called habit stacking can make it easier to stay consistent. And consistency beats perfection every time. 🙌🏻

For me, that means I’m becoming a stronger nursing student and a stronger, healthier woman at the same time.

You don’t have to choose between your goals. Sometimes the best answer is to let them work together. 💙

What’s one habit you could stack this week? 👇

Busy doesn’t have to mean giving up on your goals. 💙💪

Nursing school is going to be busy, so I’m getting creative.

🎧 I’ll listen to lectures while walking on the treadmill.
🏋️‍♀️ I’ll use my lifting sessions as a way to decompress after long days of studying.

Research consistently shows that regular exercise supports stress management, mood, energy, and even learning and memory. It isn’t about being perfect it’s about finding ways to make healthy habits fit your life.

Fitness doesn’t have to compete with your goals… it can help support them.

It’s not always easy, but it is absolutely doable. 🙌🏻

Stacy 🫶🏻

For a long time, I thought my passion for health & fitness was mostly about looking good…. I’ve realized it’s so much deeper than that.

As a little girl, I watched my mom battle chronic illness, pain, anxiety, and depression. I watched sickness slowly steal pieces of her life, and I lost her when I was just 24. 😢

As a child, I also lived with epilepsy. The medication caused significant weight gain, and I was bullied because of it. Later, as a caregiver, I cared for many people whose lives had been changed by disease. Some illnesses couldn’t have been prevented. Others may have been influenced by lifestyle. Every single person deserved dignity, compassion, and excellent care.
💜🩵♥️💜🩵♥️

I can’t control how long I’ll live or what challenges my body may face one day. But I can choose how I care for the body I’ve been given today.

So I lift weights. I nourish my body. I prioritize sleep. I care for my mental health. I enjoy life. And I trust God with the things I cannot control. 🙏🏼

I’m not pursuing health because I’m afraid of aging. I’m pursuing health because I want to experience life as fully as I can. 🙌🏻

Stacy 🫶🏻

Fitness isn’t the goal… Life is!!

For years, I approached nutrition and fitness like I approached everything else… trying to fix, manage, control, and improve myself.

These days, my goal is different.

I’m not trying to escape my life anymore. I’m trying to fully inhabit it.

I work out because I want to feel strong when I’m playing with future grandbabies, traveling with my husband, and chasing the dreams God has placed in my heart.

I choose nourishing foods because I want energy for the life I’m building, not because I’m trying to earn my worth.

It’s NOT about perfection… It’s about creating a body and mind that allow you to fully show up for your life!🩵💜🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

Strong enough to enjoy it.
Healthy enough to participate in it.
Confident enough to stop waiting for “someday.”

Maybe wellness isn’t about becoming someone else & maybe it’s about becoming more fully yourself.

Stacy 🫶🏻

One thing I’ve been reminded of lately is how important it is to be patient with ourselves.

After my accident, I wanted to jump right back into my normal routine, but my body needed rest first. Over the past 2½ weeks, I’ve slowly worked my way back… one walk, one workout, and one good decision at a time.

I’ve also focused on giving my body the nutrition it needs: enough calories, more complex carbs for energy, plenty of protein, and healthy fats. Instead of fighting my body, I’ve been learning to listen to it.

The result? My strength is coming back, my energy is improving, and I’m feeling more like myself every day.

Progress isn’t always fast, but consistency and patience go a long way. Give yourself grace and trust the process. ❤️💪

Stacy 🫶🏻

This photo isn't perfect.

Neither has the last couple of weeks with the accident and everything 😩

And yet, when I look at this photo, I don't see failure… I see strength 🙌🏻

I'm realizing that the healthiest priority list looks something like this:

💙 Recovery💙 Strength💙 Function💙 Aesthetics

NOT the other way around.

I still have goals. I still want to get leaner & be in the best shape of my life.

But I'm learning that sometimes the strongest thing you can do is listen to your body instead of fighting it.

Nourished and Strong isn't about perfection.

It's about building a body that's healthy enough to LIVE a beautiful life.

Stacy 🫶🏻

This week was a powerful reminder that health isn’t just about pushing harder.

Like many people who are working toward fitness goals, I have a strong drive to improve. I want to be stronger. Leaner. Healthier. I want to see what my body is capable of.

But sometimes the healthiest thing you can do is listen.

After a recent accident, I found myself dealing with a concussion, an infection, and eventually a diagnosis of hypoglycemia. For someone who is used to focusing on workouts, nutrition, and staying in a calorie deficit, it would have been easy to ignore the signals my body was sending and keep pushing forward.

Instead, I was forced to slow down.

I had to ask myself a difficult question:

Am I pursuing health, or am I pursuing a goal at the expense of my health?

The answer became clear.

Real health isn’t just about discipline. It’s also about wisdom.

Sometimes wisdom looks like a hard workout.

Sometimes wisdom looks like choosing protein and vegetables.

And sometimes wisdom looks like taking the rest day, eating at maintenance, taking your medication, going for a gentle walk instead of a tough workout, and trusting that recovery is part of the process.

I’ve worked hard for the progress I’ve made, and I have every intention of continuing to pursue my goals. But I’m learning that the goal isn’t to fight my body.

The goal is to work with it.

The strongest version of ourselves isn’t created by ignoring pain, exhaustion, illness, or warning signs.

It’s created by building enough self-awareness to know when to push and when to heal.

Right now, my focus is simple:

Nourish my body.
Support recovery.
Protect my health.
Trust the process.

The physique goals will still be there when I’m fully healed.

And the truth is, taking care of myself today is what will allow me to continue becoming stronger tomorrow.

Nourished and Strong isn’t about perfection.

It’s about learning to listen.

Four days after my accident (I was in a car accident, scary but thankfully everyone is OK except my poor Ford edge), I decided to return to the gym but with a very different mindset than usual.

Normally I'm focused on progressive overload, getting stronger, and pushing myself. This time, the goal was simply  to move, get blood flowing, and support recovery.

A good reminder: after an injury, the goal isn't to prove how tough you are. The goal is to heal while maintaining healthy movement.

My recovery full-body workout:

✅ 5-minute treadmill warm-up

✅ Leg Press2–3 sets of 10 reps at about 50–60% of normal weight

✅ Seated Row2–3 sets of 10 reps, light and controlled

✅ Glute Bridges2–3 sets of 12 reps

✅ Step-Ups2 sets of 8 reps each leg

✅ Chest Press Machine2–3 sets of 10 reps, light weight

✅ Lateral Raises2 sets of 12 reps

✅ Bicep Curls2 sets of 10 reps

✅ 10–20 minutes easy treadmill walking

A few things I'm avoiding for now:

❌ Heavy hip thrusts❌ Heavy walking lunges❌ Heavy goblet squats❌ Deadlifts❌ Heavy overhead pressing

One of the hardest lessons in fitness is learning that recovery is part of training. Sometimes the strongest thing you can do is take a step back, listen to your body, and ease your way forward.

Today's goal isn't PRs. Today's goal is healing.

Stacy 🫶🏻