Chapter Six: Training

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably noticed I’ve gone outside of my comfort zone and picked up running as a new hobby! I never really enjoyed running, but I wanted to mix up my training habits. Kind of silly that I chose running when I just mentioned, I’m not a huge fan of it. As you start incorporating new activities with goals into your workout routine, you’ll begin to love them (especially when you CRUSH your goals). Thats why I personally think it’s crucial to step out side of your comfort zone and try new things!

When you introduce new things it can help prevent burnout, overuse injuries and plateaus!

What I mean when I say “new things” is:

• Switch your exercises up. Ex: If you always do dumbbell chest press, try barbell. If you always do body weight exercises, add weight.
• At the end of each workout try two to three new exercises that you’ve never done before.
• Change the amount of reps or weight you normally do.
• If you run long distance, run sprints or vice versa.
• Change how long you workout. Its okay to only workout for thirty minutes! Its also okay to workout for an hour and thirty minutes, if need be.

These are just some tips. If you constantly find yourself hitting plateaus or not enjoying your workouts, then I highly recommend switching up your routine at least every 2-4 weeks.

If you have any questions regarding workout routines, exercises or how I switch up my workouts DM me. If I can’t help you, I’ll point you in the direction of someone who can.

Love, H

Chapter Five: Nursing

It’s not everyday that people wake up and actually enjoy going to work. Family and friends always ask me: “Did you know you always wanted to be a nurse?”. The answer to that question is heck no. It wasn’t until I watched my uncle lose his battle to cancer, that I actually knew I wanted to be a nurse.

Nursing is a work of heart.

Not a day goes by that I’m not thankful for my career choice, and the impact I make on a daily basis. Yes, there are tons of days I come home slamming doors, stomping on stairs and cursing because I’m so frustrated at the disrespect some patients give nurses. More times than none I come home feeling accomplished at how much I was able to impact a patient or their family.

This brings me to another question I get asked all the time. “You’re an ICU nurse? Isn’t it hard dealing with death?”

Well, of course it is. I personally think as nurses, we go into the job knowing death is a possibility, but it isn’t till someone passes you see how difficult it is. I would encourage any nurse or anybody as a matter of fact to journal, or just write down those difficult experiences. Talk about them with other people away from work. Don’t let it build up.

Now if you’re reading this and thinking “I’m not even a nurse, I don’t care about this”. Everyone has the opportunity to make a difference in any profession. Put a smile on at work, be thankful for the opportunity and your attitude will move mountains.

If you are interested in how you can impact someone’s life outside of your everyday career, I encourage you to learn. GET CPR CERTIFIED! Just knowing CPR could save someone’s life. I’ve seen it, time and time again!

Resources to get CPR certified:

• cpr.heart.org
• redcross.org

If you have any questions, let me know!

Love, H

PB2 Trick

I had some friends over this weekend. We began talking about PB2, and how great it was in smoothies. One of my friends brought up how it’s unfortunate it can only be used in smoothies, because it’s a powder form of peanut butter. So, that means you have to resort to regular peanut butter when you want to dip your fruit in it, or spread it on rice cakes!

pb2 with premium chocolate
for chocolate lovers!

I couldn’t settle with that! I love PB2! Depending on the brand it has 90% less fat, has 4-6 grams of protein and it’s lower in calories. That’s why I share with you my PB2 trick! 3 simple ingredients:

• 1 heaping tablespoon of PB2
• 2 teaspoons of honey,
• 1/2 table spoon of water!

Mix all the ingredients together, and you’ll have a yummy peanut butter sauce! Dip your fruit in it, drizzle over rice cakes or yogurt.

DM me if you have any questions. You can purchase PB2 at any grocery store, and research more about the product at pb2foods.com. As always, Enjoy! -H

Requests

I’ve gotten a lot of requests to start incorporating nutrition and exercise tips into my blog! I knew at some point I was going to blog about nutrition and exercise!! I’ve always been very passionate about these two things. With that being said, any advice that I give is based on my own research and knowledge that I have gained through my undergraduate programs and nursing school. I am not a registered dietician, or a personal trainer! I highly encourage my readers to do their own research as well.

So, in this specific blog I’ll give you one exercise tip and one healthy recipe that I enjoy (there will be more to come).

Exercise tip: Get Active!!!!!

That was super simple. The first step to a healthy life style, is that simple. Take the stairs, go on a walk/run/hike or get a gym membership! Make a goal and stick to it! “I’ll take the stairs everyday, instead of the elevator”. “I will walk around the neighborhood every evening”. “I will get a gym membership and plan to be in the gym three times a week”. Don’t make incorporating exercise into your life so complicated. You don’t have to spend four hours in the gym to consider yourself “active”. Make small goals and once you start nailing them make new ones!

Recipe: Salmon & Shrimp

Ingredients:

• Salmon, argentine shrimp
• 2 lemons
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp pepper
• 1 tbsp sea salt
• 1 serving Bragg’s Amino acid soy sauce
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp paprika

*I buy the frozen argentine shrimp and sliced salmon patties at HEB.*

Set oven to 425 degrees. Coat the base of a baking pan in olive oil. Place shrimp and salmon in baking pan. Sprinkle dry ingredients over fish. Squeeze lemon juice & Braggs Amino acid soy sauce over salmon and shrimp! Leave the lemon peel in the pan while the salmon bakes! (typically 15-20 minutes, depending on the oven).

Serve with jasmine rice and broccoli! Enjoy!! Such a simple and easy recipe, but delicious at the same time.

If you try this recipe, and you love it (which you will). Comment below!

Chapter Four: Faith

Has anybody ever had their religious beliefs questioned? If so, it can be very uncomfortable. Although, the situation can be uncomfortable, it can also be very beneficial. Look at it this way:

If someone questions your beliefs or religion, what does it make you do? Stand up? Seek God? Dive deeper in your faith to prove them wrong? Influence someone else into pursuing a relationship with God? Are these bad things? (Yikes, that was a lot of questions.) I can almost guarantee you, that the way you answered all those questions were positive. I’ll give you some advice on how I handled these certain situations in my life.

• Tip One: Be respectful
• Tip Two: Be an example
• Tip Three: Dig deeper

Tip One: Be respectful

Hear people out! It’s okay to have conversations about disagreements. The end result may not be what you want it to be, but at least you’re able to have mature conversations about differing opinions.

Tip Two: Be an example

If you’re going to talk the talk, make sure you walk the walk! It’s important that, as Christians, we lead by example. Don’t preach one thing, and then act a completely different way. Yes, everyone makes mistakes and we all have sinned! Pray, rinse and repeat!

Tip Three: Dig deeper

If you’re going to influence other individuals to pursue a relationship with Christ, than dig deeper in your own relationship! Do more research, dive into The Word yourself, and seek bible studies as well as church services.

Faith can move mountains – Matthew 17:20

Chapter Three: The Breakup

I hesitated writing this chapter, but figured if I was going to do a blog about all the positive and negative things that have impacted my life, then I couldn’t leave this chapter out.

If you know me, then you know I was in a serious relationship for four years. If you don’t know me, then now you know! This relationship ended in the same way that my parents relationship ended. Quite comical that the same exact person that walked by my side through my parents divorce had the audacity to turn around and do the exact same thing to me! Finding out someone you’re deeply in love with is cheating on you is, probably, by far one of the hardest things I’ve had to stomach.

I’m sure many of you have a similar story, so I’ll share with you how I made this chapter of my life “my bitch”.

When I initially found out, I wanted nothing to do with this person. I wanted to block/delete everything that had to do with him out of my life. Did I handle this situation this way at first? Nope. I talked it out. A whole week went by of just talking through the break up. The “what, how, when, where’s” were all answered. Everything was put out on the table. I highly recommend this. At first, I contemplated staying. Could we work this out? Ladies and gentlemen, NO! I don’t care what the scenario is, no one is deserving of that kind of treatment. Leaving is hard, but staying and feeling like you have to settle for that kind of behavior is much harder. You are worth SO much more than that. Do not forget that. The weeks and months to come were difficult. I spent multiple nights crying, and many other nights happy. I got to the point in my life where blocking and deleting was what I needed to do. Some people call that petty, but is it? I don’t think so. You’re erasing toxic people out of your life. Theres no sense in feeling the need to “creep” through their social media or post things to “get at them”.

I look back and I think “I thought I was happy then.” This experience transformed me. I now know what qualities I want in a life long partner. Both qualities that are must haves and others that are worth compromising on. I’ll tell you one thing; I will NOT settle. Neither should you. I love that I get asked all the time “Heather, how are you single?” Well, that’s easy to answer! It’s okay to be single; being single is so much fun!!! I’m focusing on my career, my health, and my future. We live in a generation that craves relationships. Focus on yourself! Stop acting like being in a relationship is the end all be all. Half the time people who post on social media about their relationships aren’t even really happy. I know I wasn’t.

I’m not perfect, I made mistakes. I had my moments of weakness and was petty. I will say with confidence I acted like an adult more times than I was petty. I could’ve blown up his phone, or sent him long rude messages all the time. Instead, I chose to use this negative experience as an opportunity to grow. I took the punches and let God do his work on me.

I regret nothing about how I handled this situation. I thank God for giving me the courage to get through this. I thank my closest friends for listening to me, and most importantly I thank my mom for knowing exactly what to say. I mean we kind of already had first hand experience. Lol.

If you remember anything from this blog post, remember this:

• Know your worth
• When the time is right God will place the right man in your life
• You aren’t perfect, and that’s okay!
• There actually really is a light at the end of the tunnel
• Let go and trust God
• most importantly “thank you, next”

The Hangover

On a less serious note, let’s talk about nights out with the girls or guys.

We all enjoy a night out on the town with our friends. I’m big into my fitness goals right now, so drinking has fallen off my (list of things to do) on my free time. I also know that it’s still important to get together with friends and let loose. Drinking isn’t the healthiest thing to do, but life is about balance.

Balancing your social, work, fitness and family lives is hard. A lot of the time I think to myself “Wow, I can’t go out and hang out with friends because alcohol is going to be involved and I don’t want to ruin the good workout I had”. Having a happy healthy mind is about being able to do things in moderation. No you’re not going to lose your “gains” by going out every now then! It took me awhile to really grasp the concept of “balance” or “moderation”. Go out and enjoy yourself! Wake up the next day and get the day started. You don’t need to spend an extra hour in the gym doing cardio, because you went out. Remember it’s a new day! Make it your bitch!

Everything in moderation, including moderation -Oscar Wilde

Tips & Tricks for The Hangover:

• Drink water, gatorade & caffeine!!!!
• Choose drinks that are low in congeners (vodka, gin, rum)
• Eat breakfast the next morning (toast and honey). Eating a good breakfast with carbs allows for our blood sugar to become elevated, providing us with more energy to get through the day.
• Take your vitamins
• Workout (if you can)

Chapter two: The Divorce Part two

I guess you’re wondering what this storm is? It was my dad’s mistress.

Within months of my parents getting divorced my dad was getting remarried, and no I didn’t miss type that. I mean he was getting remarried. I resented my dad for this selfless decision he made. How could he allow for this to happen? First of all he tore apart a happy family, but then on top of that aloud for another women to establish her “new” home in our home.

This was the boiling point for me. I had tried to forgive my dad initially, but this was the turning point of a very healthy father-daughter relationship. My life has forever been changed by this decision my dad made. I barely see my dad, I had to eliminate the toxic people in my life to fully heal from this experience. You may say family is forever, and don’t get me wrong. I love my dad, but I can’t be in the presence of somebody for their benefit, because his presence was at the detriment of my own health. Remember healthy happy life, not just physically but mentally.

I dont regret this decision. I talk to my dad every now and then. I visit him down in Houston, but our father-daughter relationship is nothing like it was when I was growing up. I think this was the hardest part of my parents divorce. Although, my relationship with my dad dwindled. My mom and I’s relationship flourished. Theres a positive, right?

The best advice I can offer you if you’re struggling through a storm, is to continue to press forward. God gives his hardest battles to his toughest soldiers. I could’ve taken the easy way out, given up because my life got hard and things became so foreign. Instead, I persevered. I still managed to graduate college in 4 years, and as a matter of fact graduate college with honors. I’m the woman I am today, because of these storms.

I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning how to sail my ship -Louisa May Alcott

Chapter Two: The Divorce Part One

Now that you know a little bit about me, let’s dive in.

Growing up my friends used to say my family was “perfect”. My parents had been married for 20 plus years, never missed a soccer game or practice, always had events at our house, had high paying jobs, drove the “fancy” cars…I mean the list goes on. It wasn’t until my freshman year in college I realized just how “un-perfect” my family was. I was leaving my microbiology class when I got a call from my mom. I answered the phone and my mom of usually many words couldn’t say one word.

She began to explain to me that my dad had been cheating on her for quite sometime. I can’t remember what I said or how I reacted, I froze. In this very moment my life was flipped upside down. My mom began moving out of our house, furniture began to be picked apart, and holidays were officially ruined by the remembrance of what a holiday looked like all together. A life that was once so together was not even in the picture anymore.

I watched my mom suffer, losing an extreme amount of weight because stomaching food was not something she was capable of doing during this time. What did I do? Well, I’ll tell you. I worked out, and got myself in the gym everyday. I became so obsessed with working out. The gym and my boyfriend of a couple years at the time were my only outlets. I used them to my advantage. I spent almost every holiday with his family, because in that I moment I finally felt like I was apart of a family. Not one that was ripped apart but a healthy happy family that cracked jokes and genuinely enjoyed their time together.

If I could go back, would I change that? Would I not get so invested in another family? I don’t know the answer to that, but I am forever grateful for this family. God placed them in my life at the most perfect time. I was hurt, alone and confused. They welcomed me in and were open ears to anything I had to say. Unfortunately, this good thing had to come to an end too (we will talk about this another time).

A couple months went by and I started to adjust to my parents being seperated. I continued to be active in the gym and used my friends and family as resources to help me get through, but then ANOTHER storm hit and this storm hit harder.

If you want to see the sunshine, you have to weather the storm – Frank Lane

Chapter One: Me

Let’s start off with a proper introduction. Hello, My name is Heather Benton! I was born and raised in the Houston, Texas area. Throughout my childhood I was very involved in sports and academics. I played soccer all through Middle School and High School. I chose to hang up the cleats after graduating High School and decided I would stay back home and attend Lone Star Junior College with the hopes of transferring to a bigger University to get my degree as a Nurse. Once I knew this goal was attainable I packed my bags and moved to Lubbock, Texas to continue out my plan. I was then accepted into the top nursing school in the state of Texas. I graduated from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in 2017 with my Bachelors in Nursing (yay a dream come true, literally). I’m currently an Intensive Care Nurse in Austin, Texas. I love my job, I learn everyday and in return I’m constantly challenged. Sounds like the perfect life, right? Shall we proceed to Chapter two?

In every smile I see storms hidden – Juveria