Tracy Evelyn Health & Fitness

In August of 2015, I started my first month at Northwest Iron. I was SO nervous. I've only been a member of one other CrossFit gym (which I went to for 2 years!). I started off slow, getting to know people and coaches, and trying to find my place in the gym. I was LOW on the totem pole there, which was a tough transition from being one of the top-dogs at my previous gym. I was humbled daily, but more than that I was SO motivated by the strong powerful and fast women that surrounded me in each workout. I started a nutrition plan in November and I just KNEW that I would immediately start hitting my goals, and turning into a lean-mean-CrossFitting-machine. Fast forward to January and there I was, crying every day and super stressed out because I wasn't doing ANYTHING better. Sure, I had lost a few pounds and a few inches, but I didn't feel anywhere NEAR close to doing better during a wod, or hitting any bigger numbers in my lifts. One day some of the trainers and I were ha...

Guilty pleasures are wonderful, no?  Here are a few of mine : Backstreet Boys . Lady Gaga  (seriously, why is bad romance just a great song to dance to in the shower?!). Gossip Girl. knitting (duh) pictures of babies and / or most kid related items . cooler ranch doritos - Coach G$, can I have room in my macros for these PLEASE?! any cookie that doesn't contain nuts - bleh. anything gold / glittery. what are your guilty pleasures?

You've seen those HUGE knit blankets that everyone is dying over, right?! I mean, they are really amazing - I've thought about making an enormous one for our living room rug instead of an area rug from the store. One of my long standing customers (who has purchased multiple things from my shop ) asked me if I thought I would be able to make one, so I gave it a go! The materials are a little spendy, but these blankets are amazing - here it is! Don't you just want to grab it and snuggle up!? Honestly, it is THE coziest blanket I've ever made. I listed it on my Etsy shop in this lap blanket size, but I would be OVER THE MOON excited if someone wanted a larger size!   xxoo

I always have great blogging ideas when I'm driving, or in the shower, doing dishes, running a load of laundry. You know. Blogging in my head because I have no where to write it down. Then I get to my computer or notepad to jot something down and BAM. It's gone. What? Ugh. Anyway, these last few months have been great. Hard. Unbearable at times. I know it has been exactly what it is supposed to be. I have : -Visited Chicago -Purchased our first home -Started flexible dieting -Made some amazing  knit goods -Lost some friends -Made some new friends -Started piecing together who I am supposed to be.. A great wife. A great mother. A great friend. This morning I got in a yelling match with my 5 year old (seriously.) and after 10 minutes in the car, completely silent and both of us fuming (duh) (oh and I was still fighting with her in my head because I know out loud would just be bad) it was time for me to apologize. This is not how I want her to talk to her daughte...

Hey! Everyone knows how important HYDRATION is!  Well my BKR helps me stay on top of my water intake!  I absolutely LOVE my BKR bottle.  Its glass, so I'm never worried about any bpa's or other chemicals leeching into my water.  Its easy to carry around, because of the little handle on the lid, and the silicone sleeve makes it super grippy and easy to hold on to when your hands are full with children/groceries/starbucks/barbells.  PLUS its totally adorable and SO many celebs use it too :) You can throw small chopped fruit in there if you want!  It won't ever stink up your bottle permanently like it would in a plastic water bottle! See what I mean!  Its awesome! Get your BKR at  mybkr.com .  They have a GAZILLION colors to choose from! Also - some people struggle with getting their sleeve off and on for washing, if thats you  HERE  is a link to see how the founder of BKR does it! xxoo

Dear Unhappy Unmotivated Not very Fit Mom, Hi.  I know you.  I WAS you.  I got married and put on 20 pounds.  I didn't like myself and I wouldn't let anyone else get too close to me because they would see the real me...I didn't even know who the real me was anymore! I hated public events!  None of my clothes fit me right.  I just wanted to eat ice cream every night and waffles every morning and thought I would always just be kinda fat.  I actually told my friends that I was just LAZY. I know that you have no desire to work hard.  I didn't either.  Walking two miles a day 4 days a week did NOTHING for me.  I was tired of being worried that my husband didn't love me anymore, I was tired of being SO self conscious all the time, I wanted to be fit so that I wouldn't become obese during pregnancy, I wanted to be able to toss my kids in the air and catch them, I wanted to be able to hike more than 2 miles.  I wanted to be sexy. So...

JOYFUL AND FIT Since becoming a newlywed a lot has changed for me.  I gained weight and lost confidence.  I thought I wanted big things that weren't part of my being sane or joyful. NOW I have found what I'm passionate about and I'm changing my blog officially to become more of who I am now, not who I was! I want to help women who lost their confidence to be confident again! I want to help YOU be the BEST YOU that YOU CAN BE. I want to be able to share in joys and triumphs and loss and failures with you - keeping in mind that my JOY is found in The Lord, not in my body or in my family life or in the gym. I hope you still want to be part of this life journey with me! Comment below if you are interested in finding out more about my online training!  My online athletes have lost INCHES and already have gained an appreciation for a healthy and fit lifestyle.                           ...