Pressure Perfect

I’ve been wondering again. I’ve told you before. I wonder about a lot of different things. Lately it’s been pressure. The pressure we put on our kids, or the pressure we put on ourselves. The pressures our parents put on us. What kind of pressure? 

The be good enough pressure. The comparison pressure. The get out in the real world pressure. Pressure, pressure and more pressure. All that pressure. It starts with our kid selves and just keeps building to our adult selves. Sports, grades, careers, life. 

So the next thing I started wondering about is how pressure affects people. What effect is it having? What makes a person more resilient to pressure? Is it the way their brain is wired? How does one person let crap just roll off their back, when another one obsesses over what someone said to them or about them. One moves on, one doesn’t. 

How does one person crack under it and the other doesn’t? What kinds of coping mechanisms do people use to deal with the pressure? Look at all those question marks. It’s crazy. I get in a loop and my mind just keeps going through the questions. I can’t help it. 

I feel like I am pretty well put together as far as not letting stress and pressure get to me. But why? Am I more resilient and more apt to be able to deal with pressure? Some people numb it. Some people turn to alcohol, or drugs or food or over spending. 

I think those numb -ers  can be in all of us. Sometimes the numb feels better than living with the pressure. Sometimes the numb is a way out. So many people have a fixed mindset instead of a growth mindset. When we have a fixed mindset we feel like we can’t improve. However, when we have a growth mindset, we think our intelligence, our talents and our abilities can be developed. We can overcome obstacles with effort, strategies and help from others. We can become more resilient. 

In fact, I am a big fan of using kid friendly books and psychology ideas to help my nutrition clients. I think it is super important because so many of us did not learn how to cope with our big emotions, our big feelings and our big pressures. So many times we are so concerned about pleasing others that we forget to be curious about ourselves and to learn about ourselves. We don’t even know ourselves. 

Aimlessly drifting or moving with purpose. Which was is the right way? Back to that pressure. The trick here is to make sure that if you are moving with purpose, you are moving with YOUR purpose. The goals you want to pursue, not your parents, not your teachers, not your spouse, not anyone, but you. “What you get my achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” Zig Ziglar

I think a main component of alleviating some of the immense pressure that is our lives, is to make sure to have the support of others. This can make life and those pressures a lot more easy to handle. It’s too hard to do things alone. The feelings of disappointing people can be huge. 

The pressure can be overwhelming. The numb – ers can be overwhelming. A few things that can help with the pressure is to ask yourself some questions when you are feeling overwhelmed. Ask yourself if you got enough sleep. Ask yourself if you got some movement in in the last few days. And ask yourself if you asked anyone for help. Finds some support. Talk to a friend, a mentor anyone whose advice you trust. 

Maybe check in with your kid once in a while and talk to them. Check in with yourself and see how your pressure is going. Check in with friends and other people you know. Ask questions. 

We all need a friend. And we all need to be able to ask for help. Do it sooner, rather than later, because sometimes, later is too late. 

Sometimes you get on a roll and sometimes you get on the coast vibe. Right now I feel on a roll. A shift if you will. Attitude? Perhaps. The moon? Perhaps. The timing? Perhaps. Things are fun right now. When you love your job, things should feel fun. Even hard things are fun. I get to do this job. I love this job. So, I am going to do a little re-introduction. I’m not sure if I have ever really done an introduction of myself for any social media platform. So, of course, I”m not doing it the traditional way. The traditional way would be to put the post itself on FB or IG. But, I will make it a blog post. Because that’s just how I do things. You can’t tell me what is the correct way to introduce myself. So, allow me to introduce myself – cue Rolling Stones music.

My name is Peggie Larsen. I grew up in small town Pierre, South Dakota. I left for a while but found my way back. I have an amazing husband, of 23 years. I have four grown children, last one in college, and 5 beautiful grandkids.

I have been active my whole life. I started gymnastics when I was 12 and lifting weights ever since. I started teaching aerobics when I was 19. I am a Nutrition Coach, PN1 and PN2. I have also completed a holistic nutritionist certification and a Psych Skills for Fitness Pros cert. I am a personal trainer and a kettlebell instructor. Certified in 2010. Bells are my love. I further my education on a daily basis. I take all kinds of small courses to try and learn as much as I can about nutrition and the ins and outs of behavior habits and change. I like to say I am a change facilitator. I had an in-person training studio, which opened in 2011, but covid took care of that this year, so now I am all online. I love to dig in and really try to find the buttons to push to help my clients reach their goals.

I help mostly women, with a few men sprinkled in. If you are in your late 30s, 40s and beyond, I’m your person. I have gone through the whole menopause tornado. Peri, meno and post. It can be intense for so many women. I am passionate about helping women find a comfortable peace in their bodies. So many times we want to find our old bodies again, but that doesn’t work. We are constantly evolving and that’s what makes life fun. I believe it is never too late to start lifting or to start taking care of your body. Age is just an idea. I know it takes time to get to I love me. I help with that. It is so gratifying watching the little successes add up. I love helping women who think they are too old, or that’s it too late. It’s not. It never is.

A few years ago I found myself constantly gaining weight and it just wasn’t slowing down. I finally took control of my situation and got things figured out. I called myself out on my shit and got serious about my health. I have maintained an over 40 pound weight loss since then and most of the menopause symptoms have been alleviated.

Clients come to me with the struggle of coming to terms with who they are in the body they have. I help them work through those frustrations and struggles and come out stronger on the other side. Not just physically, but also mentally and emotionally. Weight loss is so much more than just food. It’s a bigger picture than that. There are many factors that go into learning about eating and all of the habits and behaviors that go hand in hand with that. Several of my clients have lost over 50 pounds. It definitely takes work. It can get uncomfortable sometimes too, but it’s worth it. I believe everyone deserves to be happy in their skin.

A few random things about me.

I LOVE coffee and I even used to roast my own. Many weekends you could find me sitting out in my garage with the heat gun and stainless steel bowls, music blaring and roasting away. Now, I just buy Seattle’s Best, Posy Alley Blend.

I love to hike and hit the trails. Getting out in nature is so peaceful and so good for the soul. I love moving my body via Peloton bike, tread, or with the most underrated exercise of all–walking.

I am VERY sarcastic. I am sarcastic about 90 percent of the time. In fact, a lot of people can’t tell if I’m being serious or sarcastic

Several years ago I had skin cancer above my lip. I have a giant scar that starts in one nostril and down to my lip and then over to the corner of my mouth. I also have a crooked lip because of it. I’m okay with that.

I have an intimidating look, but I’m really not intimidating at all. I love to joke around and have fun. Because really, what is life without some fun. I am really funny!

I would love to answer any questions you have, so please don’t ever be afraid to ask them.