Fitness Portraits Michelle Phys Ed New Milford

Fitness Portraits

Michelle

Personal Trainer at Phys Ed New Milford

Michelle competed in her first body building competition in 2000 but she recently told me that she feels like she is in better shape now than at any other point in her life, so a perfect time to take some fitness portraits!

I invited Michelle to write a post for the blog so here in her words.

What fitness and good health mean to me.

Our bodies are meant to move…that’s what we’re designed to do.  Good health and fitness does not require endless hours of exercise or severe dietary restrictions, but it does require finding some form of movement that you can enjoy enough to do consistently and it does require being fueled with whole, nutritient dense foods.  Many individuals get sucked into the lifestyle of instant gratification:   We want it now. We enjoy those things that give us that quick moment of pleasure and we avoid those things that bring us a little discomfort.

What we should really be aiming for is an entire lifetime of feeling good.  We need to find balance between what we want in the moment and what will help us live a fuller, healthier long life.

In order to be well rounded, we also need to include finding some way to improve our mental health.  This could be as simple as taking 5 minutes a day to just sit and breathe deeply and think about what we’re grateful for that day.  Taking a few minutes to “just be” can have a huge impact on our day.

I work with many older individuals and the ones who are feeling well and healthy as they age are the ones who have learned to balance out movement, nutrition and mental well-being.  In the long run, we need to learn to take care of ourselves so we have more to give to others.

I love my job…helping others find nutrition and exercise that work for them so they can truly live their best healthy life!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Michelle. You are an inspiration to so many of your friends and clients.

 

 

Lighthouse Point Park Family Session – Ella’s Family!

Lighthouse Point Park New Haven, CT – Family Portrait Session

I met Kelly, Mike and Ella last year and they are amazing. They are sweet, down to earth, incredibly level-headed and have a great outlook on life. They have the cutest family of three and a new baby on the way. Although Kelly would probably like to start planning and decorating, they have decided to wait for one of the most incredible surprises life has to offer. I love surprises and I didn’t find out either – I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Kelly and I spoke about doing this shoot first back in January. She sent me an email explaining that her Dad was having surgery and even though everyone agreed that it was going to go well and they had absolutely nothing to worry about, she felt like we should get together and take photos of her Dad and Ella. Kelly had no way of knowing this, but it was actually the sixth anniversary of my mom’s passing and I loved the idea of photographing the three generations of her family together. I wanted to do it to honor my mom’s memory and to celebrate the continued health of theirs.

Well, it was January and the weather was ridiculously cold, and then of course everyone got sick, so we decided to wait. Thankfully Kelly’s dad recovered well but with a new baby on the way we wanted to incorporate “the belly” into the shoot.  We decided that we should wait for summer, by that time her belly would be nice and round.

If you live in Connecticut then you know how hot it has been recently. We decided to meet early one Sunday morning at Lighthouse Point Park in New Haven. We figured if we met at 7:30 a.m. then the light would be good, the sun would not be too hot, and the crowds would be minimal. Our genius plan worked and we had the whole park to ourselves – well almost, there was a couple of fishermen and grounds keepers raking the beach but they didn’t mind us being there.

I love that you can see how relaxed and happy the whole family is together. Mike just became a Doctor and I was kicking myself for not suggesting that we shoot at Dr Mike’s ice-cream shop…. we will have to do that next time. I hope you all enjoy this family as much as I did.

Ella could see the swings in the distance and she wanted to get going!

Blowing kisses xoxo

Kisses for the baby… I wonder whether Ella will have a baby sister or brother to play with…..

 

 

Family Portraits – Meet My Family

Family Portraits : Meet the Planet Photo Family

My children are 12 and 9, I can’t believe that my kids are pre-teen already! They are getting older and the cuddles and bed time rituals of old are no longer top of their list of fun things to do with mom and dad. I certainly miss it, but at least they still have a list of fun things to do with us.  So for now, we cherish every moment of family life and don’t think about the day when we are just the dumbest adults on the face of the earth…..

Mitch and I count the years until Sam leaves for college, (usually we are panicing about the lack of college funds) but a huge part of me is panicing at the thought of them moving on and moving out. So for now, I will enjoy the craziness of homework, sports practice, revising for science tests and trying to find a movie that we all want to see at the movie theater, and I will keep sneaking my snuggles whenever I get the chance.

I wanted to you to see my inspiration, my not so willing test models, and the loves of my life. Sam and Olivia.

 

My kids would never forgive me if I didn’t include a couple of Penny Lane! She is a Chatham Hill Retriever and we really couldn’t imagine life with out her. She steals tissues, jumps up at anyone who comes to the door and is crazy about ice cubes but she is gentle and extremely patient with the kids and we love her.