If you’re a busy mom feeling overwhelmed at the idea of macro counting Haley’s story is sure to give you encouragement. Her transformation photos are incredible, yes, but more than that her story of the impact counting macros has made with her entire family will inspire you to persevere and see exactly what’s possible.
Meet Stay Fit Mom Ninja Haley, busy mom of four, Air Force spouse, and traveler extraordinaire! When Haley started macro counting with Stay Fit Mom in May of 2021 she was nursing her youngest and not exercising. She was averaging a little over 1500 calories a day.
Tell us a little bit about your story. How many kids do you have? Married? What does a typical day in your life look like?
Hi! I’m Haley! I grew up in Mobile, Alabama. I grew up with fantastic southern cooking and baking from my mother and grandmother and great-grandmother! It’s a long legacy of good food! I met my husband, Todd, at Penn State where we were physics lab partners. We were married 4 weeks after college graduation in 2005 and then Todd commissioned in the United States Air Force one week after our honeymoon. He is a handsome fighter pilot. We have 4 kids, a daughter and 3 sons. Emelia is 10 and Philip, William & Louis are 8, 4 and 2. We live in Yorktown, Virginia, but have lived in Mississippi, Arizona, Korea, Nevada, Washington, DC, New Mexico, and Germany before moving to Virginia.
I am currently a stay at home mom with our many small children. I play the role of chauffeur, alarm clock, cook, cleaner, tutor, enforcer, decorator, cheerleader, disciplinarian, diaper changer, and everything in between.
I’m also a substitute teaching leader for our local Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) day women’s group. My typical day starts at 5:30am. I go to a 6am gym class at Burn Boot Camp. It’s a mix between strength training and cardio. A couple days a week I also run with a friend in our neighborhood. Then it’s time to hit the ground running with kid’s breakfast, bus stop, and preschool drop off. I usually squeeze in breakfast for myself there too. I try to have pre-made breakfasts ready whether that is overnight oats or egg bowls. On days I have BSF, I am there for the morning hours before preschool pickup. For lunch I usually enjoy some dinner leftovers. In the afternoon I usually have an hour or so of time to get all the things done while my two little boys nap. Then it’s time to ramp back up with afternoon activities. I make dinner most evenings and have really enjoyed the SFM monthly meal calendars to help get me organized! After the kids are in bed, I usually have a couple hours to catch up with my husband and get everything ready for the next day. We also travel regularly so life is very busy!
What made you decide to sign up for SFM macro coaching and how long did you follow along before taking the plunge?
I have always been active and busy so I felt overwhelmed at the thought of tracking everything I ate. After our fourth child was born in 2020, I had a really hard time getting back to myself. I was older (a lovely geriatric mother, as they call it) and life was busier than ever. I knew Tracy and many of the SFM coaches from our time living in Las Vegas, so I’d always followed along as their business grew but decided to take the plunge into coaching in May of 2021. I was skeptical at first as it’s a steep learning curve, but now I’ll never go back! The entire SFM community has been encouraging and it would be much more difficult to do without the help of Tracy, Krista, the coaches & the entire community on my side.
What are some of the challenges to counting macros as a busy mom? How have you managed to overcome those challenges?
My biggest challenge with counting macros as a busy mom is taking the time to figure out my meals. At first this felt very daunting. In fact, Chelsea had to really help me a lot in the beginning. I couldn’t wrap my mind around tracking everything I put into my mouth. As a chronic snacker, this took a big mind shift for me, but it was a healthy one. I was eating something like 1300-1500 calories a day when I started. It was mostly carbs as I finished kids goldfish or grabbed some late night ice cream as a reward at the end of a hard day. I felt like I was doing what I was supposed to do by not eating much, but what I was eating was not doing my body any good. As I learned the ropes of tracking what I was eating, it became much easier. For the first 6 weeks, I planned my days out the night before. This helped me tremendously to stay on track. After a year and a half of tracking, it’s much easier to plan out my day as I go. When life is busy, tracking is something that gives me consistency and I am so grateful for that.
You travel a lot! I’ve followed your instagram @wherearewegoingtodaywithkids for a long time! How
do you make macros work with all of your adventures?
Thank you! We love to travel. It’s one of our most favorite things to do together as a family and I’ll be honest, tracking and travel is tricky. But, it is possible to set yourself up for success. Despite traveling regularly, I’ve still had great success with macros. My biggest piece of advice is to be consistent with tracking when you can. When I am home, I try to be as consistent as I can. That way I can enjoy more freedom when I’m not home. This, for me, is the biggest win with macros. The freedom in macros is what has made this sustainable for so long – over a year and a half of tracking with continuous progress. I thoroughly enjoy myself when we’re traveling, but I also look forward to the stability that comes with being home and being able to hit my numbers. My best accomplishment came when I flew across the US with all 4 of my kids by myself last summer and still hit my numbers! It took a lot of planning, but I was very proud of myself!
How has your macro journey impacted other areas of your life besides just needing a new wardrobe?
Well, obviously feeling more comfortable in my own skin and clothes has been a big perk. But, otherwise it’s impacted our family in many ways. First, it has allowed me to have much less stress about meal planning. I plan out our week in advance and know that at all times I will have food available and meals planned. It has added stability and structure to our family dynamics that are fantastic. Next, it’s helped our budget! Yes, my grocery bill has increased. But, our overall food budget has gone down. We spend far less money on eating out, last minute food runs, and unpredictable grocery stops. I plan a grocery order once a week to go with our meal plan. Krista’s recipes have been a huge help to us and my kids love them all! It’s such a time saver to have a recipe I know my whole family will love and that I can easily track already prepared for me! Finally, my husband has also jumped on the macros bandwagon and has seen great success! He started tracking about 6 months after I did and has lost about 30 pounds. It’s been wonderful to do this together. We both feel so much better in our own skin and we help encourage one another. It has changed the way our whole family thinks about food.
You are one of our most persevering clients and I know this journey hasn’t been easy. What tips do you have for women that want to throw in the towel when the scale doesn’t move as quickly as we want it to?
I know that this is a lifelong commitment. I’m in it for the long haul, not for short term success. It took me over a year to reach my goal weight. Good things are worth the wait, and the mental mind shift. Macros has truly changed the way I think about food and fueling my body. That took a long time to do. We have to be ready to put in the work for the long haul to truly see changes. I know I won’t continue with coaching forever, but as long as I’m seeing progress, why would I stop? Progress might not look like pounds lost every single week, and that’s ok. In fact, over the last few months I’ve seen the scale creep back up a little bit. But that is normal. In this season of life that I’m in, consistency is lower. Stress is higher, schedules are busier and life takes precedence sometimes. It’s to be expected. While it’s easy to get discouraged when this happens, I know that this is a season. There will be coming seasons where I can be more consistent and I’ll be ready for them.
What keeps you continuing with coaching over and over again with Coach Chelsea?
Chelsea is my ultimate cheerleader, counselor and coach. Each week she thoughtfully responds to my concerns and questions. It’s clear that she’s taken the time to read my check-in, look at my week, and carefully consider all the factors when coaching me. I LOOK FORWARD to my weekly check-in – It’s like scheduled communication with a good friend. She encourages me when I’m feeling down, offers top- notch advice, counsels me when I’m unsure, and ultimately I know she has my best interest at heart. I am so thankful for her guidance and understanding and I truly could not have done this without her. She has been my #1 fan and her genuine care for me is so apparent in every word she sends me. To know I have someone cheering me on, praying for me, and guiding me through this has made the success so much sweeter.
What Coach Chelsea has to say about working with Haley.
Haley is fervent, hard working and dedicated. She is more than just a client, she is a friend. When she first started I was a new to coaching and very nervous to have a client I knew personally. Especially because she travels A LOT. But from the start of week one, she jumped in head first and was dedicated to making macros work. She did it and continued to amaze me each week she would hit 7/7 WHILE TRAVELING (even when she was at the airport on standby for a flight with all four kids by herself)!! It has paid off in big ways and I know she doesn’t regret a single day. What a joy it has been to be along side her on this journey. Love you, friend.
If you’re looking to start one on one macro coaching, we’d love to help. Register for our next coaching session HERE.
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