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Have you ever struggled to get out of bed?

by Mary Carter 3 Comments

That was me – and not all that long ago.

By spring 2017, I started struggling to get out of bed because of the stress from:

Suffocating student-loan debt;
Lackluster home-business growth;
Frustrating family relationships;
A new chronic illness diagnosis…

…and more!

Outwardly, certain things seemed fine.

But inwardly, I felt lost.

And life as I knew it felt completely flipped on its head.

A Tipping Point

A tipping point was the day I went for another post-op check-up. Like check-ups before, I sat there on that crinkly-paper-covered exam table. But this time was different from the others.

My nurse practitioner Pam had examined me after each of my surgeries that year. But this time she used two words that scared me:

“…deep depression….”

What followed were four weeks of a medically mandated reduction in hours at my job as a content writer for a bustling marketing firm.

A health issue was becoming a life crisis.

In those four weeks, I had time to think—a lot of time to think. By God’s grace, one revelation from that time of reflection was this:

Every upsetting crisis can be an uplifting catalyst.

IF you want it to be, God can transform the “worst” thing happening to you right now into one of the best things. There are some steps only you can take, though.

Maybe you’re bounding out of bed with all the energy, hope, confidence you could want? Then you’re seeing this for someone you love…

…someone who’s closer than you realize. Someone like I was—quietly struggling and secretly misusing my prescription pain meds to numb the emotional pain.

Pam’s words echoed often: “…deep depression….” I knew some things needed to change. I just didn’t know what. And I definitely didn’t know how.

But I did know the when: as soon as possible.

That’s how a tipping point became a turning point.

A Turning Point

Some amazing home-business teammates, namely Kayla Howard, kept mentioning this “First Steps to Success” thing, and that another was coming up!

With a full money-back guarantee and results-filled story after story over at DaniJohnson.com, I figured I had nothing to lose—except some discouragement.

Since taking my first chance on First Steps, every area of my life has been positively impacted.

I even have more hope for healing from that chronic illness. Even Pam noticed. At a more recent checkup, she couldn’t believe the difference:

“I don’t know what you’re doing, but keep doing it—because the woman who’s here now is not the same woman who was here last time.”

She’s right—since my first First Steps:

There’s been healing in once-strained family relationships.
I’ve paid off nearly $3,000 in debt (and counting).
I’ve found a proven strategy for annihilating that student-loan debt faster.
My once-floundering home business has increased by more than 7x.
I even ended up in my best dating relationship ever (we met at a DaniJohnson.com event)!

It’s your turn(ing) point:

No excuse is worth sacrificing your freedom for.

If you don’t step out now, there’s no guarantee you’ll get this chance again. Only you can take this step. (There is, however, a guarantee at the event.)

So you’ve got nothing to lose except what you don’t even realize is holding you back from the quality of life and freedom that you secretly long for.

Do you really want things to get better?

If you’re serious about that:

Then your first steps start now.

Not after you’ve thought about it more.

Not after you’ve entertained the excuses.

Not after you’ve collected opinions from people who lack results…

…your First Steps start now:

www.FirstStepsToSuccess.com

My Diet Failure and Success

by Mary Carter Leave a Comment

Keto was a key part of my most recent physical transformation. I REALLY FELT AMAZING on this eating plan and in 21 days my body changed so much (see the picture below). I had no pain, no allergies, and so much ENERGY. I wanted to keep feeling like that but some things led to my downfall. Let me share these with you.

My Introduction to Keto

The Keto Diet was recommended to me by my friend and colleague Dr. Sharneal Wolverton-Sehon. I watched her transform her body and heal from some pretty serious stuff over the course of 2 years.

In my experience Keto eating takes work, resources and extra cash. I spent an extra 1 hr – 2 hrs cooking, and organizing what I would eat in my Plan TO EAT and MyFitnessPal. There are some other great Keto trackers out there, just Google them. It cost about $80 more a week but sometimes I think I overbought so plan on $50 -75 and I was feeding most all my family on this diet.

I posted a couple videos where you can watch about my experience.

This one in particular was after the initial 21 days.

My Down Fall With Keto

First, I got myself a little run down staying up super late with all the extra energy I had. And that’s where it began. Next, I got too busy and would forget to eat all my healthy fats. That’s when you start to get very hungry; when you don’t get sufficient fat in. Fat really does make you feel full and not crave sweets, sugars or carbs. I AM NOT JOKING IT’s AMAZING. Just then, I started eating more carbs and more carbs until I was out of Ketosis.

You can learn more about Ketosis everywhere but here is some good info.

My Come Back

One particularly hard morning when I was having some leg cramps I prayed to God to help me get back on track and by that evening I had an answer.

By the way, to avoid leg cramps while on Keto be sure to add Magnesium into your diet without eating a banana. MegaCal by Young Living is a great choice.

Get it here.

I was attending my local Gym’s open house Total Women Gym and they had a vendor called Diet to Go. Have you ever heard of it? It’s a fresh meal service that is in several different states. They have several different meal plan options and they just so had a plan called CARB 30. You can get 3 meals a day especially designed to follow a somewhat Keto Diet with less or around 30 Carbs a day. I WAS SO EXCITED.

I felt like God answered my prayers. See even though it’s more expensive than buying groceries and cooking my own Keto Friendly foods it saves me at least 1 to 2 hours a day 7 days a week. That is 7-14 hrs of my time, time of which I can be present with my kids, teaching and grooming them or working where I earn money in that extra 1-2 hrs a day.

I am 4 weeks into Diet to Go with myself, my husband, the kids, my mom and 2 of my friends are trying some of the meals and food too. They all love it. The food comes already cooked so just pop the meal into the toaster oven or oven for 15-20 minutes and it’s perfect.

Diet to Go Tips & Tricks

So here are a few tips if you are going to try Diet to Go or prepping your own food weekly.

Keto: if you are doing Keto Diet you will need to add more fat to the Diet to Go Carb 30. Add MCT oil, some olive oil or avocado mayo to things. Just measure it out, its super easy.

Use a Tracker: All the Diet to Go meals are in My Fitness Pal so it’s perfect for pre-setting your days and adding what you need or taking out what you don’t.

Get some Good Probiotics: My favorite Bubbles Sauerkraut. Getting those Probiotics from the Sauerkraut is so helpful for digestion.

You may also want to consider a probiotic supplement like Life 9 by Young Living.

Get it here.

Change what you don’t like: Diet to Go lets you change things out and even go on hold with meals which is GREAT! Make sure to review your menus prior to your cut off dates and even plan them in your calendar.

Read the directions and follow them: They have great directions on what snacks you can and can not add to the Diet to Go program. For example, if you add in a Chobani yogurt, an apple, a cookie, popcorn or dessert you may sabotage your weight loss goals. I am seeing plateaus in my weight when I don’t stick to my foods.

The Value of a Food Service

Diet to Go has delicious healthy options for the busy mom like me who needs every minute of her day. Diet to Go is excellent for the single person, elderly person, vegetarian, or any person serious about getting healthy.

If you want to lose weight stick to the meals. These meals are made so you don’t have to think or really eat anything else. For Keto it will be helpful to add fat and maybe give a few of your veggies or bites of meat to your dinner guests. Most all the meals are cooked so add some fresh greens and low carb veggies.

If you have listened to my previous lectures I always recommend having a health budget. Money set aside for investing in your health, whether that is a personal trainer or gym membership, nutritional supplements or essential oils, massage and Chiropractic. Now I think some of us should consider looking into Diet to Go service.

Click the link to learn more and see if Diet to Go is near you or near a loved one who might benefit from this service.

God Bless your success;

Mary Starr Carter
theTotal Wellness Doc and mom

Strength in Weakness

by Mary Carter Leave a Comment

I know I have been sharing a lot about the classes I am currently a part of called Solutions for an Abundant Life. But I wanted to share with you a little bit about the Journey God is taking me on in this class.

Can You Have Strength in Weakness?

The latest concept God is making me see is through weakness we are made strong. Does that make any sense to you? Listen as I share my powerful AHA moment in the video below. It think it will bless you like it did my friend Ashley.

I have a couple of coaches in my life right now and it’s hard and awesome at the same time.

What about you, what are you doing to strengthen yourself?

God Bless you friend;

Mary Starr Carter

Some Days it’s Tough, Some Days it’s Awesome

by Mary Carter 1 Comment

Homeschooling my kids was always something I wanted to do. My Natural Health mentors all homeschooled and it seemed like the right thing to do when we started having babies. I was pretty strong in that conviction but really didn’t have a clue what it would mean to me personally, our family or our lifestyle. So, when my son was like 2 1/2 years old we started him in a little pre-school. I remember in the orientation they talked about how they are preparing kids for school. I thought “uh oh, my kid is not going to go to school, but what harm can this little 2 day a week 2.5 hrs do to my son?”

My son was the youngest, still not potty trained and not as verbal or cooperative as the other little girls and one or two boys in the class. After a couple of months my son was asked to leave the pre-school program. I was pretty crushed as a parent and mom. Would I need to find more outside care for my son or would I take on the job?

Growing Into Home Schooling

I grew up as an only child so I didn’t have an affinity for kids like other moms. I was a workaholic and was good at business and teaching to be healthier and live better but parenting didn’t come easy to me and I was still mediocre at best. We had another baby Sarah Grace when Joshua was 3. I had a babysitter, nanny help, or Grandparents help almost every day with my two kids. When my youngest was 8 months old we ended up moving far away where I had a lot less help. That transition was more challenging but I learned how to love my kids deeper and be more present with them.

When my oldest was 6 I started attending a Coop of Homeschooling parents and kids. It was incredible to watch the dynamics of all the different kids at the same age as my son, there were highly active, low attention span boys like my son as well as focused studious kids who already were amazing readers and writers. And still they all were learning and growing. I soon learned that my son was not as different as I thought and in fact he was quite special and unique. Later I would learn that my daughter and most every kids I came into contact with was special, unique and gifted in some way.

Challenges With Home Schooling

When my kids were 6 and 3 we had one more move across the country where I would learn parenting at a whole new level. That first year after the move has been one of the hardest in my homeschooling journey. It isn’t because my kids are crazy or jumping off the walls, it’s actually because of me. I have had to train myself to learn to do “THE HARD THINGS” like create structure and consistency in my home. To overcome hurdles of poor attitudes and understand where they are coming from. I have been blessed to lean on another group of amazing women and Homeschoolers who help me understand “I AM ENOUGH”. That my challenging son is awesome and is getting better and better. They have helped me learn how to take “MOMMY BREAKS”, and led me to different resources and help. And most of all that God will direct me if I let Him.

This past week I had a really hard day getting my kids to do their work, follow directions and make progress. By 1:30 pm I was exhausted. But we still headed off to a new park for excersice. When we arrived there was lots of interesting features to this park with an overhang that looked Chinese in design. Nearby was an elderly man playing an Erhu – Chinese violin.

As my kids ran and played, all of sudden my 7 year old son labels the playground Asia and this other part of it China. Wow, I thought to myself he is absorbing and even learning his history, geography and timeline subjects. In that moment I really felt accomplished as a mom, parent and homeschooler.

God Teaches On The Journey

In that moment God reminded me that just because we have challenges or move a little slower in some areas of schooling or life doesn’t mean HE isn’t doing a great work in us. I know God is using me and my family for His testimonial. I know that doing these HARD THINGS, like Homeschooling, is teaching me way more than I can possibly understand.

Here is a list of the things and areas God is teaching me through this journey:

Diligence, Self Discipline, Time Management, Love, Forgiveness, Understanding, Patience, Personal Self Development , Faith, Self Care, Timeliness, Systems, Routines, Humility, Favor, Surrender, Hope, Faith, Joy and Kindness.

I don’t know what you may be going through, all I know is that growth doesn’t necessarily come through doing things that we are already good at. Growth comes from doing the HARD THINGS. So whatever hard patch you’re walking through today, know it is stretching you and making you grow.

Here’s a post to encourage you as you do the hard things today!

God Bless you on your Parenting, Mom, and Life Success;

Mary Starr Carter

The Total Wellness Doc and Mom

What Happens To Kids With No TV

by Mary Carter Leave a Comment

Ever notice kids are much more creative and imaginative when they don’t watch TV? Mine get so playful, they talk my ear off using bigger words and more complicated sentences whenever we’ve had a few days with no TV.

And sure, some of those ideas and words do come from previously watched movies or learning shows. I’ve been thinking about doing little to no TV during the week and talking to God about it. Then this video came up; So impressive!!

10 years ago Mikhah Johnson was that 10 year old kid always drawing something cute. His parents were always encouraging him, but they went farther that words of affirmation. They created an environment that allowed him to dive deeper into his interests and made room to develop the Gift God gave him. With learning opportunities, practice and hard work Mikhah’s parents knew to groom this kid for success so TV was NOT a staple in their home.

Raising Little World-Changers

Do you have an artist, teacher, doctor, missionary, producer, inventor, or world-changer in your home?

Do you know how to take on this great task of raising them UP to all they were made to be?

I don’t know about you, but I have often felt unequipped for such a lofty task, and have turned to screen time as a tool in my home. I’m still figuring out this parenting and homeschooling thing WITH my kids. That’s what most of us parents do, we’re learning and hopefully improving as we go…

As parents we want the best results for our kids, but how many of us actually have a roadmap? How many of use even know where to look?

Learning To Groom Your Kids From Experts

Mikhah’s own parents used a specific road-map to develop his potential. That’s why I have started using a road-map to become capable of raising success in my kids. And it is available for you to use. That’s right, you can learn from parents with expert level results. The roadmap that Mikhah the artist parent’s use & teach is called Grooming the Next Generation for Success, this book and training program is your road-map for everything you need to raise your kids from infancy to adulthood.

This is your opportunity to take that class and go “back to school” to learn how to raise thriving, successful, productive, amazing kids — that become world-changers!

It’s never too late and anyone who influences kids lives can take these classes.

If you’re a parent or grandparent (or educator) join me to learn how to groom your kids and develop their gifts so they can be the world-changers God made them to be. You can do it in your home or with us online.

If you’re done winging it in parenthood and know that just doing a little better than your parents isn’t going to cut it, then you need to learn from the experts

Join me in going through this program:

Reply or Comment YES, I’m In!
Get your training program here and your book here.
Check in online and share your results.

I can’t wait to see what happens when you are equipped to groom your kids for success in all areas of their life.

God Bless your success;

Mary Starr Carter

the Total Wellness Doc and Mom

It’s Not in Your Own Strength

by Mary Carter Leave a Comment

I’ve been taking some time for myself and poured into learning from some incredible people. Some of these were my Mentors like Dani Johnson and MamaHug but others included some successful business leaders who shared their success stories and how they created thriving 6-7 figure a year incomes in business. You might be surprised by what they all had in common.

Thriving With God

Story after story had a similar theme. The theme was GOD. Yup you got it! GOD or G-D for my Jewish friends, the Creator of all things most every single one of these successful business leaders sights God as part of their story to success.

Finding Christ was the single best thing I have in my life. It is my comfort, my helper, my Rock, my Joy and my Strength. It helped me stop putting the weight of the world on my shoulders and just rely on HIM. Prior to finding this ROCK and bringing Jesus and the Holy Spirit in my life I was a HUGE STRESS BALL. I MEAN HUGE. Miserable, crying and or screaming weekly at my husband, frustrated and anxious. Now my life is much different. I am so much more at PEACE even during the hardest times of my life. I know without a doubt I have the Peace that passes all understanding.

Understanding How Favor Falls Upon Us

Lately; I am beginning to understand how FAVOR falls on us. How we are all so Blessed but can cut some of that off in our life from our past hurts, words spoken over us and things from our childhood. I was called to some training this summer that has helped thousands all over the world heal the wounds of their past. It is called Ministering to the Wounded with Prayers and Essential oils it comes from a 12 week class called Solutions for an Abundant Life.

It is powerful, real world and life changing if you let it. Check out more details here. I am blessed to be a little part of this training and am excited to see what and how God wants to heal me and you and make us WHOLE this year.

Praying for your Healing;

Mary Starr Carter

The Total Wellness Doc and Mom