Vibrant Happy Women 44: How to Get On (and Stay On!) the Wheel of Wellness (Cassie Piasecki)
Have you ever ended the day by realizing everything you ate that day was all junkfood?! Cassie Piasecki had that experience and decided to change her life, get healthy and then start sharing her journey of health and wellness with others. Cassie created the Wheel of Wellness (WOW) nutrition program and has helped thousands of women to be their healthiest self. Cassie also has over 25 years of experience in the health and fitness industry, as a certified holistic health practitioner and teaching Pilates, indoor cycling, dance. She has taught fitness to over 10,000 people! She lives at the beach in Southern California with her husband Jack and 2 dogs and 22 old daughter who rarely comes home from the east coast.
Nuggets of Wisdom from Cassie:"Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness." - Joseph Pilates
"If I can get up in the morning, even it has to be really early, and get my body moving, I am always happier during the day."
"If I take care of myself, my health is good, my body is moving and relatively pain free at the age of 48, I can handle everything else pretty much with a smile on my face. "
"You can do anything for 3 weeks! You're a woman!"
"I quit the sugar, and I quit the gluten for 3 weeks. And within 7 days my moods leveled out. Within 2 weeks, my skin cleared up. And within 3 weeks, all of the things, like stomachaches that I thought were just because maybe I was stressed out or whatever, all went away. So, it was the combination of the sugar and the gluten.... So, after those 3 weeks, there was no way I was going to go back. I mean, I just felt and looked so much better that there was no way I was going to go back."
"The fact that I was not moody anymore, and I did not have to worry that I was going to spout off or, you know, get upset, my patience, just all of that, got so much better. That was a big enough reason for me to stay the course."
"I wanted other women my age to feel and look and act as wonderful as I found that I could eating a very whole foods, low sugar, low-processed food-type diet. I do not like to say diet, it is just a lifestyle."
"The first step is acknowledging that they just do not feel good. And stepping either on a scale or taking a look in their closet at all the clothes that used to fit and do not fit anymore. And just acknowledging, 'Hey, this is not working for me anymore, and I need to do something about it, and I need to do something that might take a little bit longer, but it is going to last a lifetime.'"
Some of Cassie's Favorite Things:Personal habit: Exercise. "When I wake up first thing in the morning, I meditate. And get up and then I throw on some lycra, and I go and I work out."
Easy meal: "Spaghetti Squash. I cut it in half. And then I bake it and roast it in the oven. And then I put them in the refrigerator. And then, everyday for lunch, take the half of the spaghetti squash and fill it with whatever leftover vegetables I have. I just fill the center of the spaghetti squash with whatever I want. And it is so yummy!"
Possession: "A set of odd measuring spoons."
Cassie's Favorite Books: "The Dip by Seth Godin"
Best advice received: "If something is not working, it is okay to quit. There are some diets that you should quit."
Cassie's Happiness Formula:"When I am done working out, and I eat a really good breakfast, and then I get to do one of three things. I either get to put on my bathing suit and go down to the beach, or I get to walk around Paris, France, or I get a message from my daughter that everything is going right in her world that day."
A Challenge from Cassie:"The challenge is not to get them to eat less sugar today. The challenge is for them to add up how much sugar they eat over the course of 5 days. So, everyday, write down all the sugar that you eat. Even sugar from an apple. And see how much you are really consuming. And just sometimes that way of doing it is kind of a wake up call that you are consuming too much."
ResourcesFree Guided Meditation from Jen
It's Me Cassie (Cassie's website)
Subscribe to Vibrant Happy Women: