Embarking on a New Journey

I read an interesting article about a study that was done on overweight mothers and it's affect on their daughters. It said that daughters of overweight mothers are 10 times more likely to be obese by the time they reach the age of eight. I heard this quite a while ago and it has really stuck with me. It's a fear I have because I've struggled with my body image for as long as I can remember...well...almost for as long as I can remember. Anyway, I know the insecurity and the intense struggle you can face as a young person. It has followed me for years. It has caused me to take extreme measures sometimes, and other times, it has caused me to throw my hands up in surrender, giving into that lie that I will always be this way. Another lie that has hounded me told me I wasn't thin enough when I could not have gotten any thinner. And I believed it. My biggest fear is that my daughters will face this same struggle. So I've pushed myself harder than I ever have. For the first time in my life I'm fighting this fight the best way possible for me and my daughters.

I'm 27 and I'm just now realizing that the best and only way to stay fit and slim is a healthy balance of eating right (healthy foods and healthy portions) and a good balanced workout. I've tried the extremes of both of these before. I was never able to reach my goal, which I'm realizing, was part to blame in this struggle. I wasn't going for fit or even healthy. My goal was to be as thin as I could possible get. So naturally I would take extreme measures to get there. Knowing that my daughters are watching me and will most likely definitely follow in my footsteps has pushed me to do things the way I would want them to do them. For the first time in my life I'm counting calories. Not just counting them, because I've done that before, but instead of eating whatever I want and shutting down when I've reached my limit, I'm choosing foods that are more than just empty calories. Foods that are whole and good for me. It has helped me see what a good portion should be and also, it has given me the will power to walk away from a "bad" food that I would normally give in to. All I have to do is look at the calories and I decide it's not worth wasting my limited calories on. It helps me reach for the healthier option.

For the first time in my life my workouts are scheduled in a way that gives my body time to "recover". They are a balanced workout. They aren't 2 hours of killing myself. I had convinced myself that the only way to get where I wanted to be was to punish my body. It was unachievable. I failed every time. I would be successful for a short time and inevitably I would give up because it was too hard, too unrealistic.

While embarking on this new journey I found an inspiring companion. Someone who has the ability to push me harder than I've ever been able to push myself. This companion has encouraged me to workout even when I didn't want to. There have been times this someone would, first thing in the morning put on a sports bra, grab some weights, turn on the TV, push play on the wretched  lovely Jillian Michaels Thirty Day Shred, and jump into the torture workout. This someone is a huge reason why I'm seeing the pounds drop and for the first time in my life, there isn't any guilt connected to those lost pounds. Only joy and the wonderful feeling of achievement. My inspiration has caused me to take a second look at my eating habits and change where there is a need for it.

This, my faithful followers, is my inspiration.

 This girl is amazing when it comes to pushups! Well...exercising in general!

Wouldn't it be great if she never lost that ability?! If she never had to get in shape because she never lost it?!

 She uses some of my spice containers for weights :)

 

 Jenna will occasionally jump in but she peters out pretty quickly

 

She decided to do a costume change halfway through. Her sports bra :)

 

What were we thinking?!

There are two kinds of alarm clock people in this world. 

 

There are those of us who enjoy a full nights sleep. Getting the maximum amount of restful hours before we have to start our day.

 

Then there are those who like to be ripped out of a deep sleep an hour before they have to get up. They like knowing they have another hour of sleep. Their night isn't over yet. They enjoy the intense rush you get by hearing an obnoxious noise sounding repeatedly right after drifting back to sleep. And if they're a real junky, sometimes they'll set it an hour AND a half before they have to get up. Only if they've gone to bed real late and they're night will be extra short.

 

For those of us who enjoy our restful sleep there is nothing more annoying than having to listen to an alarm sound over and over again. Well, that's not entirely true. There is nothing more annoying than TWO alarm clocks, perfectly alternating to make sure there is no sleeping going on between snoozes.

 

One of my dreams this morning.

 

As annoying and frustrating as TWO alarm clocks alternating is, if you want to reach the maximum level of intense annoyance you'll need to put a yowling cat outside your window. Now, make sure to get a good strong one. You wouldn't want it giving up after only an hour. But if you did pick a wimpy one don't worry. It will resume full force after a short break.

I dreamed this as well. On second thought, maybe I didn't. There was no sleeping once that started up. Maybe I should go see if there is a mess I need to clean up after going into a fit of rage that I don't recall.













 I al so dreamed this



On second thought. Never mind. That was the night before.

It's going to be a long day. It's mornings like these that get you humming that clever little tune "The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup".

It's mornings like these that has me wondering why we decided to only drink decaf. WHAT WERE WE THINKING?!?!