The Beginning

In hindsight I wish that I had kept track from the very beginning so that I could remember how I got this far but I never thought I would accomplish much of anything. I guess it all started when I was pregnant with my third child. By learning more about where our foods comes from and growing our own vegetables my husband and I changed our eating habits. It was great knowing that our baby was getting awesome home grown nutrition. I was hoping for a natural, unmedicated delivery so I was doing all I could to prepare and part of my routine was stretching, doing yoga moves with a ball and walking outside or on the elliptical.

Once the baby was born she was healthy but I had a major health set back that left me fighting for my life. After that I have a greater appreciation for how wonderful my body is. It was hard in the beginning to adjust to three kids, a job, and finding time for myself. My husband started working out and bought himself a set of dumb bells. I remember being so mad at him because he would just slip away from all the chaos for 20 minutes or so. Then he started to put on muscle and I became jealous of him, he was looking great and feeling awesome. I know that hormones had a lot to do with my emotions at the time as the baby was only a couple of months old but if there is one thing I do well it is get angry. So I got angry. Angry at him for being awesome, angry at me for being lazy, and angry at my body for becoming something I didn't recognized. You know what? It did nothing for me. So I formulated a new plan.

The plan...

1. I would make time for myself to eat meals, meals that I enjoy. Eggs or oatmeal for breakfast. A good lunch. A home cooked dinner. The baby can wait 5 minutes for me to scarf down a meal but it will be good food to fuel my body and things that I enjoy eating.

2. I would give myself 10 minutes of active time at the very least each day. I went to 5 Below and bought a pair of 3 lb dumb bell (my husbands were way to heavy for me) and I would do some bicep curls, lateral raises and triceps moves.  Sometimes I would do a push or 2 and some stretching. Jumping jacks were a favorite also. This time also included day where I would not workout but I would drink my coffee alone. I would take a bath or read a book or stare at instagram or Pinterest. Me time how ever I could get it whatever suited me at the moment.

3. I would focus on the happy. I played with the kids. I would celebrate the little achievements like working out for 15 minutes or doing 5 push ups (on my knees of course). I was no longer mad at myself or my body or my husband because it was pointless for me to be. I was happy for him each time he went one more rep or added more weight. I was happy with my body, this body has grown and delivered 3 babies, saved my life and been here day in and day out ready to go. Sure it is a little different from when I was 16 but hell so am I.

That is it. That was the plan nothing major just repeating those three things everyday. After a while the plan does kind of start to evolve nothing in life is ever set in stone. My workouts now can sometimes take an hour and thats because I loose track of time and am enjoying myself. There are good days and bad days, good weeks and bad weeks. It is a process to change a body and a mind set. I am not a coach, a trainer, a dietician. I'm a hard working momma who just so happened to start loving myself and fitness. I want to share my experiences and challenges with others and hopefully inspire someone else along the way.