One Year Stronger

So it's been officially one year of healthy living!!!  It feels kind of like a birthday, I'm just so excited that I've made it a whole year, and hope to continue it for the rest of my years.  (plus I finished out the holiday season with a little ab definition!!!)

Yes, there were difficult days (and weeks, and well pretty much most of the month of August), but the main point is that every time I fell off the wagon, I jumped right back on again and tried even harder.

Here's a little reflection from what I've learned about health, fitness and myself from the past year:


Finding Balance
This was by far the hardest part of healthy living.  Throughout the first half of the year I was so strict on myself with everything.  I'd be upset if

I missed a workout or a meal, or if I didn't have any healthy meal options.  From every little calorie to every rep or mile ran - everything was tracked.  That put a lot of pressure on me and made me crazy.  I kept setting goals higher and higher and let it consume a lot of me.  Goals are good and work for a lot of people, but I wanted my main goal to just live healthy and be fit.

I'm not really for sure when or what that 'ah ha' moment was, but one day I realized that I was seeing everything as a task, instead of just a way of living.  I stopped tracking everything and just sort of went with it, and turns out I feel and look better now than I did.

Another huge part of finding balance was to accept that life happens, especially with two toddlers.  Not everyday is going to turn out the way you had planned or scheduled.  Some nights your little ones might keep you up for hours, leaving you exhausted and unable to

get up at your normal time to workout.  Sometimes all they want it to do it make a big batch of cookies or order a pizza for dinner.  And sometimes I just really need a DQ Blizzard at the end of very stressful day.  Life happens.  I've learned to accept this and treasure these moments that interrupt my routine and believe they are for a reason.

With this, I still very strongly believe in the 80/20 rule.  I eat very clean the majority of the time, that way when these little unexpected things pop up, I can partake without the guilt.  Of course I still watch my portions (usually), and then start right back up where I left off the very next meal - not the next day, the next meal.






Forget the Scale
After I decided to stop tracking everything I even stopped getting on the scale.  I did not want that number to consume me anymore either.  I wanted to be happy with me and how I looked instead of what my weight was.  I think I've checked my weight maybe 4 times in the past 6 months.

I was shocked when I'd gotten back on the scale for the first time in a long time and had seen my weight back up to almost where I had started the year at, but I still looked the same and fit into the same clothes.  I've been able to add more muscle, yet maintain a low body fat percentage.

Accepting my Body
One of the best forms of motivation for me is to look through women's fitness magazines at all of the amazing physiques of the fitness models and competitors.  It's very common for women to say 'I want to look like her.'  But I have found that the models in these pages don't always look like that.  They train extra hard to get ready for photo shoots and competitions to be camera ready, but that is not how most of them look every single day.  I also learned that no matter how hard I trained, my body will never look exactly like theirs because we are each individual people with our own genetic makeup.

I've trained in various ways and tried to improve many different parts of my body, but realize that some things are just going to be a part of me, and I'm now ok with that.  Like my thighs, I've always hated that there is no space between them, but that's just how I'm made.

Another problem area that took me a long time to accept was the muffin-top.  I've learned that only with consistent 100% clean eating, that thing won't completely go away.  I've done it before but after the first piece of dark chocolate - bam - it's back.  I have a 4-pack on top a muffin roll!!  But I'm ok with my muffin top because I began seeing it as what it is, instead of what it isn't.  And what it is is a reminder that I once carried my two most precious blessings inside that now stretched out muffin top, and I will always be proud to show that!!

And with my pregnancies, nursing's, and major weight loss I, unfortunately, have found that there is one part of the body that no amount of exercise can help - the boobies!!  Nursing alone can deplete and flatten the breasts, but that combined with loss of body fat and you can kiss those puppies bye bye.  Now there are only two options ladies have who have significant loss of breast tissue and fullness - 1) Get over it or 2) Get new ones.  I personally am going for the latter of the two.  I know it's not for everyone, but it is everyone's own personal decision for their own personal reasons.



2013 has been an amazing year for me.  I've gained so much, started new things, and followed dreams.  I'm not perfect and I still have so much to try and work on, but by God's grace, I'm sure 2014 is going to be just as great!!!  And remember:  MAKE YOURSELF!!!

(my kids need to work on their flexing.  lol)