Fit Healthy Mama

I will be the first to admit that I hate exercising just to exercise. My day is full as it is and I hate the idea of taking time out from other “more important” activities just to exercise. This is something that has only affected me since I had kids, because before I used to go to the gym several days a week. I also lived within walking distance of the gym and didn´t have to hike a 45º angle to get anywhere.

But, exercise is definitely a big part of losing weight and getting fit. So, I´m going to have to suck it up and get moving, after all, a huge part of my weight gain has been due to sitting in a computer chair so much. I needed something that:

• Keeps my interest. I´m so not interested in doing boring leg lifts and squats every day.
• Doesn´t involve any extra equipment, we don´t have any.
• Doesn´t necessarily take up a lot of time.
• Is fun to do.

I decided to go with Turbo Jam Maximum Results after my mom told me she´d lost weight and gained tons of energy from this video series. They are a LOT of fun, it´s all kicking and punching and very easy moves that leave you sweating like a pig by the end of it, which has to be good!

Of course, at the moment, I can only get about 10 minutes into it, but I´m working my way up. And so far, so good. I just need to get into doing it more often, so far I´m at about twice a week and it definitely needs to be bumped up to 5 times at least.

I stepped on the scale this morning and was very thrilled to see that I have finally dipped below 200 . . . to 199 lbs! Yay! Progress is always good and I´ve been bouncing around from 200-210 for a month now, so 199 is just fine by me!

Leafy green veggies are supposed to be super good for you, right? Lots of iron, vitamins, minerals, etc. So, over the past week, I´ve been really trying hard to incorporate more green into our diet. My partner found some chard at the market the other day, so I looked it up online and ended up just lightly sauteing it with some garlic. It was delicious.

Since then, we´ve gone a bit chard-crazy. My boys aren´t really into eating stuff like this, mainly because it´s hard for toddlers to get down pieces of semi-slimy green leaves. So, I´ve taken to blending the stuff in the blender with other ingredients to make soup bases and pasta sauces. It´s worked wonderfully and no one has complained at all about having greenish tomato sauce on their pasta.

How do you add green into your diet? Any suggestions for what veggies I should try?

Apart from the obvious . . . to look better, I have a few reasons to lose weight. I´m a lazy person and so when it comes to actually getting off my duff and doing something about the extra pounds, I tend not to do anything until the situation is serious. So, here are just a few of my reasons:

• My sister was recently diagnosed with pre-diabetes, something that runs in the family.
• I can´t bend over comfortably, which means my ability to play with my kids is limited.
• I´m exhausted all the time and I suspect this is because of the weight.
• My kids are fascinated by all things sweet and processed and I want them to grow up healthy.
• I am uncomfortable lying down, everything kinda moves upwards . . . making it hard to breathe.
• I can´t see my knees by just looking down.
• It´s possible to work up a sweat just sitting in my chair!
• Looking in the mirror is so depressing I cry.
• People comment on how heavy I am.

There are a lot of reasons to lose weight, but I think that people who lose it because they “should” are set up for failure. You really have to want it. I´ve done this before and maintained a good, healthy weight for nearly 7 years, but having kids kinda ruined that! And, since last time I lost the weight in a very unhealthy way and was sick for over a year afterwards, this time I´m determined to do it right.

This blog is basically a place to track my goals and progress. The idea is that if it´s public, I´ll stick to it . . . we´ll see how that goes. It´s not just about weight loss, though that is one of my main goals, I really want to be healthier. I´ll write about my ups and downs and what is working for me. If anyone else would like to join me in the difficult journey . . . please feel free!