Day #155

Yes, I am still on the ball with my lifestyle change!  Exercise is KING when it comes to mood and well being.  Just one day without it and I feel my spirits sink.    I think I said it before, MD's need to write scripts for exercise - most people need to be more serious about incorporating movement into their life.  I am glad I bought a few new workout DVDs because I do start to get a little bit burned out.  But now that I can mix things up a bit more that burn out has vanished.  I do have plans to try new things though, like hiring a personal trainer once the baby is a year old and can manage to be away from me for just a short while.  I also would love to play soccer in an adult league, Bikram Yoga is also something I have wanted to do for several years now.

It's no surprise that I thrive on a totally GRAIN FREE diet.  The moment I add anything - even a slice of GF toast to my morning routine is the moment I set myself up for digestive issues within 30 minutes of eating whatever the grain item is.  Spaghetti used to be a staple food around here, not anymore.   Rice, corn all the gluten free grains cause a great deal of pain.  I am grateful for coconut - shreds, oil,milk, flour, water - it agrees with me!

Today is Day #155 of my resistance training/lifestyle change.  My problem areas have all been drastically reduced in size.  There is NOTHING in my closet that is now too small - but many items that are too large.  I recently noticed some upper ab definition and that has inspired me to continue with my current regimen and include more ab-work 2-3 times a week.  I realize that I cannot spot/target reduce, but in addition to my current regimen it certainly will help.  My goal is to reduce my weight by 10lbs by September - which would put me at my goal weight (or very near to it).  Despite eating well and daily exercise I currently do not seem to be losing any weight.  I feel like I'm at a plateau, the only thing that I can do is continue to move forward with my current exercise plan and hope that I will meet my goal by September.  In a perfect world, with the onset of a plateau I would hire a personal trainer  to help me maximize my workouts and provide change to my current routine.  But that will just have to wait for a bit.  Besides, I honestly feel like the videos provide a multitude of different weight training exercises - it's the cardio ones that feel repetitive.

I just realized that this is more like a journal entry than a blog post.  Sorry about that.  I just want to keep track of my progress and type my thoughts out in an effort to evaluate and preserve my transformation process.  Also, I hope to inspire and help others on their paths.

Less Is More

Today I was fortunate enough to spend the day cleaning - DEEP cleaning.  The kind of project that I have had my mind on for well over 1 year now.   My husband and I have a room designated as our "Office"  it's a really great room actually, it has pecan flooring, three large bookcases and nice window treatments.  There are two windows and by each one we each have our little workstations.  My desk is a small space saver that I have had since I moved into my first apartment & it's from one of my favorite furniture stores in St Louis - The House of Denmark.   My husband has a small table that he has been using as a desk ever since we met.   I have watched as his side of the office started to remind me of something from the show "Hoarders".  I have been asking him to clean his side of the office for at least two years now.  Well, today he took the eldest to the zoo so I could conquer this task.  Not only did I clean his side of the office, I cleaned mine as well and I convinced myself, and my awesome husband to get rid of many things that we are no longer using.  It's not exactly how I want it just yet, but it's a drastic improvement to be sure.

The fact that this room has not been properly organized and cleaned has been grating on me for too long.  I hope that now that it's decent I can finally relax a little bit.  It's really challenging to find the time to organize/de-clutter when you have little cuties who want all of your love.   Call me crazy, but today has been an awesome day.  I was in the cleaning/de-cluttering/organizing "ZONE".  Nothing like it to make you think twice before you want to buy that next book/shirt/whatever-it-may-be.  Seriously trying to work on being happy with everything I do have instead of looking ahead for what's next.  I am in awe over some of the stuff that we each were able to "let go" of today.  Changes like this don't happen overnight, for me it has been a process and has taken some time.  I am going to keep working at decluttering as it is very rewarding emotionally.   Here's to a simpler, cleaner, happier life!