Getting healthy

So I really don't think there is one right way or easy answer to the best way to get healthy and stay that way. Everyone is so different! For me, it has taken a little help but I so happy to say that I'm at a really good place right now! So how did I do it? Well, a few things! I had to first accept that life has seasons and for me, growing a baby is a tough season in my life. I don't so it well at all. And for surprise baby boy # 3 my body felt really old! Needless to say I added 80 pounds and felt terrible
After delivery. I really wanted to get my old self back but knew it would take time and a little effort...

So, March 13, 2012 Hudson Marble entered the world...for the first few months I was sleep deprived and miserable.  When the baby was 6 weeks old I started back on an awesome all natural health supplement that helped with cravings but for the most part was a ravenous nursing mama.  When Hudson turned 6 months old, he weaned himself from nursing, much to my dismay, but I was at a place where I felt ready to tackle the challenge of getting back into shape.  I added another supplement offered through the company I am with, as well as hired a personal trainer at the gym.  I drink lots of water and have tried to cut back to just one diet coke a day.  The first day in the gym was miserable...I was tired, over weight and weak.  Slowly but surely as the pounds dropped, my confidence built and I was seeing results with my health, weight, and overall wellness!  I work out 2 days a week with my trainer and paying for accountability is the only way I can keep going.  I'm not one that enjoys exercise but let me tell you I am feeling so much better after working out these last few months! I am getting strong and seeing definition in my muscles.  Just 2 days a week with weights! Imagine how I would do if I actually added some cardio! :)  All this to be said, I have one more tool that really is helpful! My brother in law owns a restaurant and offers to go meals for the week that are portion controlled and healthy!! The last 6 weeks I've been ordering those and having a healthy meal option for lunch or dinner that is already cooked and easy is so wonderful!!!  Over the last year now, I am officially down 84 pounds and just bought my first ever pair of size 5 jeans!!!

I think learning a healthy yet flexible lifestyle is important.  For me, I have found an awesome balance of walking with the boys in the neighborhood, two days a week at the gym, not skipping any meals...adding some protein when I can, drinking plenty of water, getting enough rest, and my little secret tool of some all natural supplements that are amazing!!!

Just  few pics below of my journey! Enjoy!

a few thoughts on being a mom...

So as I type this, my husband is on his way to church with the 2 big boys...I am home...with a one year old...who got up at 5:30am...and it getting 3 teeth at once...who has a snotty nose...and cries a lot these days.  I want to go to church too...but today it's just not possible.

In these days of facebook with perfect status updates with pretty pictures and inspirational quotes...it is easy for me to wonder if I'm the only one with my hair unwashed on top of my head in jammies covered in food and snot who just lost her patience and yelled at one of my precious kids in frustration as my sink overflows with dirty dishes and the laundry piles up.  I am a real mom with real struggles and I'm far from perfect.  I can't seem to find the right balance of work and play and feel less that enough when I am pulled in 3 directions for each child and a 4th as a wife.  I feel guilty when I have thoughts of how easy things were before these children blessed my life and then I feel even worse for even having those crazy thoughts.

At the end of the day though I know I am serving my purpose that I was created for...to love these 3 little miracles as best I can and raise them to love the Lord and serve Him.  I am truly grateful for the blessing of being a mommy and rely on God now more than ever to fill me up and use me and give me the strength to get through.  Relatively speaking, I have it so good and I have to remember that today there are parents mourning the loss of a child, or sitting next to a hospital bed with a sick baby, or desperately praying for the gift of even becoming a parent.  I am human and this human mommy is tired, but I am so grateful for the 3 little tornadoes I call my boys...snotty noses, sleepless nights and everything else that goes with it!