In "sickness" and in health:

So, here is my very first ever blog. I'm not usually into publishing, ranting about, or analyzing many of my life journeys as I fear not too many people might love reading the nitty gritty details of my not-so-rivetting life.
But, recently, I got motivated (like, the REAL kind, where you fear catastrophic results if the motivating fear is not met head-on) to get my husband and I healthy. Physically, yes, and mentally, financially, spiritually, etc. The physical is the main goal, of course. Neither of us are morbidly obese, we eat pretty healthfully in general, and I don't have too much of a "weight" issue. Now, please understand, I am stating my blatant, unfiltered view of myself (and my hubs) on his blog. I have no interest, time, or motivation to compare myself to anyone at all. I am me. I have my own struggles, issues, goals, and vices. Please do not read something I write about myself and apply it to you or your relationship, as those aren't my intentions. My intentions are, however, to share a tiny journey we are on and maybe, just maybe, hit a nerve with you, an issue you *might* be dealing with, and let you know that you are not alone.
On that note, here are the stats. They will be the physical stats. I am 5'4" and 128lbs. I LOVE sports in all forms, especially organized. I really enjoy physical activity and always have. However, most of you know I have two little boys, the younger of which I chase incessantly most days that I am home. My family health history includes a predominance of heart disease, diabetes, both type 1 and 2, and cancer, namely colon. In terms of food, I love fruits and veggies. I love carbs more, and have a moderate sweet tooth. I love variety, including trying new cultural foods, and I really do love fresh herbs. But herein lies the main issue: time. I would 2 days as a dental hygienist every week, and my hubby works as a police officer on 2/3 day schedule. I have ALWAYS struggled with prep. Choosing my foods, washing, cutting, stroring, planning, and organizing. I strive to be organized, but my life catches up with me and I am dang tired at the end of the day. You know? I sure none of you have ever felt that way.....:)
Enter: eMeals. My dream come true. If you aren't familiar with eMeals, it is a planning website that offers dinners/suppers (7/week) that comes with a full menu, the prep/recipe, and the shopping list to coordinate. You can choose the specific plan that caters to your life. IE. we have the Walmart low-carb plan for 2 (they suggest choosing the lower amount of people plan if you have younguns the age that I do). Its goal is to cut down on time and guide you through easy-to-understand plans to cook quicker and on a budget. They really want you to cut down on unnecessary trip to the store, which is ONE of my vices. You know, go for milk and bread and spend $95.87. Wait....huh? Yeah. I had subscribed to the service for three months and fell off the wagon the last month. A Groupon then popped up for half price eMeals $30/52 plans that are savable files on the computer) .I snagged it in a hot minute. For $6 more, I added the lunch menu for packed lunches as my 5-year old starts kindergarten in two weeks (SHUT UP!!!:(  ) We  have successfully made it through the first full week of low-carb (ie lean meats and tons of veggies  - YUM!) eMeals dinners. We seriously love eating this way. The difference in how we feel always stuns us. Full, but not bloated, and definitely satisfied.
Besides that, I didn't want to radically change our life as decisions like that rarely last. The other changes are that we eat a lot of eggs at breakfast, I've been making more homemade protein bars and the like, and we try not to eat after dinner is over. Pretty simple.
Here is the link for the eMeals website. LOVE!: www.emeals.com
Now for the physical. We will call it "Wifey Boot Camp". This sounds ultra controlling, but if you have met my husband, our personalities compliment each other and I have not one time successfully attempted to "control" him. He the bomb. Seriously. In January, I started training myself to run. I couldn't believe for the first time that I disciplined myself to stick with something. I stayed with it until May when it got crazy hot, running 3-4 times a week, and worked up to 4 mile runs. I loved the time alone and the mental clarity it provided, but something crazy happened that I have come to find is pretty normal, but I did NOT like: I GAINED weight. Yep. I had just finished breastfeeding Lincoln for 9-10 months (future mommies: amazing weigh loser!) and was very untoned muscularly. I gained about 7lbs and my thighs got huge (in a good way) with muscle. Still, who loves to gain weight? It's psychologically confusing and made me lose motivation to keep running. I also found I had crazy endurance now, but not so much muscular definition. Yeah, I wanted some abs and a crazy lifted booty - who doesn't after all that work? I took a break until last week with the working out and didn't gain or lose any weight. Clothes still fit exact same, etc. That was good to know. After one of my gorgeous and FIT friends kept talking about Insanity (yeah, I said it), I decided it was time to start said boot camp. In contrast, my husband does NOT like working out. We have joined the YMCA so many times to cancel months later because he didn't go. Im NOT trying to put him down. I love him from the bottom of my heart. Just speaking some facts so you will see the nature of our jouney and rejoice in our relationship health successes!
Insanity, a workout series with videos that deal with intense cardio moves that focus on "Plyometrics" ie. the things that hurt, was ordered off Ebay two weeks ago. I didn't tell Matt what I was doing, but just got him to verbally commit to letting me tell him what to do in relation to eating and fitness. Please note, I am doing ALL this with him every step of the way. The first night, the Insanity instructor, Shaun T (LOVE him!) suggests doing a simple fitness test with some basic, easy to copy moves, to see where you stand. You are then supposed to take it every two weeks to motivate you when you see your improvements. Me likey. We did this test. I wanted to throw up. Matt did. Cool. Our schdule is to do these workouts 4 times per week together, and they require absolutely not equipment, so it's pretty easy to accomplish. At home, no equipement, hardcore, sweat flying everywhere, people puking. The Insanity series suggests 6 times per week, but I know from experience that to see results and success, you have to be realistic, and 6 times per week is not realistic for us. 4 is. Here is the website for Insanity: http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/best_sellers/insanity.do
Folks, I am happy to say we have completed WEEK 1 of Boot Camp. I have already seen changes in myself, but the one that is blowing my mind is Matt! He went from complaining the first night to inner focus and motivation on the moves and reps. Plus, he and I both notice a good change in our relationship after getting fit together. We love working out together for two main reasons: (1) We know one is not judging the other based on how our body is jiggling while we are giving it our all and (2) it is amazing to watch your partner grow stronger in ANY way.
Now here's the scary part. I am going to post our before and after pics at the two week test. I am also going to post inches and weight change. He has his own personal goals, as do I. Please do not judge these pics too harshly. We are both very real people living in a culture of overindulgence an laziness. It is what it is, but improvement is improvement! So, cheer us on and pray for us. We are super excited and are praying and hoping that this is a permanant change for our family. We have got some pretty amazing boys looking to us for how to live their adult lives someday. Hopefully we can give them a few extra standards to live by. But we have to start somewhere. Until the next post...xox!