keeping it real

I had a big cheesy slice of pepperoni pizza for dinner tonight.... I should have snapped a pic to post to show you all that I am human and eat more than salads. I was too hungry to grab the camera. My food diary is open & public on My Fitness Pal.. my MFP name is Momtobe06.  Liv ( my 8 year old daughter) has become very invested in my fitness journey this past year...she & John are so supportive. I have been trying to use it as a teachable moment to show her a healthy body role model and we have had so many discussions about healthy choices and living a balanced life. Enjoying treats in moderation and exercising because its good for our hearts.. She loves looking at my before & after pics. She is very interested to learn how I got myself that way. I explained that I did not even realize it, but before i knew it all my bad choices caught up with me and the extra fat had grown around my organs before showing up everywhere. I explained how one day I looked at a picture of myself and then realized how unhealthy I had become. I explained how fast food now & then is fine, treats are fine, but that I was eating too much of it before and now I am making healthier choices. Liv is very impressionable... I refuse to use words like " diet, fat, skinny, perfect".. I will not degrade myself or put myself down.. I may think it... but she has never heard me say it..ever.. I am very proud of that and I take my job as her role model very seriously. I instead say " healthy, unhealthy, fit, in shape, choices "... she will lift up her shirt and say " I'm so skinny right Mama?".. I cringe at that inside but tell her that she is an active healthy eight year old... tall & lean. I explain that God created people in all different shapes & sizes and I just want to be as healthy as I can be.. just the way God intended for me to be. She is my biggest cheer leader and my biggest reason for wanting to be in the best shape possible.I must be rubbing off on her because when glancing at family photos she matter of factly pointed out that " so & so sure is carrying around some extra weight". I could not have said it better myself.

Packing my lunch

We get lots of sweets donated to us at my office and I like to pack better options to keep at my desk. I still indulge here & there... but only a taste or a 1/2 of a portion. I love these Luna Mini's to stash in my purse... if I am held up at court I can discretely snack on one of these very quickly and they help tide me over until lunch. I always have one of these in my purse or a luna protein bar and they have saved me many times over. I tend to make poorer choices if I am not prepared and let myself get to that starving mode.


what does your typical lunch look like?

Dinner

Chicken sausage with peppers,onions and mushrooms

Lunch

Then and now

some days when I get down on myself.. looking at then & now pics is the only thing that keeps me continuing on this path.
I tried on a bikini and my body is not at the point where I will be confident enough to wear it... yet!... that is after almost a year of working my ass off. Its frustrating... but then I look at these pics and I can clearly see that I have made big changes in the shape of my body..its a process... I need to keep working... take it day by day.

Stairs

you all would be proud of me..... today during Liv's acting class instead of sitting and reading for an hour... I did 29 flights of stairs. what a workout. I always take the stairs..... I aim for 10 flights a day minimum.. my office is on the second floor, kitchen & copy machine is on the first floor so I usually get 8 flights in before lunch.

roll call

I have noticed I am getting more traffic on the blog.... yeah.. welcome...can I get you a cup of Tea? Look around... if you have not noticed yet this blog is dedicated to my fitness journey. I have been charting my weekly progress since August 2012, but I began my journey in May 2012. Its weird how it all began.. I stopped at a yard sale and noticed a nordic track for sale and had a Epiphany right then & there in a strangers driveway.. I envisioned myself creating my home gym and changing the way I ate... I envisioned putting myself first and what that would feel like. I brought that nordic track home and never looked back... since then I bought a treadmill, elliptical, weight bench, weights... kicked my daughter out of her room.. moved her to a different room and created a space of my own. Once I had the workout routine a habit, I decided to focus in my diet and make small changes. No more fast food or white bread.. more fruits & veggies.I am working hard to make this a lifestyle and I hope to inspire others to take it one small step at a time. If I can do it.. you can do it. Its hard to believe that I am coming on my one year anniversary of that epiphany.


Please be so kind as to leave a comment telling me how you found your way here.. I am guessing from My fitness pal... I am not used to this traffic. Please introduce yourself and tell me where you are on your journey and how you are doing.


Thanks for coming. I hope you come back