Thoughts of "Tomorrow"

When I get off track with my eating I definitely recognize it. It doesn't go unnoticed at all. I'm not dumb. I know when I feel puffy and a little more tired. I know when my sweets cravings start to rage again and I search high and low for a piece of chocolate. And I know that you know what I'm talking about. 

Those things don't go unnoticed, but those indulgences do continue longer than we should let them. 

Here's what I mean...

It seems there's this consistent phrase that we have all told ourselves and have all heard others say.

"I'll start on Monday"

..or some version of that, like "next month I'll do this" or "next year I'll get healthier".

But why not today? Right now? What is stopping you from making your health a priority right here, right now? 

Is it the junk food hiding in your pantry? -throw it out! 

The diet soda in your mini fridge? -get rid of it! 

Or maybe the quick McDonald's trip you take every lunch break? -go somewhere else! 

... there's always a quick solution for any unhealthy option. Usually that solution is just to throw it out or not eat it.

I know it's easier said than done, but if your health is important to you there's really not a good reason why healthy changes can't start today. Even if it's a small adjustment.

We rely so much on our excuses as real reasons not to take hold of our health. 

Why is that?

An answer to that question might be something as simple as: it's easier.

Am I right?

It's easier to eat those donuts in your work's break room because they're staring you in the face.
It's easier to sit on the couch and watch TV instead of going on a walk.
It's easier to eat something that tastes sweeter than eating veggies that maybe aren't as sweet.
And it's definitely easier to grab a quick kid's meal than making dinner at home while your kids fuss at you the entire time because they're hungry (believe me, I know!).

But again, if you care about your health and your family's health, you'll need to put some things in place to help you avoid these easy options.

And to be honest, that is where someone like myself can come in handy [totally not just saying that because I'm a health coach!]. Having tools in your life like accountability, or learning how to monitor  your lifestyle or how to schedule healthy habits that work for you is really someone like myself's expertise.

Get a buddy, if not a coach or a trainer. Get someone on your side who will keep you accountable and support your healthy desires. Get someone to push you along your way so that you don't have the excuse of 'tomorrow' or 'later'.

Also, if you're not sure where to start or what healthy really means (because let's face it, there's a lot of good and bad opinions out there), start researching (or shoot me an email)! You can have all of the knowledge about proper nutrition, it just takes some time to learn the truth.

I'll leave you with a challenge:

Today - right now! - plan what you're going to do for your next meal to make it healthier. 

Will it be to add in some veggies?
Will it be to choose a healthier place to eat for lunch?
Swap the fries for a salad?
Or even better - swap your chemical coffee creamer for real heavy whipping cream?
Eat eggs for breakfast instead of cereal?

Stop the thought of "tomorrow" that lets you rest in your excuses. Instead, look at some ways that you can get started right now.

..that's all folks.

Taking Control

I'm back to this blog because I just couldn't say goodbye to the hours of writing I've done over the years.

So it's been a month since my last post and life is just ticking right along.

I've been busy with a project all summer that I am super excited about.
I just took a wonderful vacation with family that has given me a breath of fresh air - literally!
I have been soaking up my girl's toddlerhood every single day. Good or bad. Happy or sad. Smiles or fussing. She's been my buddy this summer. And I can't believe I'm starting to plan her 2nd birthday party already!

I've been keeping busy, not because I have to, necessarily, but because I need to. When I'm busy I don't think about not being pregnant. So I just keep looking for things to do!

But more than that, I've been looking for things that I can control. Because when something happens that's out of my control, I look for ways to grab hold again of what I can control.

Which got me back into working out and eating real food! Not that I got way off track, but I became a lot more liberal with my choices and got off of AltShift.

And with coming back to a better routine I've come to the conclusion that you (me .. us) are in total and in complete control over our lifestyle - healthy or not.

I decide what I eat in the morning for breakfast, how my day will go with my food decisions.

I decide if I'm going to take a walk or to lift smart that day.

I decide if I'm going to buy crap or good stuff at the grocery store, or take 20 minutes to plan out my dinners for the week.

I decide if I'm going to let social media intrude on my mind and lose sleep staring at a screen.

I decide how I'm going to spend my time and my energy.

Plain and simple.


And you decide all of those things, too. Whether you like it or not.

It can be a hard fact to digest sometimes, that I .. or you ... are the reason for your current state of health, as far as your lifestyle goes. Especially if you don't like where you're at.

BUT because we are in complete control over what food we eat or how we move or how we spend our extra time - we can do something about it!

And that's what I decided to do after last month. Instead of dwelling in my sadness (which, believe me, I still have my moments) I decided to get back into lifting again and start meal planning for me and my family.

I've been able to be happy with my body again, instead of being frustrated with it. To feel good about myself and proud of how my body is changing with the right exercise and nutrition.

It's been a good way to work through the hard stuff. And I don't think we rely on plain old exercise or eating right enough these days to combat stress. 

When life throws you things that are out of your control, decide to take hold of the things that you can control. 

It's what I've learned this past month and I can say that I'm better for it.

Here's to a healthy start to a new school year and back to routine! 

How I'm Really Feeling

 

I wish this was my post announcing that I'm pregnant. In fact, I just deleted the start of a post I had written up just a week ago wanting to tell all of you that we are expecting our second baby.  

After 7 short weeks my little peanut was taken away. 

I went in to see my doctor and she gave me a few words as comfort and reminded me that this is a silent pain that so many women try to go through on their own and try to hide to forget. 

And that shouldn't be. It's a real hurt with real pain and real hope that has been squashed. 

So here I am. Doing what I do - write. 

This week has been life changing. 

Over this last weekend I had a bad feeling about the pregnancy. Then Monday I had an ultrasound that looked very bleak and wrong, and yet any strand of hope there was I clung to it. Maybe I had my dates wrong, or maybe this bleeding was just from the baby implanting. Anything to keep hope for this life alive. 

But I soon came to terms with the situation. Monday night through Wednesday morning was full of tears. Times of sobbing, losing my breath, literal pain in my heart. Feelings I've never felt before all thrown in my face at once. 

Part of me was scared to go through it all. Part of me just wanted God to fix this. And part of me didn't even know what to think. 

Yesterday I delivered my baby. It felt just the same as when I delivered Leslie, going through all of the phases of labor. However, feeling all of the labor pain was welcomed. It was really the last way that I could act as this baby's mother. After that it will be over.

And it was over. I knew that my baby was gone. I was emptied out. My baby was no longer with me. 

As strange as it may sound, that moment made me feel relieved. And until reading about David, I didn't know why I felt so relieved. But in the book, "Safe in the arms of God" it explained it perfectly:

"David replied, 'While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, 'Who can tell whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?' But now he is dead why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me'.

"David cherished this little child. Even though he knew his son had been conceived in sin, he loved him and wanted him to live. He fasted and prayed intensely for his fragile life. Like us, David had strong hopes that the Lord would graciously relent and allow the child to live - but he had no assurance that God would do so.

"Here's the key to the change in David. He ceased his mourning after the baby died. He felt no further reason to fast and pray because his sorrow was instantly and completely replaced by hope. He declared, 'I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me'." 

My sorrow, too, was instantly replaced by hope. The days before the end I cried and prayed over this peanut that it wouldn't really be gone, that God had to do something to save it. But once it was over my fear was really replaced by a huge peace. I know where my baby is. I know he/she gets to be held by Jesus right now. And that's what makes me burst into tears. It's the biggest comfort I have. And it's the promise of heaven that keeps my eyes fixed on Christ. 

Forever I'll wonder what this baby would look like. If it were boy or girl. If it would have my eyes or his smile. I'll know someday, and I'll get to love on my 'bonus baby' then. 

I'm still sad. I will never forget this baby. I'm its mommy and I can't hold him/her. I can't smell it's sweet baby head or nurse it to sleep. I can't stare at its little nose. None of those things. 

But I appreciate this moment in my life. There's nothing so painful and yet so amazing that I am now a part of with so many of you who have done this same thing, or even worse. 

We hope to add to our family very soon, and will delight in the day when our next baby keeps us up at night and steals all of our heart and energy.

If you could just pray for us in that hope. I want a big baby belly and I want to deliver a crying, pink baby again. I want Leslie to have a sibling to fight with and torment, and of course love. We just want our family to be complete. 

Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb?

Even should she forget, I will never forget you -Isaiah 49:15

My soul continually thinks of it and is bowed down within me.  But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:  The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.  "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." -Lamentations 3:20-23

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Life is like a mountain. We may stare at the mountain top and dream to reach the top. Train for it, climb it, and sometimes we make it. But what we see from the top is all of the vegetation and growth that happened in the valley. And it's a beautiful view.