The Pursuit of Healthyness

I've been wanting to incorporate some health and fitness into my blog for several months now, but I wasn't really sure how to start, since health and fitness is a veeeeeeeeeerrrry multifaceted subject and optimum health is different for everyone. So, I'm just going to share some of my own experiences with you and pray that it inspires or encourages in some way!

First, some background: Last year, six months after having my third baby, I bought a new scale. I weighed more than my husband. He's 6' 2" and a strong dude, so it was horrifying for me. I immediately determined to get busy, stop lying to myself, and get my body back! I think the number one tip I would give anyone, is to start a food journal. My journal began with a prayer (because I know the Lord desires good health for me and I knew I couldn't do it without Him!) and continued to be a prayer journal as well as a place to record what I was eating. Make your journal super honest! Before that wake-up call, I was eating M&M's like they were going out of style and guzzling Dr. Pepper like nobody's business. The M&M's were the first thing to go. I haven't had one since. The soda came later, but I'm going to talk about the sugar habit in another post. I immediately began noticing things I could change, like ordering "skinny" at Starbucks, leaving the mayo off of sandwiches, and looking up fat and calorie counts before going to restaurants, so I would know what I was going to have. I lost 50 pounds between March and October of last year, simply by making small changes to my diet, particularly portion sizes (one BLT instead of two, for example.)

Sooooo, this is not the whole story, (obviously, there is more to weight loss than this) but I really wanted to share this brief history so I can keep telling my story later on. However, I do want to share some progress on my New Year's Resolution to become a runner! Living in Colorado, I quickly realized that running was not practical until Spring :) so last week (after some encouragement from my mom to find some method of stress release) I laced up my running shoes and started out. I fell in l-o-v-e. I don't know if it was being outside, or being able to leave the kids at home, or just utilizing my body in that way, but I really liked it. I downloaded the couch to 5K running program, printed it out and started crossing of the days. I also got a free running app for my iPhone that keeps track of the time and distance for me. I'm lovin' it. Casey said he'd run a 5k with me sometime this fall, so I'll keep you posted on my progress. In the meantime, I would LOVE some of you to do this with me!!! If you want to be my virtual running partner, please email me!

On an unrelated note, look how well my herbs are doing! I've already used them all in recipes and they just grow right back so beautifully :)