Focus on Fitness

Happy 2013!

I began this year with a little good, old-fashioned theft.  I admit it.  I stole.  Pilfered.  Swiped.  Lifted.  Whatever you want to call it, I did it.  What, pray tell, did I take that wasn't mine?  An idea.  From my sister.  And it's a good one, too.

We all know that resolutions are well...less than resolute.  I can't think of a single person who kept their New Year's resolution through the whole year.  I haven't.  I gave up making resolutions long ago, knowing that I wouldn't keep them.  That I'd fail.  So instead, I have decided to emulate--that's a better word, now, isn't it? I have decided to emulate my sister Carin.  I am going to have a focus for this year.

A focus?  What on earth am I talking about?  Well keep yer panties on and I will elucidate.  A focus for the year means that I have a specific thing that I will give extra time and attention to.  When I have an extra moment or a choice to make, I will choose the one that lends itself to that focus.  Hubby, the kiddos and I have decided to have a Family Focus on Fitness.  Yes, I roped them into it, too.  You betcha!

So for this year when we are deciding what to do as a family on a Friday night, we may consider taking the soccer ball to the park instead of having a movie night.  We'll remember to eat more veggies and less processed junk.  We'll move more and sit less.  The monkeys and I even went through magazines and cut out pictures of things to help keep us focused and reminded, then we made a collage for Family Home Evening. See?

It includes things like eating healthy food, getting sleep, drinking water, exercising, and reducing sugar.  (Hubby's even taking a 1-year sabbatical from soda!  !!!  !!!!!)

Additionally, I've started doing more yoga and core exercises so that when I DO actually get out and exercise consistently I don't break.  Because let's face it--I'm getting old.  (I was okay when my oldest 2 sisters turned 40, but Lara had her milestone birthday last fall and that means one thing:  I'm next.  Yikes!)  So I'm eating raw veggies & hummus instead of leftover lasagna as I make lunch.  Recent research is discovering that it might be better to fast for a longer length of time between eating to allow our organs time to digest, rest and regulate, so I've started eating between 10:00am and 6:00pm.  Dinner's hard because sometimes it's not on the table until 6:45, but I do what I can.  That also means that the late night nibblies are quenched with a glass of water instead of a cookie.  There for about 4 or 5 days in a row I drank about 2 quarts of water with some doTerra Slim & Sassy essential oil blend dropped in there to help speed my metabolism and curb my appetite.

But the biggest change I've made is the menu.  I finally FINALLY sat down and came up with a week's worth of meals that are low-fat, low/no-sugar, include lean meats (or no meats), high veggie, whole grain, work with the candida cleanse that Hubby's supposed to be doing, and--get this--are tasty enough that the whole family (mostly) will eat.  I'm still in the process of weeding out recipes that aren't as good as they seem on paper, or that I don't want to eat leftovers of.  I think I'll also come up with a second week because I'm needing a little variety.

The amount of cereal & milk I've consumed has dropped dramatically, as have other things in the category of Yumminess that have all teamed up to contribute to my perpetually pregnant-looking body: pb&j, quesadillas, pasta, crackers, granola bars, cheese, all the fruit I want, yogurt, sweets, pizza, etc.

I've been doing all of these things on & off for about 5 weeks, give or take.

"So..." you ask, "how much have you lost?  How many inches?"

The answer, my friend, is zero.  Zip.  Zilch.  Nada.

Yeah, it wasn't what I expected, either.  And frankly, I'm a little miffed.  It doesn't really make sense.  I mean yes, we have occasional desserts, and due to germs the kids had to skip a fun movie/nacho/candy/popcorn night at the school, so we had one at home instead, with all the above-named fattiness.  And I don't exercise EVERY day.  And we went out to eat for our anniversary, but for Pete's sake, we had Greek instead of Mexican!  I mean, we passed up a huge, cheesy enchilada for a kabob and tzatziki sauce!

The worst part is that I want to keep being good, and I know I need to make other changes and be more consistent about the ones I have, but my motivation has taken a big hit.  If I make the sacrifices and get nothing, why shouldn't I have one or four of the gooey caramel brownies that Abby made for last night's FHE treat?  (The ones that took more time to cool than Cora's lesson about Jesus calming the storm.)

*siiiiigghhh*

No, I will not fall off the bandwagon.  No, I will not eat the rest of the brownies by myself.  No, I will not give up.

I will evaluate what I can be doing better and do it.  I will exercise longer.  I will use more Slim & Sassy, though it tastes like grapefruit & lemon rind.  I will peel & cut the carrots and put them out on the counter.  I will Focus on Fitness.

And I will get there.