10 things to do besides social media!

Social media can just take over your life. It has a way of sucking you in to scrolling and scrolling...wait...there went an hour or more. Instagram stories can be a time suck for me. 

I have actually unfollowed people because some bloggers are always telling us what we need to buy. I would think oh I neeeeeed that shirt or shoes. I felt I HAD to have it. I have a closet full of stuff that and I honestly don't need anything...well I honestly could use a new navy and white striped tee because mine is worn out. lol

Here is my list of things you can do besides spending it on social media.

1. Write in a gratitude journal

I really try to write in a journal each morning. I write down 10 things I am grateful for and 10 things I will make happen. My grateful things can be as simple as no one woke up last night, coffee, our home, snuggling with my boys, tacos. I just write down simple things that I am grateful for in that moment. 

I have a ongoing list of things I write that I will make happen. I try not to put a time limit on these things. As the past year has gone on some of those things have happened and they have been removed from the list. I write down each day I am a good mom. I feel it's important to start off the day thinking I am a good mom. It helps keep my intention good to take time to be a good mom. Work on my keeping my cool when I am frustrated. 

I love looking back over the past year of things I have wrote down. 

2. Read a book or listen to an audio book

I got on a roll after I finished watching all 16 seasons of Grey's Anatomy of listening to audio books. I listened to like 15 books in a few months. Our local library has an app called OverDrive where you can borrow audio books for FREE! A lot of popular books you have to go on a waiting list for, but if you have to wait a few weeks who cares again they are FREE! 

3. Go on a walk 

I have started walking again. When I worked in San Francisco I walked almost every single day on my lunch break. I would walk to AT&T Park and back to the office. It was close to a 2 mile round trip walk. I looked forward to that walk every day. I even went when it was raining. 

I like to listen to an audio book or a podcast while I walk. I always find if I am enjoying to what I am listening to it helps the walk go by so much faster. Walking is so much easier on my body than doing cardio. My fatigue gets much worse when I do a very strenuous exercise. 

4. Do a brain dump!

Have you ever tried doing a brain dump in a journal or notebook? When Covid first started I was so anxious. My brain was going 100 MPH. One day I just started writing in a notebook everything that was on my mind. Getting it put on paper helped me relax and be able to sort out my thoughts. It's a great way to make lists of things you want to do, goals, get things off your chest. 

5. Do Yoga or stretching

Chris Freytag has some 10 minute yoga and stretching exercises on her website www.gethealthyutv.com that are FREE! I love Chris! I just find her to be a very motivation trainer. I also like that she does the workouts with you. It drives me up the wall when trainers are always working on showing you how to do moves and don't do the workout. How about you show us how to do the workouts by DOING THEM!!!! 

Yoga or stretching will not only help your body, but it will help your brain too! If you want to try some of the 10 minute workouts you can find them HERE. 

6. Go play with your kids or dog 

My kids absolutely LOVE it when I play with them. If I take 10 minutes to wrestle with them they are ecstatic. I spent some time with Cash wrestling around and he was giggling the whole time. He likes to punch people in the face while you wrestle. This was a good time to teach him to punch me in the arm not my face. lol

G loves to play games. Taking the time to play a game with him completely changes his mood. My boys are the ones who will remember when I have taken time to play with them not the influencers on social media posting crap. Those people won't care that I watched their stories 5 years from now, but my boys will sure remember! 

7. Enjoy a cup of tea or coffee

Enjoy a cup of tea or coffee! Even if your kids are running around, your at work, or whatever is going on take a few minutes to just enjoy the moment with a cup of tea. I have been enjoying a cup of tea at night after the boys are in bed. I will sit in bed drinking the tea and relax. 

8. Go declutter that cabinet or drawer

Take the 15-20 minutes to go organize that cabinet or drawer that has been driving you crazy! Organizing a space will help you feel so much better each time you see it!

9. Plan our your outfits for the next week

Wear stuff you that has been hanging in your closet unworn for ages. If you put the item on and don't like it then add it to your donate pile. This is a great way to wear stuff you forgot about, get rid of stuff because you don't like the fit of it and shop your own closet! 

Do you really need that new shirt you found at Target? What accessories could you add to the outfit to make it pop?

10. Put on a charcoal mask and listen to some of your favorite music

Does music ever take you back to a place when you use to listen to that song? The other day a song came on the radio and I remembered instantly where I was driving and how I was feeling when I heard it for the first time. 

I have been listening to the old The Chick's music. Man that first Chick's cd brings back so many memories. I loved it and I still do. I have so many great memories listening to their music. I went to their concert so many times with friends too. 

What are some things you enjoy doing to avoid getting sucked into social media?

My New Love for Hot Yoga!!!!

I bought a Groupon for 10 yoga classes a couple months ago for like $20. I was a little nervous to try out these classes for a few reasons. I was nervous how hot the rooms would actually get, could I do all the moves and would I pass out from the heat. Now I find these worries funny. 

The teachers are very good with providing different levels of the movements. I love how all the teachers talk about how each person practice is individual. No one is expected to do the same as the next. They have all been very encouraging. 

I am going to talk about the 3 class types I have tried. 

Power Hot Yoga

Power yoga is an amazing workout! It takes a lot of body strength to do the moves. I took a class on a Saturday with about 20 other people. The room was cool when it started out. As the class went on the room got warmer and warmer. I was a sweaty mess by the time it was over. I didn't feel like the heat was overwhelming at all. It gradually heated up. I didn't feel like I was a super sweaty during class. At one point I touched my shoulder and was like wow I am really sweaty.  I came in with dry clothes and my shirt was drenched when I left. It really felt amazing. 

VinyaRestore Hot Yoga

I loved this class! We did a lot of sun salutation poses in honor of National Yoga Day. The day I took this class I had really tight hips from working out. My right hip was super tight and sore. All the tightness and soreness was completely gone by the time the class was over. This class had people of all ages. There was a lady probably in her late 60's that was soooo flexible. Her form was amazing. If I ever questioned what we should be doing I would look at her because she knew all the poses. 

At one point of this class the heat got to me. We had been having some really hot weather, so I think it was just too much heat for too long for me. I didn't have to leave the class. I just had to breath through some of the poses, so I didn't let the heat overcome me. I really liked this teacher. She talked about making the practice your own. She was very encouraging. The class was packed! I plan to take another one of her classes. 

Yin Hot Yoga

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Yin!!!! My first class I tried was Yin. I was nervous to try this class mostly because I had no idea what to expect. I remember going into that class dealing with a lot of anxiety in my life at the time. I walked out so incredibly relaxed. Three weeks after I had been going to the Yin classes I realized I hadn't dealt with any anxiety since I started. It not only helped me relax in the class, but in my every day life. It is the one hour in a day where I can let go of all the craziness in my life and relax. Often times I go into class feeling tense, but by the time it is over my mind and body are so relaxed. I don't do yoga moves at home or practice any type of breathing at home. These classes once a week have just tremendously helped me. Art has even noticed a change in me. 

There is a lot of stretching, relaxing, breathing, and holding poses in this class. The room is hot, but the temperature has never bothered me at all.  There have been times my body has been tight before class and I leave so relaxed. A day or two later my muscles are a little sore from the moves. I love the teacher of this class! If she offered more classes I would take everyone one of hers. She is so calming, helps you if you are struggling to find a comfortable position and has the most encouraging classes. One week she talked about family. She would read quotes on family. She did the same for fathers day. 

Friday nights are my Yin Yoga nights! I am able to sleep great after a class. I asked G the other night where did mommy go? He said you go to yo yo. lol So funny! I am not sure if he thinks I am going to eat yogurt for awhile or where he thinks I am going. I did show him some yoga moves. He really liked to do down dog and lift his legs. He would watch me do a move then he would get under me and do the same pose. Such a funny kid!

Have you tried hot yoga? I highly recommend finding a studio to try out a few classes! 

Monday Thrive!

Happy Memorial Day! I hope everyone is having a fabulous holiday weekend. 

1) I wrote a blog post that will come out on Friday about potty training G. I had 2 things on my new years resolution list that I wanted to complete for G. Potty training him and taking away his bottles. I was happy to put check marks by them now that they are completed. I expected it to be a horrible week once we took the bottles away, but honestly it was only 1 horrible bedtime. The rest of the time if he got upset I was able to distract him. I also thought maybe he would drink less milk without a bottle. Turns out we have been going through more milk. One of the reasons I waited so long to take away his bottle was because I felt he needed the extra calories from milk. 

2) Summer vacations are already starting! Have you bought sunscreen for this summer? Even if you are staying home this summer you will still need sunscreen. BeautyCounter's sunscreen does not have any harmful chemicals and it is safe for the entire family! I keep the stick in my purse, so I have sunscreen with us at all times. Protect your skin! 

3) What did we do before there was Google or Youtube? I use Google a bazillion times a day.  I recently bought a stroller second hand. I needed to know how to fold it, move the seats, and even how to open it once it was folded. I was able to Youtube all the instructions. 
I have used a Bob Revolution Stroller since G was born. Well let me say I have had like 5 strollers. Over time I have gotten rid of some. The first one I bought was a Bugaboo. It was my dream stroller. Once I had it for a year I got rid of it. I liked it, but I liked my Bob and Maclaren a lot better. 

I have been babysitting for a little baby for a couple weeks. I like to go on walks. I needed a double stroller, but I didn't want to spend a lot of money on one. I had thought about buying a double Bob. I ended up finding a Phil & Ted double jogger stroller for a steal on a mommy board. Well this stroller is a game changer. I am going to sell my Bob. If you end up needing a double stroller the Phil & Ted is worth very penny. I suggest looking for a used one if you can find it. They run over $500 plus extra for accessories. 

One thing I love about the Phil & Ted is the fact I can use it as a single stroller or double stroller. If I have an extra child with me I can add on the seat, but if it is just G & me it can be a single stroller. I would happily have a garage full of strollers. My husband on the other hand is not happy with me and all my strollers. I do keep it down to 2 strollers now. At one time we did have 4 strollers in our garage. 

I won't be getting rid of my Maclaren! I will keep that one until G no longer needs a stroller. A friend graciously gave me that one and it's one of my favorites. It is a fabulous stroller once your child can sit up on their own. I love that it is compact, doesn't take up much trunk room, but is very sturdy. I hate cheap flimsy umbrella strollers. 

4) I have been on the hunt for some "mom" shorts! I don't want some frumpy shorts that make me look 60, but I need them longer. I am not comfortable with super short shorts. I wanted distressed denim shorts. I tried some on at Target that looked awful! It was nice to be in regular sizes, but just because something fits doesn't mean you buy them. They just weren't flattering at all. The price was nice, but the rest of them looked awful. 

I love how American Eagle jeans fit me. I ended up finding a pair online that I ordered. They are skinny bermuda distressed denim shorts. I ended up going to the store recently. I like a lot of their clothes, but I felt like a granny in there. All these young kids who were like 12-18 years old were crammed inside the store. I think that is a store I need to visit on a Monday evening when the mall is empty, so I don't feel so darn old. lol  Check out their jeans! They really fit amazing.

5) I changed my name on Instagram to MrsPost08Blog. I am considering changing my blog name to MrsPost08 Blog. I realized recently that I don't even have my blog name on the top of my blog anymore. I have called it Because Chocolate Can't Get You Pregnant for the longest time. The name change just seems more fitting these days. I am going to be working on updating the look of the blog in the near future. I would love it if you would follow me on Instagram! 

Mother's Day Gift Ideas!

Mother's Day is right around the corner! I decided to put together a gift idea that I would actually like for Mother's Day! What is on your list for Mother's Day? Are you buying a gift for your mom, mother in law, sister, friend or yourself? I am not sure there is anything wrong with picking out your Mother's Day gift! Tell your husband exactly what you want that way you will be very happy when you open your gift. :)

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6

I really love the Steve Madden blush perforated shoes! They are perfect for Spring and Summer! Blush has been one of my favorite colors the past year or two for clothing, shoes and accessories. Such a beautiful neutral! 

BeautyCounter's lip sheers are the most amazing things on your lips. They are so hydrating!!! They have this amazing vanilla smell to them too. I have the twig and plum colors. I wear them constantly! 

I have been using some random exercise bands I have to tie in a knot to work. I need some of the exercise loop bands that don't require tying to get in a workout. lol Have you tried exercise bands? They really are amazing! Your legs, thighs and butt will thank you the next couple days after you use them. Thank you by hurting like a mother!

I recently saw on Facebook an ad with these amazing Tom Cutout Sandals. I fell in love with them instantly. I rarely wear heels these days. I don't find them toddler friendly. I am usually going for walks, going to the park, shooting squirt guns or something else toddler related. I do think they would be super cute for a date night or a night out with friends. 

Who doesn't love a floral print? I love this sweet wrap floral maxi dress! It would be cute with those Tom Cutout Sandals or a pair of Sam Edelman leopard sandals! I have a couple pair of Sam Edelman sandals that I wear with everything. They are such a versatile sandal that will go with any outfit. 

Now to finish off your Mother's Day look you are going to need some cute earrings! I have had my eye on Kendra Scott Tessa Earrings for awhile. These earrings will go great with a casual or dressy look. I wear my tag necklace almost daily. I love to add in some fun earrings. These would go great in a fun bold color too. 

I would love to hear what is on your wish list! Happy Mother's Day shopping!!!! 

Disclaimer: All thoughts and opinions are my own. The post Mother's Day Gift Ideas appeared first on Because Chocolate Can't Get You Pregnant. 

No Excuses!

Do you ever struggle to get your workout in? Some days I just don't feel like it. Other days I wake up with exactly what I have in mind that I want to do that day. Lately I have been in a "I don't feel like working out funk". I am tired, G hasn't been feeling good, I would rather eat some pizza or I just want to sit on the couch watching tv. 

The problem is when I don't work out I don't sleep as good and I feel guilty at night. I also don't feel as bad if I eat a little extra that day if I got in a workout. G had a fever for a couple days. We had plans to do some fun things, which had to be cancelled because of the fever. I am not exactly sure what he had or why he had a fever. If he had some meds he was running around like crazy. I decided some fresh air would do both of us good. So I put G in the Bob and off we went. We ended up going for a 3 mile run. Normally when we get to the park G jumps out, plays and I sit there watching him. I decided to add a little extra to my workout. 

One of my friends posted the workout below. I thought this was perfect to do at the park while G played. At first I didn't think I could do pushups and crunches because the ground was wet after the morning rain we had. I decided to use the picnic table. I laid on the seat portion of the picnic table to do the crunches. I used the end of the picnic table to do a standing version of pushups. A little dirt doesn't hurt anyone, so I did my burpees and got dirty hands.  Let me just say that 60 second squat hold was a KILLER!!!! This was the perfect workout to add to the middle of my run. By the time I completed it G was ready to go. There are some big stone lions outsides one of the houses. He loves to go see them and have me stick my hand in their mouths. 

Some days a run sounds better than an aerobic workout. Other days a run sounds horrible, so I turn on Chris Freytag for a great sweaty workout. I really LOVE Get Healthy U TV. They offer discount memberships. I paid $10 for the year. You can find lots of free workouts on YouTube. I just really enjoy working out with Chris Freytag. I can't stand doing workouts where people don't workout along with you. When they constantly take breaks. Listen here folks I need you to workout along with me, so I push myself or I will want to take a break. I don't mind if they show you how to do a move or the proper form. 

How often do you workout? What is your favorite workout?

Disclaimer: All thoughts and opinions are my own. The post No Excuses appeared first on Because Chocolate Can't Get You Pregnant.  

100 Pounds GONE!

Tomorrow we will celebrate 9 year of marriage. It was a few years into our marriage I felt I needed to do something about my weight. I was unhappy. I wanted to buy clothes in regular stores. I decided to go a drastic route with my weight loss journey. I did the HCG diet for about 5-6 months. I dropped 80 pounds. I felt that diet really taught me how to eat and that I HAD to exercise to keep the weight off. While people will talk crap about the diet it worked for me. I lost 90 pounds in a year. I felt happy and so much healthier. I could run, exercise, buy clothes in normal stores and felt good about myself. 

To me it's unhealthy to be obese. I don't think weight loss surgery is the way to go. I think over time there will be studies about how unhealthy people are etc after the surgeries. That's just my opinion. For me the HCG diet worked. It was super freakin hard!! I honestly couldn't do it now with a toddler. My husband almost buried me in he backyard with all my crankiness lol I knew it was only for a short period of time, so I could do it. I never could eat that way permanently. For me I felt it was safer to do the HCG diet then to have any type of surgery. This was something I could stop if I needed. It wasn't permanent. 

Over the past few years I've had a lot of health problems plus I've had a baby. I put on weight, but I knew I could lose it. I hate having to lose the weight again. I also have given myself grace when I'm going through crap. My goal was to get the weight off and officially lose 100 pounds from when I got married. 

My goal for 2017 was to lose the rest of the weight to reach my 100 pound weight loss goal by our anniversary. I accomplished this goal a much healthier way. I ate a paleo diet and exercised. I lost the last of the weight and reach my goal before our anniversary!!! 

Picture on left: 4-12-08

Picture on right: 4-4-17

G doesn't even know I am from our wedding pictures. He will name my parents, sister, Art's parents and Amber. When he gets to me he says I dunno. 

It was a year or so after we were married we did a 5K walk. I could barely make the last 2 miles. It was awful! A few years later I ran the same 5K. Thinking back on how I ate when we were first married to now it's like night and day. Just from May 2017 until now I have lost 40 pounds. I haven't done anything crazy. I ate a healthy paleo diet and exercised 3-5 days a week. My goal is to teach G to be active, eat healthy and enjoy life.

Disclaimer: All thoughts and opinions are my own. The post Never Miss a Monday appeared first on Because Chocolate Can't Get You Pregnant. 

Never Miss a Monday!

I thought it would be fun to start a weekly blog post called Never Miss A Monday! Now that doesn't mean I won't miss a Monday posting these fun things, but I am going to give it a good try to be weekly! I am going to share 5 points each week. Some of them will be about BeautyCounter, Paleo, style, beauty, natural cleaning products I love and other random things.

1) I started using BeautyCounters Body Wash in October. The bottle lasted me from October through March. Art also used the same bottle of body wash. It costs $24 for a 10 oz bottle. It costs us $4.80 per month for this body wash for 2 people or $2.40 per person per month. That is the cost of a bottle of Suave body wash. BeautyCounter uses all safe ingredients in their products. I love that we don't have to worry about harmful ingredients!

You can find more about BeautyCounter's Never List and Story by clicking on the links. I am happy to help you start getting safer products in your home. If you would like to try any samples, please don't hesitate to email me. I send out samples often to people who want to try products prior to purchasing them. If I have the product I will happily send you a sample.

2) Purely Elizabeth came out with some grain free granola. There are times I miss granola and want to add some to coconut yogurt. I tried the original grain free granola. I really liked it! You can find it on Amazon and Whole Foods. Target carries the gluten free flavors, but I haven't been able to find the grain free ones at Target yet.

3) The weather has been warming up lately! We had a lot of rain over the winter. I felt we were bundled up with rain boots almost all winter long. We are loving the spring weather. I pulled out my Lularoe kimono last week to wear. It is perfect to wear over a tank on warm days.

4) I haven't listened to Podcasts in ages. Here and there I will listen to short ones when I go on a walk. Some other bloggers were commenting on IG that S Town was an amazing Podcast. I decided to listen to the first episode when I went for a walk. The rest of the day I spent it listening. I had a very productive day. My house was clean, cars cleaned, laundry done and I sat outside listening for a little bit. I just couldn't stop listening to it once I got started. I don't want to spoil it for you. It's a must listen too!

5) If you want to see more of what goes on in our daily lives follow me on Instagram BetterBeautyWithBecky. I post pictures from our day to day lives, safer beauty products, paleo food and whatever else is going on with me.

I hope everyone has a great week! Happy Monday!

Disclaimer: All thoughts and opinions are my own. The post Never Miss a Monday appeared first on Because Chocolate Can't Get You Pregnant. 

Motivation Monday!

My friend Cindy was saying man you just look so much different from when I first met you until now. We have known each other close to 15 years. Crazy it's been that long! She said why don't you do a side by side picture just to see the difference. Well trying to find a digital picture from back in the day until now proves to be challenging.  

The picture on the left is from a week ago. The picture on the right is from October 2008. Seeing these pictures side by side is just crazy! WOW I didn't realize there was that much of a change. 

I have lost 90 pounds since then and I let my hair go back to it's original color. I would need to be holding close to 4 of G to be the 90 pounds I have lost. I am not even sure I could hold 4 of him. Carrying one of him gets exhausting after a little while. 

I have talked in numerous blog posts about how I originally lost weight and what I do now to keep the weight off. I am trying to lose 10 more pounds by our anniversary, so I can be down 100 pounds since our wedding. I do eat a strict Paleo diet now and workout 3-5 times a week. I am so glad I took the steps about 5 years ago to be healthier. I am so much happier now. 

Put your Health 1st in 2017!

My life was changed in May 2016 when I was encouraged to start eating Paleo by my doctor. I was having so many health issues. I honestly thought within a couple years I would need a cane or wheel chair. I felt horrible! I could barely go for a walk without needing to rest for a couple days. I was barely able to get the normal daily tasks done. Chasing a toddler was extremely exhausting. 

The thought of never eating bread or dairy again was very overwhelming. I am German and Italian....seriously no pasta or bread? Do you know how I was raised? I was raised on flour based foods. Then I remembered when I did the HCG diet. I lost 80 pounds not eating foods with flour. I felt really great when I was doing certain stages of that diet which didn't have gluten or dairy. If I was able to do it before, so I could do it again. 

I had my entire grocery list made out on a Thursday when I was encouraged to change my diet. I told my doctor ok well I guess I will go home and make a whole new grocery list. And I did! I totally changed what I fed myself and my family. I am not going to make different meals for George or Art. If it wasn't healthy for me to be eating all these things then my toddler maybe shouldn't be eating those things either. 

During this time I came across Dr. Wahls. Another life changing event. I started following the Wahls Protocol. As I would read her book I just couldn't imagine how my body would even start to heal with just foods. I was willing to take the chance. If it worked for her then it might help me. She was a lot worse off then I was, but I felt my health was headed to a bad place like Dr. Wahls experienced. 

Fast forward to the present. Eating the Paleo diet has not changed my cancer at all. I have actually had additional growth on some of the cancer spots. My MS has changed drastically. If you have read previous posts and new posts that will be coming out you will see my fitness level has greatly improved. Right now I can see my life not needing a cane or wheel chair. 

Over Christmas I ate some non-Paleo food items. Oh boy! Usually I am SUPER careful about what I eat. I decided to allow myself to eat somethings I liked in the past. Lesson learned it isn't worth it. My body was achy, stomach hurt, bloating, and just feeling like garbage. I can't do dairy period! 

If you have any health issues I HIGHLY recommend you try eating the Paleo diet! It really has been life changing for me. I will say the first 4-6 weeks were super hard. It got boring trying to figure out what I could eat and getting sick of the same things. I felt I wouldn't be able to ever eat out at a restaurant. Over the past few months I have been able to change recipes to make them Paleo friendly. When a recipe calls for milk I use coconut milk. When it calls for butter I use ghee. Flour - I use tapioca starch or almond flour. You slowly start to learn what substitutes for things. You also learn to look ahead at menus and pick items you can eat when you eat out. You can ask them to hold certain ingredients and let them know your food allergies. 

Some people are able to add cheese and rice back into their diets without experiencing any problems. I think it all depends on your health and body. I can't add those things back in. I tried and it didn't work for me. I don't think you can expect to see a huge difference in how you feel within a couple days. When I look back to how I felt in April of 2016 to how I feel in December 2016 it is night and day. 

Getting to a healthy place isn't a sprint. You have to take it like a marathon. Slow and steady. 

1. Start to get some sleep! Your body needs sleep badly! So many people don't sleep properly. You need 7-9 hours of sleep each night. If you aren't able to sleep at night try to get a little nap. A 20 minute nap for me really helped heal my body. I use to nap 4-6 days a week for about 20-30 minutes. Now I rarely nap. I still love my Sunday afternoon nap while listening to a football game. Something so calming about those naps. 

2. Change the foods you eat! If you are eating processed food and feel terrible...shocker it's probably because it is processed. How can you expect your body to process these foods? If it has a package of dry ingredients did that come from a field? That is going to sit in your body for who knows how long trying to figure out how to process it. I could go on and on about this. 

3. Exercise! Even if it's for 20 minutes a few times a week. Find something you like. Take your kids for a walk to feed the ducks that crappy bread you shouldn't be eating. lol YouTube has a lot of free workouts. I love Chris Freytag workouts. You can find a lot of them on YouTube. 

4. Start reading the labels of the products you use. Look up ingredients on products to figure out exactly what is in the product. If your lotion has some strange things listed on it google those words. You will probably find out you are putting harmful chemicals on your body. 

You can't jump into this all head first. I did things slowly. I did the food, sleep, exercise and then products. I still struggle with sleep. It is midnight and here I am writing a blog post. Tomorrow I will probably need a nap. MS is a killer for messing with your sleep. Sometimes sleep aids work and something they don't. 

Fitness

I had been telling the family all week on Christmas Eve I just wanted to go for a run. It was on my list of things that I wanted to do. I woke up early that day, did a few things around the house and headed out for a run. At first I was just going to go for 2 miles, but then I decided to do 3 at the end. 

The first mile was fine, but then I wanted to just stop after that. I started thinking of the tamales my mother-in-law was bringing over in a couple hours. That kept me going. I am not sure if that is good or bad. lol 

I ate some non-Paleo foods on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Ugh! I am not sure I will do that again in the future. I was so sick. Dairy just is awful for me. I can do sugar and gluten once in awhile, but dairy is a no go for me period! I didn't eat any gluten. I did eat corn which is something I do allow myself to have once in awhile. 

I found a paper where I had wrote down my measurements from January 1, 2015. I decided to take my measurements the other day to see how I had done. I have lost 45 pounds and 38 inches in the past 2 years. The inches is what got to me. George was only 32 inches at his last appointment. I have lost 6 additional inches than the height of George. That is just craziness!

Getting in shape is not a sprint. You have to take it one day at a time. There have been days I haven't been able to exercise. I just do what I can do each day. 

Fitness

I have missed running! I have tried to run over the past four years, but I ended up needing 4-7 days rest after running. I ran a 5K in September 2012. I ran after that regularly until January 2013. Once I had cancer I struggled to get back into running. Then the whole MS crap happened and I just didn't have the energy. Even this past spring I tried to run. I spent days exhausted barely able to function. I thought my running days are over. It was hard on me mentally because I am young. I see lots of other people doing it why can't I? 

Over the past few months I have walked, lots of cardio, yoga and ran a little. It would feel so good to run even a little bit. When I was out for a walk I would run short distances. I would pick a goal and run to that place. Then walk some etc. Similar to Couch to 5K. Well imagine the day when I was able to run a couple miles! I was ECSTATIC!!!! It felt so amazing! I didn't need days to recover either. 

I told my dad that I went for a run. He said he didn't understand exercise. Why not just do some work for 20-30 minutes. Go for a walk and check some fence. Mow a lawn. Take the neighbors dog for a walk. Oh boy! Here is the rancher talking! I called him the other day to let him know I took some of his advice. Instead of going for a walk I cleaned up our back yard for two hours! He said I only needed to do about 20 minutes of continuous movement. It wasn't necessary to do hours. lol Oh dad! 

When I first started working out 3-4 days a week I felt it was kind of hopeless. Would I ever get my weight back down or feel good again. I have just listened to my body. If I have felt really exhausted or didn't sleep good I haven't pushed myself to work out. Other days I try to get at least 25 minutes of exercise in. George loves it when I run. He will say go fast momma go fast! 

It's been a long road to getting back to where I was prior to January 2013. Part of me never will be. I am below the weight I was then, I can exercise again like I did back then and I finally moving on with life outside of the black cloud that has hung over our heads. 

Healthier Weight Loss

Recently someone commented to me that they had read my blog about my weight loss. You know at times I completely forgot about the HCG diet. I knew once George was born I wouldn't be able to the HCG diet and nurse. I was concerned how I would get all the weight off.

Well the first 25 pounds came off early fast. I think within a month it was gone. That was great because I only put on 19 pounds while I was pregnant. After the holidays I decided it was time to get the extra weight I had gained prior to getting pregnant. I wanted all my clothes to fit again.

I joined a Facebook group. I had to eat 1/2 cup of fruit, 3 cups of veggies, exercise 30-45 minutes per day 5 days a week, no sugar, and a weekly challenge. I lost 20 pounds within 6 months. I have now lost an additional 10 pounds. I am now down 50 pounds in a year...having a baby helped get rid of some of that lol. I did it a lot safer and healthier this time around.

I also learned that my body can't handle sugar on a daily basis. When I have sugar on a daily basis I get really run down and weak. I noticed this change after I had my thyroid out. It was so strange. If I give up sugar I feel human again. I am glad I figured this out! Sugar is so addictive and harmful to our bodies on a regular basis.

I do allow myself 1 cheat day a week. It is usually on Sunday. I will go out to eat, have ice cream, M&M's or whatever else I am craving. This really helps me eat clean too. I don't feel deprived or that I can't ever eat things again. I just remind myself when Sunday comes I can have a treat.

My goal is to lose another 25 pounds. I would like to have 15 of it off before vacation, but we will see if my body cooperates. I have struggled with losing weight because of nursing. There were times I just had to eat food to keep my supply up. Now that I have cut back on nursing I have been exercising a lot more.

I also don't think of this as a diet. This is a lifestyle change. Yeah, I know what you are thinking....oh people talk about these life style changes all the time...blah blah. Seriously though for me it is because of my health. It is very important to me to be the healthiest I can possibly be for my family. I also want George to eat healthy and see us eat healthy. Hopefully he will make wise food choices.

What's the point of blogging?

I've been struggling the past week with why do I blog, does anyone out there even read my nonsense, should I continue to blog and if I continue what should I write about?  There are THOUSANDS upon THOUSANDS of blogs out there. Mine won't ever be super popular and that's ok. Popular blogs have thousand of followers and 50-100 people will comment. I am one of those people who rarely comments on blogs because honestly it's a pain in the butt. People have funky codes you need to fill out, it's not easy to comment from a blog reader and after 100 comments on a blog post does the author really care what I have to say?

I started this blog as something fun. It has become a dump station with a filter for all the craziness in my life. Somethings I am very open about and other things I don't ever mention in blog land.  I hope one day the journey I've shared with weight loss, MTC and infertility will help someone. All three of those things have been such a struggle in my life now more than ever. 

There are days I'm exhausted and just can't come up with a topic to write about. I had planned out what I would write about yesterday for the week. Well I was too exhausted to put words on the screen. Even with the topics on my to do list weren't enough to help the post come together. 

I like the fact I blog regularly for my own sake. My memory has really gone down hill over the past 2 years. I really noticed a difference around February 2012. I couldn't remember things off the top of my head, I needed lists and I couldn't remember what I just wantted to do. What did we do for our anniversary in 2009? No clue - the blog probably has a picture so I resort back to the blog. 

I also use my blog to keep track of recipes and menus I've done. Refer back to those posts all the time. In the last year I started documented my outfits. Outfit inspiration is a great way to figure out what I should wear the next day. Sometimes I use my own, but most of the time I run off to Pinterest. 

So after all that craziness I guess my decision is I will blog when I feel like it and not blog when I don't. I'm trying not to put so much pressure on myself.  That is a hard thing not to do because I like structure and with structure there needs to be rules. The whole not putting pressure on myself is something I am working at home and work. I put A LOT of pressure on myself to be as perfect as I can be. At work I rush to get EVERYTHING handled ASAP. I am not one to let things slide or not respond to emails, voicemails etc. Well the past week I have actually just said I can't do that and need another week. 

Life is always a work in progress. 

I am slowly working on putting myself first and everything else second!  

Fitness Inspiration!