Livin' la vida healthy

Hey boys, 

I don't want the word diet to be in your vocabulary. I don't believe in diets, I believe in lifestyle changes.  You must wonder where all of this is coming from. Let me explain.  

In high school I was very athletic...I swam and played volleyball. I worked out at least once a day most times two... I love early morning swim and lift sessions. Then in college I played volleyball for fun and then your Daddy and I got married and well, life was busy, I was working and exercise got scheduled out of my life...I never had to schedule exercise it was always scheduled for me. So it just go left out of my life. Then my body started to feel funny...slow...gross...sore. I went to the doctor and had a bunch of blood work done. Like I had suspected...I had hypothyroidism. Bummer. Mommy has to get blood work done every 6 months at least and take a few pills everyday. It also has lots of other effects on me...my mood, weight, body temperature control, metabolism and lots more are effected. It can make getting pregnant and having a healthy pregnancy difficult so you two boys are such miracles. I try to down play my hypothyroidism...really it's no big deal..but it is important for me to take care of myself.

 After having you two boys I have gained some weight.  So all that being said...I needed a lifestyle change. I love food. I love to cook and I love to eat...I don't really want to give that all up but being healthy is my top priority. So I went reading and researching different diets and decided I hate them all...counting calories, points or whatever. Not for me. I want freedom. So after careful reading and planning I have decided that going gluten free is best for me and my hypothyroidism...could even get rid of me needing to take pills. And with that I am adapting a paleo diet...no preservatives, no sugar, no grains. It's awesome because I can eat all the healthy food I want...and so can you two. I am starting to transition you guy too...it might be hard because Jake you love pasta...we'll take it slow. But this isn't a temporary thing its a lifestyle change, one that I'm excited for...for all of us. I'm excited for us to all eat healthy! 

Now for the excise thing...I love Pilates and yoga but just those won't help me drop weight...so I have started swimming and doing HIIT's (high intensity interval training). Oh buddy I don't really like them but I love them all at the same time. Eventually I will have more time to put into exercising...I have to feed a baby and chase after a toddler. Plus exercise is something that is going to become a habit for me...not something to just do to loose weight...but a daily commitment much like my morning cup of coffee!  Ok boys, what am I getting at?  

I want you two to strive to live healthy...I hope to bring you up in a house where that is the goal. Not in a confined diet...I can only eat peas...kind of way but a life style to care for our bodies. It's my goal to care for myself, to see value in who I am, so you in turn will too. And then learn to see your value. I want to be a mom that will run around with you and play soccer and wrestle...and not loose my breath. We have been given these bodies and need to care for them. Now let me clarify. Being healthy is one thing...being skinny is another. Slim does not equal health much the same way that a large person can still be healthy. I used to be skinny....I worked out enough to be and I was young...but I ate terribly. I ate junk food because I enjoyed it. I was fit but not healthy. Are you picking up what I'm putting down? If you are active and eating right, that's all you need. Some people weigh more than others and some are not naturally thin. Don't hold your selves to some ridiculous standard. That being said...push yourselves...don't settle. If you make exercise a priority that's great. For me it's not my goal to be stick thin nor a muscle woman...I want and need to have a life beyond how I look. You boys are my priority so if I have to spend any more than an hour a day to maintain a certain look it's too much.  

I hope that I'm making sense guys... I love you two with my whole heart and I know that people can be judgmental, I want you two to grow up above that...as much as possible. It's a learning process, one that I'm still on. But I hope that we can travel this journey together and you can get further than I could...I feel that is my job as your mom to take you as far as I have gone and then push you to achieve more than I have. That is my dream for you... 

 Ok this post is way too long!  I love you boys and I hope that you will learn to love yourselves too!!

 Love, Mommy/excited to work out together someday!