I've had a little less time lately to work on projects as I've been devoting extra time to a long overdue makeover... my body. Let me begin by saying that this is not all about weight or numbers on a scale - it is about health and fitness, something that I've neglected pretty much since my children came along...
I will admit that I've been lucky in that I've been able to maintain my general size without a consistent exercise regimen or prescribed eating plan, a fact that makes some of you scowl in disgust, I know. However, being thin does not necessarily equal healthy or fit. I received a wake-up call to this at my annual physical a couple of weeks ago, when my fasting blood glucose was the highest it's ever been, high enough to land in the pre-diabetic range.
Without some background, I can't imagine that you know how scary that is for me.
I watched my mother suffer from adult-onset diabetes the majority of her life, witnessing the devastating effects of this disease as it took its mercilessly toll on her body. I also helplessly watched my mother die from coronary complications secondary to diabetes when she was only 49 years old.
49.
It's an age I'm closer to than I realize, so to say I've taken my health for granted would be an understatement.
Enter aforementioned makeover. Immediately, I knew I had to change my diet. While I eat relatively well, I have a severe sweet tooth. I love candy. I love cake. I love making candy and cake (and pie and cookies and any confection, really) and then I love devouring it. All.
Can you feel an intervention moment occurring?
I immediately dumped out my candy bowl at work. And then I just made a decision to stop the sweets. Simple as that. No more afternoon hershey bar... no late night ice cream... none of that. Not worth it. That's not to say I won't ever indulge, but for now, I'm trying hard to avoid the stuff. I emphasize HARD.
In addition to cutting out sweets as much as possible, I'm striving to make better food choices throughout the day, balancing carb intake with lean protein and cutting back on fried foods - not a diabetic diet by an stretch of the imagination, but a better way of fueling my body. Did I mention how hard this was?
Then, out came the workout DVDs. You're going to laugh at this, I'm sure, but I bought these workout DVDs after I had my first daughter cause I was gonna get my body back right?! HA! After working out for a couple of months, I decided why bother?! I'm just going to get pregnant again and ruin all my hard work! That was, ahem, six years ago. More recently, I spent way too much money on P90-X, which is a great workout as well, very hard-core, but meant for people who have a lot of time (A LOT) to work out. I'm thinking I'll be putting those on Craigslist soon for one of those people with a lot of time to buy, and then I'll go shopping!:)
Anyhoo, the DVDs are the Slim In Six series from Beach Body, which they still sell believe it or not. I started with the beginning workout, Start It Up.
I nearly died. Gah.
Amazingly, I made it through about a week and a half of Start It Up and I was ready to progress to the next level workout, Ramp It Up.
I nearly died again. Gah.
I'm now on week two of this workout and I'm finally able to do almost the entire workout without taking a break! (We celebrate the little things around here, folks.) I'm not quite ready for the final workout, but pretty soon I'll get there. I've been pretty consistent with working out in the evenings when my husband is home - which explains why I'm not getting projects completed. This is just top priority right now.
While all of this is in the interest of better health, I'd be lying if I didn't say I'd love to finally get my body back in physical shape. It's not bad, but it ain't what it used to be, if you know what I mean. Already, I can see definition in my legs (a sure sign that all of those squats and lunges are working) and I believe I even saw a mirage of an abdominal muscle! Considering I live in the hometown of America's Favorite Waterpark and have to wear a swimsuit a lot during the summer, the side effects of my new habits would be a definite plus.
And you better believe that if my arse ever gets close to looking like this, I'll be taking a picture and posting it for all to see...
Yeah. That is a booty to strive for, right?
So, now that you know what I've been up to, do you have any tips for me? Motivating words? Ways to not lose focus of the ultimate prize... a healthy and strong body?
Yikes, that's a scary looking rump!
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