the whole cannoli

Okay so here's the deal. 

I want to lose X pounds, be more toned and incorporate the methods I use into my life to the point in which they become second nature.  This is my quest and in order to do this I am going to utilize exercise and diet changes.

Things which might hold me back are my somewhat crazy schedule, cooking for 4 very different people, maintaining motivation and consistency and body image issues.

Having 2 little ones doesn't always leave a lot of time for the gym. To help alleviate this I am going to be incorporating more home exercise routines and methods into my regular gym routine including workouts with weights, yoga, walking, aerobics and hopefully someday running. I have a few DVD workouts that I really like and also some great online resources.

I am going to be adjusting my diet to be more well rounded and nutritionally complete. I currently eat no meat, poultry or fish but am adding fish/seafood back into my diet.  Lots of veggies will make up the rest with some grains and a little dairy. I'm going to be posting my BLDs (breakfast/lunch/dinners) and sharing recipes for things that seem especially yummy and/or interesting. Meals get tricky at my house, I'm the solo veggie, I don't cook meat anymore, though I just added fish back into my diet for health reasons, I was having some nutritional imbalances and adding fish/seafood back was the best way to combat this. 

Luckily my family does understand that if they want me to cook, they eat what I make which works pretty well except with my 6 y.o. who's in a phase right now in which he doesn't like anything I make, but if someone else makes the same thing he'll eat it. 

Our little one, 10 months, is still nursing and eating some solids, she likes to share more than eat baby food, so she's pretty easy but since I'm still nursing I can't do dieting which might be detrimental to my health. Anyone who has breast fed knows that you can get yourself run down pretty quickly if you aren't getting enough calories, including plugged ducts, breast infections and exhaustion.

The Husband is a super picky eater, he claims to like everything but in reality he doesn't and he won't eat most superfood veggies and he likes cheese or a sauce on practically everything. 

With regard to motivation and consistency, I am designing 

an exercise routine that has many workouts so when I get bored or don't have a lot of time I can flip through my list of options and have something available to accommodate. I know that there are times I avoid exercise because I think, "Oh, I only have 20 minutes," when in reality that's plenty of time. 

Body image, body image, body image. This is such a strange phenomenon. I mean really, the idea that we, through conditioning? nature?, can see our own bodies differently than they appear is baffling. Where in our minds does this come from? Is it some instinctual feature that relates to attracting/competing for a mate? It can't all be from media images, I'm sure people had body image issues before there was advertising and fashion magazines. 

For me, my body image issues have run the gamut. For years I was Miss String Bean USA, I was so thin and just didn't ever gain weight, I had no chest, practically a negative chest and backside and basically looked like a boy. 

Some people think this is a blessing but it's just as annoying as being overweight or out of shape.  In my experience people had no problem making smart-ass comments right to my face, it was as if they felt they could just say anything, there is no sensitivity for the overly thin either. I remember one time at a party and someone asked me if I was anorexic, when I said no the entire group I was with said things like, "yeah right, uh-huh, sure, well bulimic then?" It was humiliating. Another time someone asked me if I had cancer.

All this changed when I became pregnant with my son and gained 80 pounds. It took me about 4 years to drop 50 it and I was pretty happy with that, I'm not very good at dieting, I didn't know how to. I know I will never be Miss String Bean again and honestly don't want to, it's pretty nice having a curvy woman's body finally but I definitely want a more toned curve. I need to find a happy medium between the skinny and the curvy that doesn't feel lumpy and dumpy.

So that's the large nutshell, there will be more later. I am going to post some info about target areas, goals, workout schedules and meals.

xoxo

martha mac