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Thursday, April 19, 2012

tomorrow's plan and a look back...

Our day will start off with a great 5 mile run...hopefully!  My husband and I will have to take turns, unless our 5 year old wants to pedal fast on his bike while we push our 2 year old in the jogger!  We'll see!  I think it helps to plan our day ahead of time, so we don't go off track and miss a workout that NEEDS to get done!
Our lunch will be THIS yummy salad creation, 

A great, celery and pear salad!  Sounds so yummy, right?  Are you drooling?  ha...I thought so!

Move It Momma Fruit and Celery Salad:
You'll need:
4-5 celery stalks, chopped
2 pears, chopped or apples would be great too! 
**We just bought some fresh pears at a our local produce farm and they are DELICIOUS!
red leaf lettuce or any lettuce of choice
ground pepper
slivered, roasted almonds
2 tbs cider vinegar
2 tbs honey
*Mix it up and ENJOY! 

**We are on day 2 of trying this somewhat-Paleo lifestyle!  So far, so good!  I seriously feel better, which is expected because it's a much cleaner form of eating!  I admit, I have added a little cheese here and there, because it's pretty tough without it at all...pathetic I know!  Things are good, working out hard and trying to really step it up before our big, family trip to see Mickey!  Yay!



And because it's been on my mind lately, a look back at the "old me":


I'm not even really sure WHY I think back to the "old me" so often, but I do.  Probably because it was such a long period of my life and a time I am not proud of.  Who knows.  
     I ran into an old college friend today (she'll actually be my son's principal next year in kinder!- small world) and her and I had a great time laughing and telling stories about our college days, but sadly-it also brought me back to "old Marissa", the unhappy girl I used to be, even though I sure had some great college times and met some great friends along the way.   
     I can remember going out with her and many more of our friends.  We'd have a great time, dance, laugh, drink (too much most of the time!) and I'd go home, walk into my apartment and CRY.  Almost EVERY night.  
     I was SO unhappy.  I was SO unhealthy...I think about the diets that I continually tried, and that failed over and over again.  One time I ordered the entire series of Billy Blanks Tae-Bo, I'd get through 20 minutes of the video, quit and grab a snack...ugh, makes me sick.  WHY?  What woke me up?  Over 10 years later, I'm still not 100% sure but I guess it was a combination of things.  I joined many weight loss programs that promised wonderful results.  I'd go shopping for the "diet" foods, throw out the old...and a few days into it, my old habits returned.  Something would happen that fueled my emotions and instead of dealing with them, I guess I ate my way through them.  

Looking back, it's like one day things just clicked for me.  
It was a wake up call that I desperately needed.  
Can anyone relate?  

I don't judge by a person's appearance but I have noticed the growing number of obese and overweight individuals in our area.  It's very scary.  We live in Texas where we believe, Bigger is Better...and it should NOT be that way.  
I wonder if it will click for them too?  Do they feel hopeless the way I once did?  I worry about the overweight adolescents, are they being teased because of their weight?
In Texas, it seems like we sure don't put enough emphasis on nutrition and physical education with our children.  It seems as though it's the first thing we take away during budget cuts in our school districts?  It should be THE most important subject...right?  It's our health.  We'll raise smart children that are dying from heart disease?  Yikes.  
I taught children that were in 8th grade and did NOT know the difference between a protein and carbohydrate!  
I'm serious.  
There is a better way and we are ALL capable of change!  Each and every one of us.  
Whether we need to lose weight, gain muscle/weight, eat healthy, become stronger, control diabetes or heart disease, conquer a marathon...no matter what our struggles, obstacles or goals we have for ourselves, 
THERE IS HOPE AND IT'S NEVER TOO LATE!

I found that balance, thankfully...well, pretty darn close!  I know my triggers.  I know what needs to happen in order for myself and my family to lead a healthy life.  I learned how to channel my emotions in my workouts and that feels so great!  When I'm having a rough day with some added stress, working out is the only cure for me.  It's what works.  We aren't all the same and we have different struggles when it comes to healthy living but we are ALL very capable, that is what's important!  
Keep that in mind as you start your day :-)

What's your favorite salad recipe?

How do you feel about the local Health/P.E programs in your area?  

If you've struggled with weight, do you think about the "old you" often?





5 comments:

Samantha said...

I think it's healthy to think about the old is every once in awhile. It reminds us of where we have been and how far we're come. I get sad thinking of all the things I could have done and how much my weight hindered from living so fully. But regretting isn't goin to help and all of those choices got us to where we are today... Right!?
We are healthy and teaching our families how to be that way too: it starts with us :)

FoodFaithFitness said...

I look back at my before pictures sometimes. It's crazy to think I only wanted to lose a few pounds and ended up losing 35! Good job on your weight loss!

Unknown said...

My favorite salad is a big dinner portion salad with lettuce, tomato, avocado, green onions, homemade croutons, sunflower seeds and homemade balsamic!

I think you will find you will crave cheese less and less. I used to put a lot of cheese on everything and now I hardly think of it. Saves me a lot of money!

I think our elementary PE is pretty good, the kids seem to get a good workout in. I know in middle school they make them watch Super Size me and do a unit on healthy eating, but when you are sending a healthy message there, but then are serving crap in the cafeteria, it sort of dilutes the healthy message.

I had a similar, but opposite problem when I was younger, in that I had an eating disorder and lost a ton of weight. But I still wasn't happy. Skinny doesn't equal happy, healthy equals happy! But I can relate to how it feels to hate yourself and your body and to put on a happy face and come home and cry. I will never be 100% over the body issues, but it's no longer an obsession.

Rachelle Q said...

Wow, you have come a long way and worked really hard. You should be proud of all you have accomplished:)

Hollie said...

I've always and am still struggling with weight issues. I think it is important to remember how far you've come. My big concern is not so much for me but my kids. I think that's why I'm working so hard this time. As they get older I need to be a better example and teacher.

I live in a small community. We don't have alot of health programs outside of school so I've got to teach them to work with what we've got.