As far as some of my first baby steps:
1. I have started fighting big time against the urge to go through a drive through. I know we will pass through them now and then, but not like we do..... or did.
2. I have started reading "The Mood Cure" by Julia Ross . I cringe a bit even sharing that because I have never ever read a book like this, title alone would turn me off... let alone the Index. The only reason I even gave it a chance was because of who recommended it. His opinion carried enough weight for me to look into it. This book is all about the study of understanding imbalances in the body and how to help your body regulate them naturally through nutrition and supplements. So far it has been so helpful in condensing the years of research they have done and how rad the body is at what it does if we give it what it needs. I have not read all of it yet and some things still rub me weird, but over all very informative book thats fun to read.
3. I have started taking the recommended supplements the book has suggested, which I'll go over soon in a separate post. I must admit though, I stood in that supplements section dumbfounded at the amount of options. The normal me would have just walked away in defeat.... but I asked an employee for help and just got one.
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4. I have just started stretching and doing 100 sit-ups each day...which I already missed one. :/ I'm not sure yet what exercise I'm going to TRY to implement or how often. There are too many suggestions out there and that makes my head hurt. Being a gym rat is not an option for me right now, I'll need to do it at home. I would love to hear suggestions about this if you have any :)
5. I made a messy chart on a white board to set out to remind me to both take my supplements and do my stretches/sit-ups. I really don't like seeing that chart in my face without those satisfying X's written in. It helps me do it.
6. I went to the store. Don't laugh, I don't cook much so I don't grocery shop much. I know my standard purchases but now with me needing to change many of those I felt lost on what to get. I know the book I'm reading is going to play heavy in my direction with food, so I need to get to those chapters quickly! Good thing is, even thinking about the things I purchased as much as I did, HAS to be an improvement! Brianne is going to take me to the farmers market too so that will be helpful. She'll show me the ropes. I did learn one thing..... veggies are pretty!
3. I have started taking the recommended supplements the book has suggested, which I'll go over soon in a separate post. I must admit though, I stood in that supplements section dumbfounded at the amount of options. The normal me would have just walked away in defeat.... but I asked an employee for help and just got one.
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4. I have just started stretching and doing 100 sit-ups each day...which I already missed one. :/ I'm not sure yet what exercise I'm going to TRY to implement or how often. There are too many suggestions out there and that makes my head hurt. Being a gym rat is not an option for me right now, I'll need to do it at home. I would love to hear suggestions about this if you have any :)
5. I made a messy chart on a white board to set out to remind me to both take my supplements and do my stretches/sit-ups. I really don't like seeing that chart in my face without those satisfying X's written in. It helps me do it.
6. I went to the store. Don't laugh, I don't cook much so I don't grocery shop much. I know my standard purchases but now with me needing to change many of those I felt lost on what to get. I know the book I'm reading is going to play heavy in my direction with food, so I need to get to those chapters quickly! Good thing is, even thinking about the things I purchased as much as I did, HAS to be an improvement! Brianne is going to take me to the farmers market too so that will be helpful. She'll show me the ropes. I did learn one thing..... veggies are pretty!
Couple neat things that stood out this week was just marveling at how God made our bodies work.... its a masterpiece really. The other thing was the relief I felt knowing I fed my family better this week. My girls are getting to see mommy make better choices even if its hard. Thats a great lesson for life!
P.s. As I was wrapping up this post I grabbed a handful of carmel corn the girls brought home from grandmas and stuffed it in my mouth without even thinking twice about it. What in the world? Wow, I have some impulsive habits to break.
Kristin
This is great. Thank you for sharing your journey. It is inspiring.
ReplyDeleteI want to read that book! My naturopathic doctor made some recommendations that really helped a lot when I had postpartum depression. Simple things that made a big difference. Oh, and a great place to order supplements online is swansonvitamins.com :) :)
ReplyDeleteWalking is a great form of exercise, a pedometer and 10K steps a day goes a long way! Good for you Kristin, change is hard ;0)
ReplyDeleteYou are going to be so amazed at how fast you will see results. Netflix docus are great too!! Good luck!!
ReplyDeletefunny coincidence. I saw your IG (of course) then checked out this blog, (left cuz I never comment I'm too much a dork) then began working. I put on random Netflix movies when I work. Then there's "you" holding a chicken with Parker Posey saying sugar makes you moody. I'm gonna get you down to a size 2" :) This whole endeavors gonna work out for you two, totally. I read French Women don't get fat" best advice I got from that book was take different routes to and from so not to pass the fast food: if you stop get the plainest version of your meal & lots of ice if you can't "help it" & the first 5 bites are what the mind wants to enjoy, after that it goes to another neuroreceptor. Plate full of 3 things: main course, veggies & salad eat 5 bites of each at once don't move around the plate one bite at time and eat it slowly. * The movie is The Love Guide - (2 stars but movies keep me company)
ReplyDelete30 day shred is my fav at home workout. It has 3 levels, which you can switch around to keep you not bored & your muscles guessing. The best part is that it's only about 25 minutes long. Also the book "the compound effect" is great for motivation. Best of luck to you!! There is no better feeling than feeling truly healthy!
ReplyDeleteThe body is indeed amazingly designed. One of the best things about the last year has been learning how to better "listen" to my body. I'm now able to distinguish between different types of headaches and several different types of stomach aches and causes/remedies. While I don't agree with the conclusion, this essay is interesting in terms of recognizing how important it is to be able to listen to our body's response to food: http://www.calvin.edu/academic/philosophy/virtual_library/articles/plantinga_ted/the_scoffer_and_the_believer_toward_a_christian_philosophy_of_food_selection.pdf
ReplyDelete2. Ed Welch's "Blame it on the Brain" would be a good supplement to Mood Cure, FYI. This is also good theologically, though it may not take the same physiological view as Ross http://sermon.net/BCDASoCal/sermonid/2799900
3. I landed in the All Stressed Out chapter. I initially tried the supplements listed in the book and I reacted pretty badly to it - made me even more cranky and sent my heartbeat racing. So I got the help of a naturopath who was able to prescribe a different adrenal supplement given my specific complications. All that to say, you may need some guidance if things don't go as planned at first (that said, the adrenal issues are more complicated than the other chapters, so you should be fine). When I finally got it right it made a huge difference.
4. I recommend HIT. It's basically low volume, but high intensity. Instead of doing 100 situps quickly, you would do 5 very slowly. Slow reps work your muscles way harder. And instead of doing them every day, you would do them once a week. The goal of exercise is strength training, which happens by tearing muscles and then letting them repair as stronger. If you do it every day, you're short-circuiting the repair process (which takes 7-14 days) and not helping yourself. Strength training helps lose weight by signaling your hormones, which control weight gain/loss - not by "burning calories". Workouts like P90X may work for a very short amount of time, but are not sustainable - they will cause adrenal fatigue and make your body less healthy in the end.
You can learn more about it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-ufSYBcZa0
http://criticalmas.com/2011/11/escaping-the-glitter-taking-high-intensity-training-outdoors/
That being said, since you get way more bang for the buck focusing on diet, you may want to wait to implement exercising, especially if you fear being overwhelmed trying to do it all. I knew I couldn't deal with exercising (which I've never done in my life unless it was for something fun like sports) until I got a handle on my new diet. Once I did that it was easy to implement 10 minutes a week of exercise. Just my two cents
6. Frozen organic veggies are your friend. These are often fresher than non-frozen because they freeze them as soon as they are picked, rather than sitting at a farm, on a truck, at the store and in your fridge. We had a hard time keeping food from going bad. Stocking the fridge with bags of frozen veggies that you can just steam for 5 minutes has really helped with both cost and time (Costco has a big, cheap bag).
You're off to a great start! Enjoy it!
Thanks Brandon! Lots of good info here! I have so much to learn!!
DeleteOne of the best things I took from the book "Replenish" was the idea that our bodies actually Want "joyful movement". But that looks different at different phases. Post having twins and once the were a year I wanted to feel strong so I trained for a triathlon and felt awesome. Now post 4th kid and exhausted I crave quiet so walks and yoga are what seems good. But I can feel a pull to soon start a harder workout. Does that make sense? Anyway never thought of listening to my body in that way before I was just always "beating" it. Good luck finding what brings your body Joy!
ReplyDeleteI'm really inspired now to read this book. With all of our life and real food changes one thing that keeps coming up is that reoccurring moods from postpartum. Thank you for sharing this journey.
ReplyDelete