As parents we have all been there, and can relate to one simple question: “What did I do before kids?” We can joke about it, complain about it, but the reality is that there is some seriousness to it all. There is a bit of a sense of loss after having children- loss of time, intimacy, health, rest, etc. Each one of us has been impacted by it in potentially different ways. For myself, I found that after having kids it was my health that was taking the burden. Not in the sense of getting sick often (I have an immunity built up like Fort Knox which I attribute to teaching children each and everyday), but in the sense of healthy eating, exercising, and the dreaded letters BMI.
Now I am all for loving your body and all shapes of people, but honestly I wasn’t loving my body. I was unhappy, uncomfortable, and I had visions of myself at an even older age struggling to do the things that I really want to do later in life. The past several months I really decided to take action, and I cannot say enough how much happier I have felt. I first started doing some strength based training at Custom Fitness Specialists. I have always been a Zumba/dance fitness kind of gal, so this was way intimidating to me. If you are in the same boat, I encourage you to TRY IT OUT. I am not going to lie, the first few classes were brutal, but now I am “enjoying” getting my butt kicked four times a week. Not only am I strengthening my body, but at the same time I am losing weight, and I feel so much better. And you know what? I am loving the muscles that I can visibly see in the mirror. The workout routine was the first step, and once I felt like I had good control over that I moved on to what I was putting into my body for fuel. Yeah that’s right- food.
This is probably the hardest part of my journey. Food is so hard. Because it is so delicious. My daughter just said to me the other day while reading about the budding romances in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince “I am not in love with anyone, just in love with food”. Amen, girl. At the age of 9 you don’t have to worry about these things as much as, say, someone who is (gulp) 40. But I am learning. I am learning that I can still love food, but not go crazy. I have the willpower to stay on course most days, and allow myself to still have the yummy things once in awhile. What really helps is that my partner is also doing this at the same time, and without her, it would be SO MUCH HARDER. We are a built in support system for each other, and that has helped us to be successful. It was actually my partner who first started at Custom Fitness Specialists, and she came home after a week and said- you should try it. And then she signed me up for a class. I am very grateful that she did.
Not sure where to start? Set some goals, find a workout buddy, or a gym community that will support you along the way. Encourage your spouse/partner to join you in your journey. Talk to a nutritionist, or find a healthy eating plan that will work for you. Definitely find something that works for you- if you don’t like to run, you’re probably not going to want to start out running 2 miles a day. If you don’t like dance fitness classes, don’t start attending your local WERQ sessions. Because honestly if you don’t like it, you won’t stick with it. Whatever you do, do something that makes you feel good about you, because you are worth it, and your kids want to have grandparents who are healthy and active– and who will have the energy to be babysitters for their date nights!
