Back in the saddle again

I am desperately trying to get myself and my family back on track nutritionally since my husband's two week absence because of work.  I won't kid anyone... working and looking after two small children (3 and 5) is exhausting.  Even after I get home, make dinners and our bedtime routine, my evenings surrounded trying to make my meals/lunches and Lola Grace's lunches and collapsing early into bed, but not really being able to sleep.   I managed to squeeze in only a couple of days in those two weeks to either do my "prison" work out or an hour of yoga. Now that hubby is home, I finally was able to go for a run.  As I was syncing up my Nike app on my iPhone, it was kind enough to tell me that it's been a whole 5 weeks since my last run!  No wonder I was feeling like a giant potatoe sack!

I pushed forward and managed to drag my butt 4.37 Km (downhill one way and all up hill coming back home).   It was awesome!  My legs/hips hated me yesterday and I decided to give them a rest, but today I am amped to go on another run!  What I am finding is that the yoga I have been doing is making me much stronger, flexible, and giving me the endurance I need to run and generally be in good health.   So far running/yoga is working for me!  I did find another version of the "prison" workout that I want to share.  I am going to throw this into my workout routines as well, just because IT WORKS!

What is not working for me is hubby bringing home bad (as in nutritionally) treats for us.   Since he has been home I have gained back almost 5 lbs.  AHHHHHHHHHH!  The pillow effect is coming back!!  I am feeling a lot more bloated, and generally just plain crappy.  I am not sleeping as well as I have when my will power is much stronger,  so I need to concentrate on remembering I am what I eat and keeping my will power strong.   How does it go?  Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels?  Amen to that!  Exercise is SO important on a daily basis.  I just can't stress just how much.  My body is my temple and I need to start making sure I am protecting that and giving it exactly what it needs for peak performance.

My hardest hurdle to cross is trying to make this plant-based/Raw diet work for not only myself, but my family. Working, family, friends, and everything in between makes it very difficult to stay on track.  I want to learn more about it so I can develop a successful routine and make this work for all of us.   After my last post, I realized after talking to a new friend and fellow Raw Chef to be, Aimie Wallace, that my experiences at the Raw Chef course were just that, my own.  After getting to know Aimie and what she does as a trainer I realized just how different everyone's nutritional needs are and what works for me may not be what works for others.  She is a wealth of knowledge from the athletic and nutritional realms.  I can't wait to get to know her better and see how our respective journeys develop.  She is also a catalyst for me to take the Raw Chef course more seriously.  I don't have to be eating Raw 100% of the time and that's ok, but if I want to educate people and help them, then I need to have this knowledge.  I feel a mid-life crisis or shall I say mid-life enlightenment coming on!  I am also thinking about pursuing becoming a Registered Holistic Nutritionist.  I really want myself and my family to be healthy and live long lives.  I want to make these health changes for the betterment of myself and my family and be able to help others.   I know how hard life can be in itself, but adding other stressors and nutritional stress along with it, is a recipe for destruction. 

Here's to your health! 
Cheers (clinking glasses of green smoothies)!