Better late than never!

Happy New Year, everyone! Okay, yeah, I know I’m a *little* late BUT that’s just how I roll these days. I’m late to everything and a New Year’s Resolution is no exception. So, here it is, my BIG goal for 2013:

To become a spin class instructor!

Can I just tell you how nervous I am about this? I mean, this is WAY bigger than I’ve ever reached before. Although maybe it’s not. Two years ago, when I embarked on a journey to finally lose weight and get healthy, I wasn’t sure I could do that either. I mean, I had NO idea how I was going to lose so much weight AND stay healthy. But I did it.

By the way, small update on that. I am now at a healthy and consistent 145 pounds. I *wish* I was still at 135 but with no more breast feeding burning an extra 500 calories a day and an office job that keeps my seat warm all day, it’s understandable. My docs were really excited when I reached 145 so 135 was really sort a dream weight. I’m not entirely happy with it though and by refocusing this year, I plan on getting to and staying at 140.

And, really, honestly, in 2012, I was a little bit lazy. We just moved into this new house and Olivia has been growing like crazy and my job picked up the pace quite a bit and before I knew it, I just lost focus of my health goals and priorities.

Isn’t that what we do as moms? We get so wrapped up in the day to day that we forget that our own health is SO IMPORTANT. Working out and staying in shape may sound a little like vanity, and some of it is. I love feeling great in my jeans and getting to wear more “fun” clothes because I can fit into them. And I have a swimming pool now and there’s nothing like being in a bikini every day to remind you how much weight you’ve gained!

Working out and eating well is bigger than that though. It’s about taking care of myself. It’s about showing Olivia the importance of taking care of yourself as a woman, a wife, and a mom. I feel great, not just physically, but emotionally when I work out. I have more stamina throughout the day, I feel better, and I just feel really powerful about my day. I love starting the day at the gym.

I’ll be honest though: I HATE getting up at 5 to work out. I love my sleep so much and it’s so hard for me to get out of bed. One of the reasons I’m late posting this is because I had such a hard time actually getting up to go work out in January that I started to doubt why I even gave myself a New Year’s Resolution to begin with. I started to give up my resolution before the end of the first month of the year! Then, at the beginning of this month, I had to have a pep talk with myself about how I could either continue making excuses for not taking care of myself or I could get my butt out of bed and get things done. I moved my alarm clock across the room, requiring that I get out of bed to turn it off, and I’m on week 3 of getting up every day (except Saturday & Sunday—those are my days off) and going to the gym.

My goal to become a spin class instructor is starting slow. I gave myself the past 2 weeks to get back into the habit of working out daily. Yesterday, I went to my first spin class in months. I didn’t know this, but the Monday class is actually a split class. It’s 30 minutes of spin and 30 minutes of strength training. I persevered through it and felt great about it all day yesterday. Today I feel like I got hit by a truck. But I got up again this morning and spent some time on the treadmill working out the kinks in my sore muscles. Tomorrow, another spin class and I’m looking forward to kicking some booty! And maybe getting mine kicked a little too.

I even took another look at my diet and what I’ve been eating. Since I lost so much weight, I kind of got complacent. I started letting myself cheat a little more than I should. I kept making excuses for why it was okay to make bad food choices. I also got bored with my lunches and started eating more prepackaged foods. Oddly, I started noticing a drop in my energy and a change in my moods. Shocking.

I’ve been packing a healthy lunch every day full of lots of veggies and lean proteins. I’m actually really enjoying it! Some days, I’d much rather be sinking my teeth into a juicy burger or a pizza but I save that for my cheat day.

I feel really great about getting back on track and I feel great about sharing this with all of you. I did procrastinate in writing this because I didn’t want to admit that I had gotten a little lax in my diet and workouts. I wanted to be able to write to say that I hadn’t gained a pound in a year and a half and that I worked out every day with no problems.

I guess that’s not reality though. Reality is getting busy and wrapped up in life and forgetting that taking care of myself is just as important as taking care of everyone else.  

And I really want to say thank you to my sweet husband who is always encouraging but never pushy. We’ve worked out a great system that allows me to get to the gym and eliminates many of the hurdles that provide excuses for me not to go. And,  even though they may not know it, I’d like to thank my friends Sara and Amanda for inspiring me in this too. A few months ago, Sara posted on Facebook that she had begun teaching some workout classes at her gym and I just felt so proud and inspired by her. She shared her nervousness but pushed through it. And from what I gather, she’s doing a great job!

A few weeks ago, Mike and I met Amanda and her husband for dinner and a movie and we were sharing our New Year’s Resolution and she shared that hers was to run a 5K and she’s doing it! I love seeing her posts about registering for different 5K's in the area.

I went to college with both of these women and we’ve seen each other through many phases of life and many different jean sizes and I feel so proud to know these women who are choosing to take care of themselves. We all have kids now and we’re all in our 30’s but I love that we are probably more healthy and confident than we ever were in college. I love seeing that growth in my friends and I am very grateful for their inspiration.

And I’ll be thankful to any of you who cheer me on as I embark on this new and *scary* goal! Working out AND talking to other people during??? Scary, yes. But I have no doubt it is going to be oh-so-worth-it. As Mike said, “I wouldn’t mind being married to a hot spin class instructor.” Funny thing--I wouldn’t mind being one.