I'm BACK!!!!!!

Okay, I know it's been a LONG time, but I've decided that I am going to start blogging again.  My blog will focus on mothering, but the biggest focus will be my path to health, fitness and wellness. 

I've been walking the path to wellness and fitness for a LONG time!  I've been doing really great with the exercise side of things, and I was doing very well with the healthy eating side of things for the first half of last year, and then things went completely downhill.  I knew it was bad when I had to get out my fat pants, they weren't my super fat pants, just my regular fat pants because everything was getting tight and uncomfortable.  I dreaded having to do that, but there are places where is just isn't appropriate to wear elastic waist yoga pants and a baggy sweatshirt.  There were things in my closet that I didn't even bother trying on, and I avoided the scale like it was the plague!  I was lying to myself.  I knew I had gained a few pounds, but if I avoided the scale, and skipped over all the sized medium shirts in my closet, I could convince myself that it wasn't that bad!  It couldn't possibly be more than ten, maybe 15 pounds max.

I got on the scale this morning, and to my surprise I had put on 25 pounds!!!!  Yes, that is correct ladies and gentleman, I have gained the equivalent of a two year old! 

I am so tired of this cycle of losing and gaining, and it is time to stop all of this insanity!  I can list dozens of excuses as to why my eating went down the toilet over the past 5 to 6 months.  We moved, we were renovating, life was busy, blah, blah, blah!  These are nothing but excuses, and if things are going to change, I need to stop making excuses, take accountability for my choices, and get real with what I have let happen to me, and what I am going to so that I look and feel better.  I want to be comfortable in my own skin!

Here is what I have learned, if I am afraid to step on the scale, that is bad news!  There is only reason to be afraid of the scale, and that is because being ignorant to that number is sometimes easier than facing the reality that something has to change!  My commitment for 2015 is to get on that scale every single Monday morning.  I will not let the number define who I am as a person, but I will let it motivate me to be a little better, to eat a little cleaner, to workout a little harder.  It is much easier to face the music after a bad week and realize that you need to get back on track, than waiting 4 or 5 months to realize you have done some serious damage, and live with regret. 

I have had people tell me that I am beautiful just the way I am.  I believe there is beauty in everyone, big or small, but for me, I know that in order to feel my best that I need to look better than I do now.  I need to embrace the body that I have, and I need to work hard to take care of that body so that it serves me well. 

Today is the first day to a new me!  To get things started I am doing a cleanse, a cleanse which I am fairly confident that I am going to have to modify.  This is called the master cleanse.  You drink a solution of water, fresh lemon juice, Grade B organic maple syrup, and cayenne pepper six to 12 times a day.  You do a salt water flush in the morning, and you take laxative tablets at night, and that's it!  Yep, no real solid food, nothing other than water, lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper!  Doesn't that sound wonderful?  ;-)  We will see how it goes!  You are supposed to follow this for 10 days, but let's be realistic, I just don't see that happening.  I think that I am going to have to add in some fresh fruits and vegetables, and possibly even some very lean protein in order to survive the full 10 days. 

I am excited, I am motivated, I am ready for change, and I am ready to be the best me I can be!