I think sometime in 2011...December maybe, was the last time I posted. I keep most everything on Facebook for everyone to see. Pictures, little notes about the girls, Ryan and myself, they all get posted on Facebook. I love having one place that all of our family and friends can tune into and see what we are up to here on Okinawa! However, lately due to some lifestyle changes in our diet and fitness, more people have asked me for more information on how we eat, why we eat this way, what are options for this or that. Basically, how to make healthier changes for their families.
I was trying to figure out a way to provide all my information without clogging up Facebook. I know that not everyone is on the same page as me and that is fine. What works for us might not work for you, what works for you might not work for us and that is OK!!! We are all different, our bodies are different and that is what we need to focus on when planning diet and exercise.
I am going to end this first post on what we did to get started.
The first thing I did was, got back into a good exercise routine. I started going to Stroller Strides a few months after moving here and that was a good start. It got us out of the house, we did some running and some resistance training. I did that for about 7 months. I then went to AK, CO, and Vegas for all of June last year. When I got back it was sooo hot out I had a hard time getting back into the routine of working out outside. I had a lot of friends move over to the Crossfit Box (what they call a gym), off base. I had heard about it, it looked fun but I was not sure. I chatted with another long time friend about it and we decided to go to the trial class together. We got our rears handed to us and decided to go to the bootcamp and go from there. Almost a year later we are both still going. I love the challenge! I love the accomplished feeling of a new one rep max. I really loved the feeling after a really hard WOD (workout of the day). I realized that big part of my life had been missing, being competitive. Sure you want to beat other people BUT the best part about crossfit is you can always have a goal of beating yourself. Man does it feel good to do something better, stronger, faster than the last time. I also noticed that I had more energy through the day (after the I got used to being so active again) and actually started to keep up better with my chores at home. Sadly, it has not helped my HATE relationship with laundry, HAHA! It has helped my body look and feel better. I have always been told I was skinny and that I don't need to work out, I'll wither away (from various friends). You can be skinny and very unhealthy. The other thing that I hear when I mention lifting weights, "I don't want to bulk up". Are you taking a crazy amount of steroids and supplements? No, OK then, you will lean out and you will see muscles but they won't be the gross body builder kind, unless you want to go that route and you start taking a bunch of supplements. Women are all about being strong and heard and equal to men...but then bring it back down to taking care of themselves and being physically fit and they will throw 101 excuses at you to why they can't. I'll post more about that later too....I filled a good 3-4 years after I had J with excuses.
Anyway, I understand Crossfit is not for everyone and a lot of people are worried about getting hurt. If you are curious about it, find a good box, with trainers who care and who care more about form than your time. Our Box is wonderful, we are spoiled. Our trainers are always watching and will not hesitate to stop and work with you to make sure you don't get hurt. Big weight is not important to them if it means risking injury. Crossfit is also scalable. This means no matter your fitness level, even at a zero, the workout can be adjusted and modified to you. Also, my joints, mainly my shoulders and knees, have NEVER felt better!! All in all, my point with this rambling is to just go get some exercise. Swim, bike, run, Zumba....whatever, just get moving.
The second thing that I did was, when I ran out of something that was boxed, pre-made, processed, I didn't buy it again. Dropping cereal was the biggest change I think. Last November we ran out and I have not bought it since. The girls have survived and Ryan should too when he gets back from his deployment. It has opened up a whole new door of morning eating. Ill go into more detail about that in my next post. There is not a replacement for everything that is processed, that is OK and get it out of your head that if you stop eating one thing that you need to find a substitute for it, that will save you a lot of time and frustration in the long run.
OK, this is a long post and I may have already lost a few of you! Ill try to keep the following posts short and to the point.
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