Jiggle Peace

I jiggle. 

Everywhere. 

Most of the time. 

I'm not sure my body will ever be "jiggle free"...

One of the things that nearly kept me from exercising, almost daily, was that I was afraid people would see me jiggle. It's a "Catch 22", isn't it?! I didn't want people to see me jiggle so I wouldn't exercise...which is clearly what I needed to do to stop jiggling so much. 

I would cover myself adequately to prevent over-jiggle-xposure and would do "low impact" during exercises with a high "jiggle factor". 

I kid you not. These things are true. 

Until one day...I said, "FORGET IT! I have to jiggle to get stronger and I don't care who sees it!!" 

I didn't say it out loud. That would have been...not unusual. 

Ah, I mean, embarrassing. 

For people around me. 

Exercise can be embarrassing, not just because of jiggling, either. You stick your butt up, out, back, and in (people's faces sometimes). You sweat...everywhere. You stink. You can't really wear make-up. Your hair gets utterly crazy. You show weakness. You show inability. You expose more than just a little jiggle. Exercise is...like I said...embarrassing. 

But...

You know what else it is? 

Important. 

If we were all farmers, homesteaders, self-sufficient home providers without an overwhelming presence of lazy, entertain-me-please tendencies... "Exercise" would not be as important. Hooowwwwevvver...most of us don't fall I to that catagory. 

So we jiggle. 

We jiggle for our health. 

We jiggle for our sanity. 

We jiggle for strength and for our everyday lives!! 

I say these things for three main reasons: 

1. If you are a beginner, or a timid jiggler like myself, I encourage you to forget about it. Forget about the jiggle and let loose your inhibitions!! Truly enjoy and embrace the exercises you do without worry about jiggle-xposure. You may find that you enjoy an exercise more and are better at it when you are less concerned about your physical appearance and how others perceive you. 

2. Don't worry about other people's jiggle. You let their jiggle jig!! (Even instructors at your local gym. They aren't up there to be jiggle-free, but to help YOU get closer to your fitness goals!) Just the same, don't worry about how little other people jiggle. You are you. You are where you are. You are not them and you are not where they are. 

3. You can jiggle less. Your jiggle meter should be regulated in the kitchen. What you eat makes a big difference. You can work out everyday for years and hardly change your jiggle if your jiggle meter is not ON in the kitchen. Don't just eat less...that's not it. Eat well! Nourish your body. You do not need: pills, shakes, supplements, magic wands...well...a magic wand might work. You will need: accountability, determination, goals, and...I'll say it...self control.  (Sometimes shakes or supplements can be great tools to hold you accountable or assist with self-control but you CAN do it without them)

I constantly need these reminders, too. (I find my keys in the fridge sometimes so I need many reminders for many things). I don't pretend to know everything. These are just things I'm learning on this crazy fitness journey. 

So, friends, let your jiggle out! 

Oh wait....

No... 

That's not what I meant. 

Keep the jiggle in. 

Don't take your clothes off. 

Let's try this again...

Jiggle on, friends. Jiggle. On. 

Wishing everyone out there Jiggle Peace...and, as always, Hair Peace! 

Exercise Peace

My babies have changed my body. However, as awesome as he is, my last baby wrecked my body. 

(Aren't they sweet?! ...it's a well timed photo.)

Not like:

"I have a few unsightly stretch marks and my hips are a bit wider..." wrecked my body.

More like:

"I cannot get up off the floor without losing my breath, a tiger mauled my stomach, I'm gaining weight postpartum (not losing), baby blues have turned into full blown postpartum depression, functioning has become difficult..." wrecked my body. 

After three months of wishing for changes, I got aggressive. 

I decided to put my family through what I thought would be financial and time strain. I decided to get a membership at the YMCA to utilize the group exercise classes they offered. 45-55 minutes away from my house. Even $1 was more than what I thought we could afford. My kids would be in child watch multiple times through the week (something I had never done before). I would be packing lunches and driving...a lot. I would have to load and unload the kids...a lot. 

All of those things were daunting to me. (and I didn't even include the ACTUAL exercising)

*Big deep sigh*

But I did it. 

Weekly. 

3-4 times a week. 

I pushed. 

I sweated. 

I laughed. 

I tried. 

I cried. 

I failed.

I grimaced. 

I succeeded. 

My main goals in exercising we're not to look great in a bikini. I find that motivation silly. Pointless. Selfish. 

My main goals were to: 

1. Beat the heavy weight of the postpartum depression that was crippling at times. 

2. Be stronger. 

I did not hate myself. I was not "eating myself to death". In fact, my diet was pretty good. I just wasn't utilizing the benefits that come from exercise. By no means do I look back and think, "I never want to be that person again." That would discredit wonderful things that Lord was doing through me. I just needed to keep moving forward. Allow The Lord to keep doing things through me...and more. 

((((Flash forward 8 months)))

Joining the YMCA was an incredible blessing. 

Turns out...it has become financial gain, instead of strain. I became an instructor!! 

My kids LOVE the Y. 

I don't even hesitate when loading and unloading the kids. 

I am almost daunted when I CANNOT go. 

What a shift!!  

Best part?!? 

I am meeting AND EXCEEDING my original goals. 

 1. Through not only exercise, but fellowship and encouragement at the Y, I successfully managed postpartum depression. 

2. I am stronger than I have ever been! And am working hard to keep getting stronger! 

Bonus...I HAVE LOST 50lbs!!!!! 

For me, the weight loss is not awesome because of how I look, but how I feel. I was carrying around an extra 50lbs. That's more than my four year old weighs. 

You might notice I have not added "before and after" pictures. I do not want you to be inspired by a visual change. I want you to be inspired by changes much more important: mental, emotional, and spiritual changes. 

Yes, the weight loss is exciting, BUT the most exciting part for me is that I have discovered a passion. I have a passion to do for others what the incredible instructors at the Y have done for me. Motivation. Encouragement. General "Hand My Butt to Me on a Sweaty Platter" situations. I want to help moms be okay with exercising. I want to help kids know the importance of caring for our bodies through exercise. I want to encourage someone to push harder. Be stronger. Not for a fitness competition, but rather for the purposes of living life everyday. Being healthier to be able to live bigger. Be used by God more. Show much needed patience...(1 hour of exercising without kids does wonders for patience).

I'm putting this passion into action by teaching adult and children's group fitness classes at the Y. It's tough, overwhelming, and stressful sometimes, but mostly it's just plain awesome. 

I hope you are encouraged by this post. But, mostly, I hope you see that I had a LONG list of seemingly valid excuses. There were a lot of things holding me back. But I pushed forward. And was blessed. Immensely. 

Don't let excuses hold you back. 

Push forward. 

Be blessed. 

Immensely. 

As always, wishing everyone out there Exercise Peace...and Hair Peace!! 

Yoga Peace

Everything I do through the day is at the level of a child. 

Little knee high stinkers that keep me hunched over through the day. 

From picking up toys to wiping boogers and booties. 

My life, and the lives of mothers everywhere, is spent with a crescent arch in my back. 

Nursing is the hardest on a mama's back. I have heard it said that babies are the star to a mama's crescent moon. It's a sweet and pleasant picture of what is actually quit tiring. 

Spending the day in a hunched position takes it's toll on my energy level and my determination to keep going through the day. 

So. 

What do I do? 

I cry a little sometimes. 

I'll beg my kids to rub my back and quickly regret it when I realize they're rubbing my back with permanent markers. (How did they get those from the top of the fridge?!?)

What seems to help the most is yoga. 

Though the marker back massage is...um...nice? Yoga seems to really help uncurl, untwist, unwind, and undo. 

I'm amazed that even a few spine stretches and twists can make me feel like I drank two cups of coffee. 

I don't have the luxury of getting outside to run by myself. And by "run" I mean walk. Slowly. 

With a 3 year old, a 2 year old, and a newborn, my options are limited. We don't have a fitness club with child care within 45 minutes of our house. Even if we did, we do not have the extra funds to spend. 

So...yoga. 

I'm not an expert. I'm not a yogi. I'm just a mom. A regular person with the desire to not loose my sanity to the wiley ways of small children. 

After my sweet little newborn nurses in the morning, I hop joyfully out of bed toss on my yoga pants and hit the mat with strength and determination. 

Like this:

That's my silhouette. 😉

Ha!

Okay, this is how it actually goes:

1. Nurse the baby while dozing off and once he's back asleep I fall out of bed

2. Crawl toward my yoga pants that are lying on the floor. 

    Are they clean? 

    *sniff* 

    Eh, they'll do. I'm just going to sweat in them, right? 

    It's not like I'm going out in public. 

3. Haul myself to my feet wondering how on earth I'll be able to do anything. 

4. Pop the DVD in

5. Roll out the mat

6. Promptly fall asleep on the mat

7. Wake up two minutes later in sheer panic thinking I'm sleeping on the baby

8. Start doing the yoga DVD 

Through the years, yoga is my go-to, fallback, catch all exercise. It's the one practice I find works for me and my body. I've done a couple half marathons and I find that I hurt after all the training and races. I think running is wonderful and is a great way to exercise the body, but I am terrible at it. 

I mean people see me running and think, "Wow, oh, that looks painful. Maybe she should do yoga or something instead."

I think being terrible at running pushes me back to wanting to do strength training and yoga. 

My goal is to improve my strength and flexibility to better my daily life. 

I need the energy and the wonderful release I feel after even just a 5 minute vinyasa. 

Namaste, folks. Namaste. 

Wishing everyone out there Yoga Peace and, of course, Hair Peace!! 

SUGARLESS UPDATE!!

I've been without sugar for three weeks now!! 

I was limiting honey and maple syrup very strictly but soon noticed a drop in my milk supply. I thought it was coincidence until my accountability partner noticed a difference as well. So, I resolved to not limit honey or maple syrup as much. I sweeten my coffee with honey or syrup and add honey to some treats. When I did, my supply returned to normal. Coincidence? Maybe. But breastmilk is heavy on sugars tailored just for baby. 

Oh the sacrifices we make for babies! 😉

BUT! I haven't had processed white sugar and I feel incredible!! Sugar was really weighing me down.