Fit For Good

Good morning and Happy Tuesday! I swear that I almost typed Monday there. That's not a good sign, but I'm going to just laugh and keep going. No use dwelling on how little time I have this week!

So, how is everyone else doing out there? I know a few of you stop by to read this crazy thing and you're on my mind today. I hope life is treating you well and that you're kicking ass and having an amazing time doing it.

As for me, I'm doing pretty well. I took Sunday off, but other than that, I have now officially been out walking for 7 days now. I've been making my tiny goal of 3,000 steps each day, no matter what my Fitbit says. Seriously. My Fitbit hasn't been properly registering my inside the house steps so my total for yesterday, according to it, was 2,999. I know I got more than that since I walked from the kitchen to the bathroom to the living room after that. Crazy thing! Still, if it says I made my goal it just means I've gotten at least a few more than that. That makes me happy.

Let's see...what else is happening here? There's the usual stuff of trying desperately to catch up on housework, helping Ben with homework and running Geek-o-Rama. On top of that, I have a convention appearance coming up that I'm trying to prepare for and I was just hired to do some paid work for someone. All of this is super exciting, but keeping me super busy! Did I mention that my ex-husband *just* texted me to ask if I were going to some band parents' meeting that I knew nothing about and happens to be tonight? No problem. I'm supermom, superme and sometimes it feels as if I'm challenging the universe. One more thing? No problem. I don't need to sleep, eat, or any of that stuff normal humans do...

Seriously though, life is insanely busy right now which means that fitting in my walks is even more important. It would be so incredibly easy to just let it slip, but I'm finding that for the first time in a very long time, I don't want to let it slip. I won't lie. I considered it Saturday when we were sitting at a swim meet all day long. Instead, I talked to Ben about it and during diving we did little things like taking a walk out to the car to get a notebook so that we could make a shopping list. We walked around the pool deck a little bit and we made that goal. In fact, we beat it by something like 700 steps. I'm pretty proud of us and here's the thing... If I can do this when the weather is turning blech and life keeps throwing things at me, I can do this when it's easier. Trial by fire and all of that. I just need to get through these next couple of weeks so that I can create a workout space within the house for when the snow starts flying.

For now though, I'm going to sign off and get to work. Have an amazing day, darlings and feel free to say hi now and again!

Oh! I never explained today's graphic! Fitbit is doing this really awesome thing where they're donating money to some awesome charities and the charity with the most steps attached to it gets the highest amount! So, not only are you getting healthier by getting out and walking, but you're also helping others. Since I'm already walking, I'm using this as a bit of extra motivation. If you have a Fitbit, you should check it out! Look for #FitForGood

Double oh! I have a doctor's appointment on Thursday where my weight is going to be the major topic of conversation. My doctor has flat out told me that she doesn't think I can lose weight on my own and wants me to go to this place where essentially they're checking to see if you're a good candidate for surgery. Surgery isn't on my agenda so finger's crossed she can see that there's a difference! Not to mention, I'm thinking treatment for my anemia would be a darn good thing.

Win a Treadmill? Yes, please!

Yes, my lovelies, this is another post where I hope, pray, fingers crossed, oh please oh please oh please pick me beg to win something totally awesome to help me in my weight loss/fitness journey.  However, hopefully you'll all take something away from it, as well.

Fitness and living healthy is something that has become really important to me over the last few months. I've wanted to be a skinnier person for years, but I never really connected skinnier to healthier. How short sighted is that? I was focused on only one aspect and never stopped to realize that just like a lot of life, it's about the big picture. If I want to be a smaller person (no more skinny talk!), then I have to be a healthier person. No more weeks of eating nothing but high sugar, etc cereal. No more sitting on my butt doing absolutely nothing for hours on end.  I look back to one of the happiest period of my life and I realize that I was always up and moving. No, I wasn't working out but I was moving around the house. I was playing with my babies and I was cleaning and organizing. We all know how happy organizing makes me! If you don't, check out my other blog.

One of the challenges for this post was to share some of my fitness tips with all of you. Well, guess what? I don't really have very many because I'm just starting out on this journey. However, I will share a few things with you that I'm learning as I go.

• Water is important. Heck, our bodies are made up of tons of it and just like you sometimes flush out your radiator (no, I don't know why I'm using a car analogy here, but just go with it!), you need to keep your system flushed. Otherwise, ickiness (Yes, that is a word, I swear.) will build up inside and your body will slow down.
• Exercise is important. We need to sweat out the ickiness. Our muscles need to be used or they don't stay muscles. Muscles are good. They keep the body moving and living and being strong. 
• Don't try to do too much at once. I see a lot of people who are trying to up their water intake, increase their exercise and totally change their diet at once. Chances are it's not going to work. It's too much. It takes something like 21 days to create a habit. It takes way longer if you're trying to change a ton of habits all at once.
• Habits can be like sneaky ninjas..or in my case, like those moles in Whack a Mole. They pop up under my feet and try to trip me up. Be prepared to do a bit of dodging and whacking. This isn't easy. It takes time to build up these skills. If you trip, pick yourself back up and keep going.
• Don't give up. If you need help, ask for it. I lean on my Mamavation sistas all the time. I'm blessed because Angela lets me text her a hundred times a day. Sometimes, she even challenges me and pushes me. Don't tell her, but secretly I love it and I am excited and thrilled when she does. If you need a fitness buddy or someone to be a Water Warrior with you, ask. Heck, if you need, ask me. I have 3 people that I text each day to remind them to drink and I don't mind doing it, at all!

Now, to the other part...Why do I deserve a treadmill? Those types of questions are always so hard for me to answer because of that word deserve. I can't say that I deserve one more than anyone else. I just can't. I don't know everyone's situation and I would bet that there are tons of folks out there who are deserving. So, I'm going to tell you why I need one and how we, as a family, could use one. 

• Michigan can have some seriously fickle weather sometimes and it's not always possible to get outside to walk.
• My 11 year old has cerebral palsy and having a treadmill in the home could do wonders for keeping him loose and moving.
• My 10 year old is really getting into Fitness and being healthy. I know he would love to be able to use something like this.
• I need to lose weight. I am not at a weight where I feel even remotely comfortable running/jogging/walking in public. Having a piece of equipment, inside of my home, that would allow me to help shed those pounds would be an amazing blessing. 
• This one is a bit silly, but Jim and Deanne have fitness equipment and I want some too!
• I really do want to change my life and the lives of my children. I want them to grow up to be healthy, active and happy men. I want to be a healthy, happy and active mom. I want to be able to run around with them and not get exhausted from it. 
• I can't afford a gym membership or fitness equipment. I'm working out now thanks to a sale on a dvd and the generosity of someone doing a giveaway. The truth is, I need help and for once, I'm not being afraid to ask for it. 

If you made it this far, thank you! I know this was one heck of a long post. I hope that everyone takes a little bit of something away from it, even if it's just that "Wow, this girl can just keep writing!"

I wrote this blog post while participating in the Bookieboo and Hayneedle Treadmill blogging program, making me eligible to win a treadmill. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

My Lucky Miracle

Do you know this kid? I sure do. That's my son, Benjamin. He turned 11 back in January and sometimes, I think the entire process of bringing him into this world was one lucky event after another.

You see, I hadn't really planned on getting pregnant with him. I know a lot of parents say that, but really, I didn't plan for it. I had miscarried just 6 months before I found out that I was pregnant again. Losing that first baby nearly destroyed me and I wasn't sure that I was willing to risk going through all that all over again.  Fate stepped in and there was a Ben-jammin in my belly.

That was the first bit of luck.  The second bit of luck came immediately after. I found out that I was pregnant a week before his dad and I were due to move back to Michigan. If I hadn't found out when I did, I may have overdone it with the packing and lost him.

That brings me to the third piece of luck. The day after the move, we went out to eat and I kept feeling this sharp pain in my lower abdomen. I was convinced I was miscarrying. We were in a new town with no idea to go and believe it or not, I was turned away from a clinic because I didn't have in-state insurance. Finally, we found another medical building who gave us clear directions to the hospital. It turns out I wasn't miscarrying. I had somehow pulled a groin muscle.

Ready for piece of luck #4? The doctor in the emergency room wanted me to call the next day to set up a follow up appointment with their clinic. I called and got an incredible nurse on the phone who told me to run, not walk to make an appointment with Dr. B, the local specialist. She told me that he was the only person in this town that I should see and it didn't matter what the other doctor had said. With my medical history, I didn't want to be seen by a resident in some clinic.

Sometimes, I think my entire pregnancy was one piece of luck after another. Since I was seeing an incredible doctor once a week, he caught my pre-term labor (and kept me in his office until I recognized it too). I didn't even know it was happening. He was on call for me anytime, day or night and he never gave me a hard time for calling him when I didn't understand why something was happening (like why the anti-contraction medication gave me the shakes). He's also the one who realized my baby wasn't moving like he should. He's the one who took it seriously and yet never let on to the point that I would panic.

He was the one who joked with me while removing my cerclage to keep me calm and he's the one who delivered my precious boy via emergency c-section when things started going downhill. He's the one who visited not just me, but Ben in the NICU while we waited to make sure he was going to be ok. I was unbelievably lucky to have found him.

I'm also incredibly lucky because that baby who weighed in at 5lbs 6oz (which was huge considering) now weighs nearly 100 pounds and is 11 years old. He has Cerebral Palsy but you know what, we thank God every day that it isn't worse than it is. We are so lucky that what he deals with is considered a mild case.

On top of all that, I am so lucky to have met some incredible Mamavation moms who not only cheer both of us on, but are doing a fundraiser to help us get him the tools that he needs. When it comes to this boy, luck could be his middle name. It's not, but it certainly could be.

"I wrote this blog post while participating in the Bookieboo and "Earthies Wants You to Feel Lucky" blogging program, making me eligible to win a pair of Earthies shoes and American Express Gift Cards. For more information on how you can participate, click here.


**** I know that this isn't a normal weight loss post, but this kiddo is one of the reasons that I'm trying to lose weight and a pair of Earthies shoes could help soooo much in that! *****