Is this healthy mom?

So, I have a four-year-old. And somewhere along the way, he has learned about eating healthy. Part of this he learned at home, but I think it was reinforced at preschool. As a result of all this, I hear, daily, several times a day, "mom, is this healthy?". He will ask this about everything, and he is now well aware of what is healthy and what is not. He will still want some cookies, but knows he needs to eat healthy meals if he wants to have a treat sometimes.

He also asks to exercise quite often. Usually, he wants to go running, but sometimes it's biking or swimming. He says it's important to move your body and that exercise is healthy for your body. He's four. These concepts are very elementary. Somehow though, as adults, we try to complicate the issues. I don't know why. There's no reason to make things more complicated than they are. I will simplify it just like he does.

Eating healthy is important. Include in your diet, a variety of foods. Fruits, vegetables, carbohydrates, proteins. Basically, follow the Canada Food Guide. It's actually quite amazing how the body will eat what it needs to, when the mind doesn't get involved. I watch my kids and am blown away with how they eat. Granted, their eating is not always perfect, but it's amazing how if you put a variety of foods in front of your child, they will eat to fill their needs. Some days my kids pack away the protein, but other days it's red fruit they crave, and the next time, it's grains. Left to their own devices, they eat what they need. They have yet to develop a psychological relationship to food. So far, they are driven purely by need!!

And exercise. The body needs to move. It's good for us. It feels good. And it keeps us healthy.

It's time to apply his principles to my daily life. And to add in the extra bit of math that applies to weight loss. Eat less calories than you burn, and your body will have to find the calories it needs internally. So, I need to eat less calories than I currently am and exercise more than I currently do, and weight loss should follow.

My husband bought a scale this weekend that measures body fat as well as weight etc. The results aren't so pretty. Currently I am sitting around 193.2lbs, and my body fat is approximately 40.3% of my body weight. Less than ideal. I have about 40 pounds to lose. Compared to this time last year, I'm about 15 pounds heavier than I was. This is very not so good. But, I have some events coming up and a plan for them, so hopefully I can get things in motion.

To start that effort, I've been running on my night shifts. And, not only running, trying to find people to run with... and the other night, I ran with two people!! Tonight though, nobody wanted to run. I nearly skipped it, but decided to go out and run laps of our parking lot. And, I did. I got in 5km in just under 33 minutes. So, there is hope.

Where is the motivation??

So, where does the motivation go? I'm trying to find it. I think it's hiding. I feel as though I'm sabatoging myself. I know I want to change. I know I need to lose some weight. It's been creeping up, yet I've had no motivation to do anything about it. Furthermore, my eating has been total crap. Bad choices as often as I can. It's terrible. I know better. So what gives? Why is tomorrow always the starting day, when tomorrow doesn't ever really arrive?

Sad thing is, I'm starting to get down on myself about it. I look in the mirror and I feel fat. I look at my reflection and the only thing I see is how I seem to be ever expanding at the waistline. It's not fun. I don't like feeling this way, yet seem to be having a hard time doing anything about it. I want to change yet I don't actually know what my first step will be.

Today I sent my husband off with my 4 year old to ride his bike (he's learning), and then I put my baby down for a nap, and I went down and ran on the treadmill. I just did a quick workout. Picked the mixed intervals and ran 4.21km with some hills and some speed work in there. Of course I found my ipod first. It felt so good. It always does. And really, exercise is easy to get back into. Yet I always seem to make excuses these days to not bother. Yet, if I really want to make a difference, I know that I need to work on this. Tonight, I came into work, and used my lunch hour to work out. I did 20 minutes on the bike and another 15 minutes of weight. So, there is progress. It's a start, but I need to keep that momentum going.

Even more so though, is food. I need to get serious about the choices I'm making. I'm pretty sure the best thing I could do is keep a food journal. So, perhaps I'll start doing that. It's definitely my downfall, the whole calories in part of the equation, and with not doing much to expend those calories, obviously the calories out is mostly being stored in the form of fat on my body. Grrrrrr... maybe by blogging about it I can be more accountable. I want to set a good example for my kids. I want them to be active and eat well, so I must lead by example... but some days it just seems so hard...

Back in the saddle...

The last couple months have been fairly disasterous on the exercise front. I'm still battling this stupid plantar fasciitis. It's terrible. I hate it. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. However, enough is enough already. There's more to life than a stupid foot injury. So, it's time to get with the program and get moving again.

And today, I found inspiration in my friend Jody. She is doing her first ever triathlon on May 2nd. So is Jill. It's going to be fun. Really fun!! I'm so excited. So, I signed up. I missed the opening on the Strathmore Triathlon, but not this one. I'm still hoping that somehow I get into the Strathmore one, but I'll worry about that later!! For now, I'm signed up for Tri Diva Tri and excited to be doing it with other people I know. It will be great!! And the person that runs it is the same one that does the Strathmore Triathlon, so the race atmosphere should be supportive and fun. Again, I'm signed up. Yes, yes yes!!

And to improve things even more, today I am going swimming with Jody. That's what got the whole thing rolling. We're meeting up to work on swimming a bit. The Tri Diva Tri is only 10 laps of swimming, so I am almost thinking transition will take longer than actual swimming. But either way, it's just going to be fun, and now I need to get working on things again. It's sometimes tough to fit in workouts with the kids, but I just need to make sure I pick working out above tv or other mind wasters. I can, I know I can. No more lazy lady!! Time to get back on track (gee, I know I've said that before, but hey, every time I get out there, is one more time I'm not just sitting at home...)