Me and My Groom, February 10th, 1990

Yes, that is a ridiculously bold name. But I thought “The First Installment On My Journey to Look Better in a Swimsuit for my 25th Wedding Anniversary Trip*” was a little long and obnoxious so I went with something simpler;).

I’m not actually sure if I’ll loose any weight. And frankly, I’m OK with the size that I am and besides, if I change sizes I have to buy new clothes and I need that money to give to Run Disney;). What I would like to do, however, is firm up, shape up and get stronger. And I’ve noticed my energy waning somewhat lately and I’m convinced the healthier eating and more consistent daily exercise will help with that as well. The trip is really just a date on the calendar and I’ve wanted to be more focused in this area for awhile so it’s as good a time as any. I’ll be 44 in July so yeah, not getting any younger that’s for sure.

I’ve had a few, um, events over the years (2 pregnancies that yielded huge babies to be exact) that have wrecked quite a bit of havoc on my body. These events mean some things (my post c-section twin pouch for example) aren’t going anywhere without surgery. I’m truly OK with that.

Me 8 months pregnant with the twins. Sorry for the weird smudge on the pic:).

My babies now. TOTALLY worth it!

And although I am a distance runner and my cardio fitness is pretty good, currently ALL I do is run and my upper body and core need serious work. So here we go. Here are the rules – wait I don’t like rules – let’s go with “guidelines”.

1. No self bashing allowed. My body was created by God and is a miracle. I will not speak against it even if the scale doesn’t budge at all. Or even if it goes up.
2. Eat for hunger. Stop when you’re full. (so this eliminates eating because I’m bored, stressed, tired or irritated – I am frequently all of these things sometimes simultaneously which is quite a trick)
3. No drinking on school nights. This means eliminating my nightly glass of wine (this will be suspended whenever girlfriends and margaritas are involved. I mean, I’m not crazy).
4. Drink more water
5. I can eat as many fruits and vegetables as I want, anytime that I want. No limit.
6. No processed foods (or as few as humanely possible)
7. Be active EVERY day. (I have gotten into a terrible habit of not moving at all on non-running days. I will be trying to do more walking and, when schedule allows, swimming and strength training and maybe yoga which intimidates me but I think I would love)
8. I will strength train.
9. I will get good sleep. I will work diligently to be in bed by 10pm every night (better sleep = better food choices)
10. Every one of these rules can be broken for the Princess Weekend, 2/21 – 2/23, at the discretion of yours truly (we have way too many dinner reservations at amazing places in Disney World;)

So that’s it. And because today is also Martin Luther King day I will remind myself that I am motivated to get strong and healthy not because of a size but so that I can fulfill all that God has for me to do for as many years as he gives me to do it. Because none of us knows how many years we have. But I want to make the most of every moment. And I truly feel like I could be dong a better job of taking care of this sweet vessel of the Holy Spirit that God gave me.

So here we go. It would be fun to do it together so if you’re up for it, join me! You’ll have your own guidelines I’m sure but it’s way more fun to do this stuff with people. Feel free to comment here or better yet, come join us by liking the Running For My Life FB Page.

I’ll end today with a quote from Dr. King that is a personal favorite. And I’m going to be remembering that I’m not taking great care of me because of me – I’m doing it so that I can be and do all that God has for me to be and do and not let one moment pass through my fingers because I was too tired or worn out to enjoy it.

“If you can’t fly, then run, if you can’t run, then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.” Martin Luther King Jr.

Happy Running and eating and healthifying (yes I just made that word up;).

Jen
*full disclosure: our actual 25th wedding anniversary is not until 2/10/15 BUT we had round trip tickets that were going to expire before then and they work to Hawaii. So yeah, it’s our 25th Anniversary Trip a tad bit early. 25ish.