My Beachbody Journey: The Beginning

 In February 2014, I decided I needed to make a change. I was still hanging on to weight I had gained while pregnant with my second child. I was tired, cranky and unhappy with myself. After my first pregnancy, the weight literally fell right off. I didn’t understand why I didn’t lose the weight this time. I decided it wasn’t going to happen unless I did something about it.

I had recently become friends with one of James’ high school friends on Facebook. She kept posting status updates about a new program created by Beachbody. Despite the fact that I thought “Beachbody” was a cheesy name for a company, I was intrigued by the program. It was called the 21 Day Fix and it was aimed at portion control along with 30 minutes of exercise per day. The challenge pack included DVD’s with seven, thirty-minute workouts, portion control containers, a nutrition guide, and a one-month supply of Shakeology. Shakeology is a formula comprised of whole foods and nutrients. I ordered the chocolate flavor and let me tell you. Blended with almond milk, ice and a little banana, it tasted just like a milkshake! I was hooked. I had a shake for breakfast, completed my workout of the day, and used the handy containers to measure my food.

The 21 Day Fix doesn’t mean you’re “fixed” in 21 days. Studies have shown that it takes 21 days to make or break a habit. After the 21 days, a habit of healthy eating and exercise is established. I agree with the concept, and by the end of the three weeks I had a new routine. I did the Fix for 2 cycles, and grew tired of doing the same workouts over and over. I was looking through our DVD collection one day and realized we had P90X. All I knew about P90X was that my husband did it when we lived in Vermont. I recalled hearing him jumping around and grunting in our basement, then emerging tired and dripping in sweat. This probably wasn’t going to be for me, but I decided to give it a shot. The first day was all push-ups and pull-ups, neither of which I could do. But I carried on, even if it meant doing push-ups on my knees. The other workouts in the program were a more for me and I enjoyed Tony Horton’s humor. Alas, finishing the program just wasn’t meant to be. I had my tonsillectomy in June and after the month it took to recover, I was back at square one: weak and inactive.

To get back in the game, I began the 21 Day Fix yet again. I just wasn’t seeing the additional weight loss results I wanted. My coach suggested Shaun T’s Focus T25. It was the program that started her journey and she got incredible results. I set a little money aside for a couple of paychecks and finally ordered it.

I am currently on week three of T25 and I LOVE it. It is very challenging, but at the end of the 25 minutes you are exhausted, yet energized, and dripping in sweat. That’s the kind of workout I need. In the three weeks since starting, I have lost 2 pounds and feel so much stronger and more motivated.

I must mention, a huge part of being successful is staying accountable and motivated. I do this by being part of Beachbody challenge groups on Facebook. I have met many wonderful people who are also on their fitness journeys. We share recipes, discuss workouts, and are a basis of support for each other. When someone doesn’t feel like working out, had a bad day, or ate too many cookies, we are there to set that person back on track and offer an ear to listen. It is truly an amazing support system. At the urging of my coach, I finally felt ready to sign up to be a Beachbody Coach. I am part of a great team of coaches and I look forward to embarking on the next level of my fitness journey.

Homemade Healthy Granola

Recently I have stumbled across many recipes I wanted to recreate, but have been unable to find the ingredients to do so. Here in New Bern, NC, our shopping is limited to Food Lion, Piggly Wiggly, and the over-priced Harris Teeter. I would have to travel almost 2 hours to shop at Whole Foods, so I decided to place an order through my trusty Amazon Prime. I ordered some bulk items and some obscure items that I have wanted to experiment with. One of the items I received was a big bag of hemp hearts. I have been reading about the health benefits of these little gems, but didn't really know how to incorporate them into a recipe. So I decided I would make a granola. I browsed Pinterest and other websites and pieced together a recipe that suited my taste. This recipe was inspired by http://ohlardy.com/granola-our-breakfast-cereal/.  It is really good, easy, inexpensive to make, and yields a lot!

Ingredients:

3 cups old fashioned oats

1 cup coconut flakes

1 cup cashews, chopped

1/2 cup hemp hearts

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup pure honey

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup dried reduced sugar cranberries (Crasins) 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Mix together the oats, coconut, nuts, hemp hearts, salt, cinnamon, honey, dried fruit and coconut oil in a large bowl.

Spread the granola evenly on a baking sheet.

Bake, stirring every 10 minutes, for 40 minutes.

Let cool.

A few notes:

Unsweetened coconut flakes would be healthier, however I could only find sweetened at my grocery store.

Any type of nuts could be used. I used cashews because it’s what I had the most of on hand.

Instead of hemp hearts, you could use your choice of seeds.

Any type of dried fruits could be used.  I have been on a dried cranberry kick lately.

I have been enjoying this granola by the handful for a snack, or with almond milk for breakfast.

On another note, I am in the process of completing my package to become a Beachbody Coach! I'm very excited, so please stay tuned for more healthy recipes! 

Cecilia's First Days

With her second birthday approaching and having recently read about a friends experience with her newborns being in the NICU, I have been thinking about my Cecilia’s first few days. It was a very emotional experience for me and I tried to shut it out of my mind and never think about it. To this day (until now, I guess) only a handful of people knew that this even occurred. But it happened, and I have come to realize that other families may be comforted knowing that others have been in the same boat.

I gave birth on Thanksgiving, after being induced the previous day. It was a miserable labor and delivery and I once again hemorrhaged, had my placenta manually removed, and narrowly missed ending up in the ICU myself. By Friday I was beyond ready to go home. Cecilia seemed perfect, but I thought she was very lethargic. I don’t think she woke up (except for feedings) the first 24 hours of her life. I was concerned but the doctors told me it was because I had an epidural and it made her drowsy. I had to stay until Saturday to have my blood counts monitored but when it was time to go I was up bright and early with my bags packed. Cecilia was in the nursery for her final examination and I kept requesting that she be returned to my room. I hadn't seen her all morning. The nurses kept stalling and telling me she had to be checked by the doctor. I was getting impatient and called for 3 hours. When a pediatrician finally came in, he didn't look right. I knew something was wrong and grabbed James’ hand. The doctor informed us that he and three of his colleagues believed our baby had a heart condition, known as aortic coarctation (CoA), which is basically a kink in the aorta. He said if she didn't get to a cardiologist soon, she might not have much time. He went  on to explain the condition, but all I could hear was “heart surgery” and “not much time.” I kept thinking about how lethargic she seemed. I later understood that there are some criteria they look at to diagnose the condition. One is the presence of a heart murmur and the other is differing blood pressure in the upper and lower portions of the body. Her pressure was very weak in her lower body. 

More information can be found at:

http://ask.healthline.com/health/coarctation-of-the-aorta#Overview1

Our beautiful baby girl! 

Ready to go home! 

So with that news, we were told she would be getting on a chopper and heading to Duke Children's Hospital for evaluation. I experienced a feeling of pain and sadness that I had never felt in my entire life. My brand new baby had to go on a helicopter with strangers, and face the possibility of heart surgery, or worse. I had to fill out forms allowing the flight nurses to intubate her during the flight if needed. She was hooked up to monitors, IV’s and placed in an incubator and wheeled off by the flight crew. I didn't know how I was supposed to handle a four hour drive to get to her. My mom had gone home to be with Brady and my dogs and I called her in complete panic. We raced home and got a couple of changes of clothes. I didn't even know where we would be staying. My mom took Brady to my cousin’s so she could go with us to Duke. I don’t remember the drive but I do remember stopping at a Bojangles to use the restroom. An elderly employee asked me why I looked so sad if I was about to have a baby (if you don’t know, you still look pregnant a few days after giving birth.) I broke down and cried to her and she promised she would pray for my baby. For some reason I will never forget that.

When we finally arrived, Cecilia had already been there a few hours. We had to scrub up and put on smocks before being allowed into the Intensive Care Nursery. It was strangely quiet in there. There were two rows of incubators, each occupied with tiny babies with so many tubes and monitors on their little bodies they were barely visible. Some were born as early as 25 weeks and some weighed less than 2 pounds. When I finally saw my baby she was covered in those tubes too but she was wide awake now. And she was angry. The flight nurse told me she “raised hell” the whole way there. I felt then that she might just be OK. While we waited for a doctor the nurses tried to find an outfit to fit “Ms. Fat and Sassy,” as they called her. We had to get special clothes because they had nothing for an almost 9 pound baby. I hadn't even thought to bring clothes for her, besides her coming home outfit! I felt better seeing her and knowing we were all together. If something happened she was at one of the best hospitals in the state. We found a room at a creepy sleep study hotel run by the hospital. We ordered pizza and I tried to rest (I was still weak and in pain and very emotional). I ignored all the texts and calls congratulating us on her birth. I just didn't know what to say.

The next day the doctors informed us that she did not appear to have CoA and only had a heart  murmur. They did several tests and echocardiograms and went over all of the results with us. She was going to be fine! She would, however, have to follow up with cardiologists at ECU for the next 6 months. We were overcome with relief. I think even James shed a tear of happiness. We could take her home the next day. While my excitement was through the roof, I was still very sad. I was sad for the small, sick, babies in that room. I was sad for their parents who had been visiting for months. I was sad for the families who lived out of town and couldn't visit often. I was sad that these babies would be here for many more days and weeks. To this day, I don't know what happened. I'm not sure how three pediatricians believed she had this heart condition and a couple of days later she did not. Maybe they were mistaken, or maybe the aorta "un-kinked" itself somehow. Maybe it was just a miracle. It was at that moment that I thanked God for blessing us with a healthy baby and reminding me, over that Thanksgiving weekend, that I have so much to be thankful for. 

I didn't take many pictures during her stay at Duke. 

One last bottle before heading home!

Reunited with big brother! 

Kindergarten Kraziness

Well we've made it 3 ½ weeks into the school year. Let me tell you, it is not all stickers and snacks. Our routine has been completely turned upside down. I thought I was tired before, but now I know what exhaustion is.  I’m pretty sure I’m going through a pack a day now too (of K-Cups, that is.)

It all begins with waking up so early. If I haven’t said it before, my children and I are not morning people. Daddy can get up at the crack of dawn without effort. But for me, I must set 4 different alarms and set the first one an hour before I actually need to get up. Once I get up (at 6:15) I stand by the Keurig until I've had my first cup of coffee. Then I have the energy to wake the children. Brady is hit or miss. He either jumps up asking for cereal or has to be dragged out by his feet. Cecilia usually wakes from the racket we make and is just sitting in her crib happily. We get dressed, have more coffee, and the kids have breakfast.

School starts at 8:00. In order to avoid sitting in the carpool line, we leave at 7:25 and arrive at the school about 10 minutes later. Brady is assisted out of the car by a teacher and enters the school. Cecilia and I return home at about 7:50. That’s too early to spend the entire morning at home so we started taking an hour long walk. By then it’s 9:00 and we watch Disney Jr., have a snack, play and read. We go on about our day until it’s time to pick Brady up. School lets out at 3:00. But the carpool line is worse in the afternoon so we leave the house at 2:20 and sit in the line (which is already about 50 cars long) until 3:00. Then we wait for all 50 kids ahead of us to get in the car. I have begun conducting phone calls and sorting mail in my car during the wait. Cecilia sits in the back and eats snacks and fusses. By the time we return home it’s 3:45. When we walk in the door, both children are starving. I spend the next hour in the kitchen fixing snacks and cleaning up. Then comes the homework drama. It’s not like the teacher is asking for a research paper. A typical assignment, so far, is to write the letter D five times uppercase and five times lower case. Then draw a picture of something that rhymes with “dig.” It takes another hour to get Brady to complete his homework. By then they are starving again. This goes on until bath time. After baths, they are hungry (yet again!) so we must do one more snack before bedtime. At 7:30 Cecilia gets in bed, followed by Brady at 8:00. Then it is time for me to find some dinner, feed the dogs, clean the kitchen, pack lunch and snacks, lay out all our clothes for the next morning and then fall into a coma. And these are the nights we don’t have soccer practice.

All this is in addition to our “old” life of laundry, housework, grocery shopping, paying bills, doctors’ appointments, veterinary appointments, hair cut appointments, grooming appointments, errands, exercising, cooking, etc.

Many moms thrive on being busy- hustling around from one activity to another. I don’t think I’m one of those moms. I like slow-paced quality time; I would rather spend our time doing a few things that we enjoy together. Sadly, now that Brady is school-aged, we don’t have the option to spend our days as we please. He is growing up- I cannot believe how fast these first five years went by. I think I am growing up too, in a way. I feel like I have entered a new “mom stage.” And upon entering that stage, I have realized something else. I have a whole new respect for mothers that work outside the home and still accomplish all of their “home life” tasks and obligations. I know I am not doing anything special. All us moms are in the same boat. But I am finally feeling the accomplishment of having raised a little person to go off to school on his own, while still maintaining my household. Moms do a pretty amazing job if you think about it. Overall, I suppose we are getting used to our new routine. And while I don’t believe I will ever be a morning person, I am confident that we will get homework done, lunches packed, and arrive at school on time. For the first semester, anyway.