April 5, 2014

Eat This, Clean That

Sometimes mom life feels like a series of 'lose-lose' choices. I want to be transparent here and let you know that the choices I make regarding my food and fitness impact my family life. Often, a choice to prep and pack food means that my house may stay a trash pit for the weekend. Granted, my small army of very tall children help with that, but they tend to help when pushed, not out of the goodness of their hearts.

I recently instituted some expectations regarding cleaning that have had some hilarious implementation issues.

Obviously, I have a way to go in getting things figured out. I have underlying clean, but visible clutter. Ugh. I seriously have to crop or retake to get all the dining room table junk out of my food pics.

Am I okay with the chaos? For now, yes. As I feel better, the house will get better. As I take care of myself, the house will be nicer by extension. As I set some boundaries, my children will better respect them.

I am modeling the need for wholeness and putting basic health needs first to my family, which can seem very counter to the Christian world I have grown up in which says we are to 'die to self'. I don't think they are the same thing, but many women have serious struggles with doing anything that resembles 'selfish-care' (sarcasm: I KNOW self-care is important.)



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April 4, 2014

Diet Adjustment

Whoa! OK, so scheduling posts is a great idea in theory, but when life gets away from you... you end up with posts (like this one) that have a title and no text. :D Oh, well. Fixing that now. Apologies if you showed up earlier to a whole bunch of nothing! :)

I'll keep this short and sweet. I've dieted for a million years, it seems like. You name it, I've done it. This year, I'm really trying to keep it real with a long-term plan in mind. Right about the time I was getting sick of the stuff I've been packing (and paying for the Vemma products), I learned about Trim Healthy Mama from a friend. I borrowed the book, skimmed through it, and found that it is just what I'm needing for this season of my life. So, book on order, THM food purchased and in the pantry/fridge... recipes pinned on Pinterest.

I think Trim Healthy Mama is a great blend of three different ways of eating that I've tried over time- Paleo, Atkins, and Vemma Bode. The important things to me are that THM focuses on:

  • Macronutrient partitioning (pair your protein with either fat OR carb... not both until you are at goal weight). 
  • Nutrient density (great focus on healthy fats like coconut oil, grassfed meats, etc.)
  • Flexibility (no set plan for the day- you can switch between meal types on any given day)
  • Grace (they use stevia, dairy, and a lot of other items that the paleo world frowns on, but make things more livable- I need a very gray-based diet... black and white sends me to crazyville).
That's that. As with any plan, there are lovers and haters out there. Particularly because this was written by Christian women and has some 'controversial' content in it beyond just the diet part. Regardless, I'm taking what I can and leaving the rest. This is all very packable too, so I'll be adapting my weekly bento fest. 

Anyone else adjusting their eating plan? 

Visit Trim Healthy Mamas's profile on Pinterest.
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April 3, 2014

Cranky About Crossfit

I'm getting a little cranky with the way Crossfit is being vilified in the media these days. As it has grown in popularity, there are two things that I think are really missing in the message.... and those things happen to be why I spend money out of our family budget that could definitely be used elsewhere.... hey, I could pay 1/10 and go to the little purple gym not too far away!

Those two things?
  1. Coaching
  2. Community
Coaching is very important to me. In the past, I have paid personal trainers but that is cost prohibitive for us at this point. Crossfit is a total steal in this respect- you can actually get regular personal training for around $100 a month. I go 12 times a month... which means my 'session' with my trainer is roughly $8 for an HOUR. Check out your local gyms- most start at around $45/hour for personal training. Yeah, it's not one-on-one at CrossFit, but in a good box with good coaches, I think it is better than. (Let me repeat: with GOOD COACHES.) Mostly because I don't particularly like having a coach stand over me- I'd rather get some help on form and be pushed a little during a workout than have 100% attention. I meet with my coaches every quarter to set some new goals and to be accountable to someone other than my husband. (We learned very early in our marriage that my asking him to help me with food and fitness was a bad idea.... and very unfair to him! Talk about a lose-lose situation. "Hey honey? You sure you wanna eat that?" Dead man.)

Community is also huge for me. One of the things I love most about rowing is the group dynamic- 8+ in a boat working together towards a common goal. Rowing is expensive in my area, and doesn't fit with my family schedule (hello 4:45a alarm clock!) so I choose to find this kind of community through my Crossfit box. You see all the pithy sayings about how the family who works out together, stays together, etc., but there is real truth there. We get to know people in a very real way- their strengths and weaknesses. We learn who wants a cheerleader and who wants us to just be still. It becomes family.... some weeks I spend more quality time with these folks face to face than just about anyone else in my life. Sad, but true. And they can be part of your fitness support system beyond just the coaches. Everyone who comes in goes through the same torture and is also committed to being there. Instant community.

Where do you find coaching and community?

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April 2, 2014

Bento Break

It's Spring Break here in my part of the world! And I'm experimenting.... as much as I believe in the whole bento thing, I'm taking the week off. I'm pretty much home this week anyhow so this is a good opportunity to see what happens when I'm not all pre-packed and ready to go.

I also have been struggling with some tummy issues (yay for DGL... magic pills for gastritis, I tell you), and have been avoiding food because I wasn't sure what exactly was causing the upset. So, I have 8 boxes sitting in my fridge that I need to dump and put in the dishtub for the dish boy to clean. He's going to LOVE me. I can only imagine the commentary this evening...

Thus, no packed meals this week. No post. Just an acknowledgement that sometimes we all need to take a break- from whatever is working for you- in order for it to keep working in the future.

Oh, and I just read Trim Healthy Mama and I'm excited to incorporate some of those recipes into my current way of eating. The meals are very similar, but THM has more leeway and more interesting recipes than what I've been doing. I'd love to eventually quit paying for the Vemma products, but they are working for now so I will continue.

Are you taking a break from something? 
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