Before and After

So some of you may not know this, but it's been 15 months since my husband and I made one of the best decisions of our life. That is the decision to living a more healthier and active lifestyle. People always wonder what was the motivational factor behind our decision, so here is a little background.  Let's first start off by getting a visual of where we were.

Now mind you, I feel that part of the reason we neglected making ourselves a priority is because life was and is full of distractions. During that time we had endured many trials, such as having two preemies, we had flooding from Storm Lee and Katrina, in addition to a tornado all in the same week. On top of that I had various surgeries and my husband was also battling with his health as were our children and sadly it was related to the flooding in our house.  It just kept feeling like the rain cloud was following us around.  

A little time went by, our kids were growing and on the mend, we were recovering from the storms and trying to move forward with our own health.  But such is life, things happen and so yet another obstacle was in our way of making ourselves a priority. We went away on vacation, and I fell through a man hole, broke my toe and needed another knee surgery. So here we still were:

 

There wasn't a whole lot I could do with just having major knee surgery so I felt pretty limited. While I was experiencing my own challenges my husband was having his own as well. He still was not feeling100% and was still struggling with some issues. He saw  various doctors, had several tests and they found that he had osteoporosis at 34. He realized that for the sake of his health he had to do something.  

 

 

We discussed the importance of getting on track not just for our own benefit but we had children we needed to keep up with and were responsible for. We new that there would always be distractions, but we couldn't postpone this anymore because it was truly effecting our family and everyday life. Thankfully, in our little town a gym was opening and it was just the perfect time.

 

It was at that time, 15 months ago, that we chose to change our lifestyle for the better. My husband and I worked out a gym schedule since we both couldn't go to the gym together because of the kids. I would go early in the morning and he would go at night.  In addition to that, I also found meal preparation was super helpful. I planned our dinners for two weeks ahead of time.

 

(Eggplant Parmesan pizza's w/spinach)

 

It was actually saving me money to plan my meals in advance. I found Pinterest to be a great source in finding healthy, clean eating recipes. Check out my Pinterest board for ideas www.pinterest.com/galigirl80/time-to-eat/

 (Sweet Potato Burgers w/Avocado)

 

My husband and I also found another tool helpful in the beginning when it came to counting calories and recording our workouts. We used www.myfitnesspal.com. The great thing about this app is you can download it on your phone and scan things that you are eating which makes for easy recording.

 

Finally, after over a year, we find that eating healthier, exercising, and implementing alternative forms of treating our health issues,  come natural to our daily routine. My husband and I are happy to have been able to lose combined over 110 pounds.

 

 

Anytime I start to feel a little sluggish I remind myself of what motivated me from the beginning. Being able to have the energy and physical capability now to run and jump with my kids is something I don't ever want to lose. 

 

 My son one night put his hand on my cheek and said, "Mommy, when I get old I hope I look like you". So I asked him why and he went on to say "because you don't look old".