A hiccup in our days.

,

Yesterday did not go as planned. The girls and I met our friends at the park for a playdate on Thursday morning. I had a 3 mile run before playgroup, so by the end of play time, I was exhausted. My friend, Mary, suggested that we take our girls and head to Jason's Deli for lunch. I was all for not cooking at that point. Long story short, Nora fell out of the high chair at the restaurant and landed on all fours on the floor. She cried off and on, but I just thought she was tired since it was past nap time. We headed home, and I put her to bed.

She woke up an hour later still in pain. I could not figure out where she was hurt at. I felt all up down her arms and legs and pressed on her abdomen. I finally gave up and let her play for a while. A few hours later, she was still weepy, so I called my mom for advice. She asked if I could move her arms over her head. Ding, ding, ding! She jerked back and yelled when I tried that, so we high tailed it over to urgent care. They took x-rays and said that it was probably a contusion. The doctor showed me the films and the place that he called an inconsistency. He said they would send it to a radiologist just to be sure, but he didn't think it was broken.

We were sent home with orders to use Motrin as needed and let her rest. She woke up yesterday feeling better. I fully expected the doctor to call and say that she was fine. Instead, I got a call right after I put her down for her nap telling me that her arm is fractured and we needed to go to the orthopedist ASAP. After another round of x-rays, it was determined that her humerus is fractured on the proximal end almost in the head of the humerus. The doctor said that it should heal quickly since it's so close to her growth plate. She is now in a sling. I'm putting in pics because it's sad, but also a little adorable to see her in her little sling. People actually gasped when she walked back into the waiting room. I heard a lady say, "oh, that is the cutest thing I have ever seen."

With all that has gone on, I have had major issues getting to the grocery store. I've been meaning to go since Thursday morning, and I will hopefully get there today. No need to update my diet as it has consisted of overnight oats and take out salads for the past few days.

If I could go back in time....

Yesterday I did two amazing things:

1- I wore shorts in public for the first time in eight years! I can't believe that it's been that long, but I am sad to say that my vanity got the best of me for a while.

2- I purchased a bikini. A real bikini. The last time I bought a bathing suit was 5+ years ago, and that bathing suit was a tankini with a skirt bottom.

I was a size 4 when I stopped wearing shorts. Isn't that crazy? I spotted a tiny bit of cellulite on my thigh one day and decided that that was the beginning of the end. I didn't want to be one of those ladies walking around with cellulite showing- I, unfortunately, judged those women in my thinner days. What was I thinking? Like there aren't more important things to worry about in this world. Looking back, I could kick myself, literally. If I could go back in time I would actually fight myself and kick my own butt, hopefully with my present self beating my old self since I think I'm in better shape now. I think having children has permanently changed my perception of myself and the world. I no longer judge people for wearing shorts! I no longer look at myself with the overly critical eye that I did in my younger days. I actually hated my body when I was thin because I had no appreciation for what I had. These days I'm learning to love my body, and it feels so much better than harboring hate.

Today's menu:
Breakfast- overnight oats with berries and honey and a cup of coffee with half-and-half and honey
Lunch- Sandwich at Jason's Deli
Dinner- ???? Today has been stressful, and I have yet to make it to the grocery store. I'm actually typing this post with a grumpy, weepy two-year-old in my lap.

How I got here- part two.

Part two of my wake-up call came a few days after the swim and dive meet. I was on day three or four of working out, and I was feeling a little stronger. I felt fully dedicated to making this change a permanent part of my life.

One of my daily weaknesses is watching Oprah. I actually scan Oprah's schedule every Monday and pick out which shows I am interested in for the week. I sat down to watch a few days after the meet, and little did I know that this episode would change my life. The show was about the documentary Food, Inc. Oprah didn't go into great detail on this show about the contents of the documentary, but I was intrigued enough to find it on Netflix and bookmark it to watch that night after the kids were in bed.

Richard (my husband) and I watched Food, Inc. in a state of shock and disbelief that night. Neither one of us were prepared for the horror that we saw on the screen. Richard owns an ad agency, and one of his biggest clients is an agriculture firm. He's seen the feed lots and dairy farms in Kansas, but even those visits didn't make it any easier on him. I guess he never realized when driving through the feed lots what was really going on there. Admittedly, he didn't drive through them with his eyes peeled either, but I guarantee that he will next time. We both felt so betrayed and cheated after we finished the film. I didn't feel like I could trust anyone to prepare my food again after that. I found myself questioning every piece of food that I put in my mouth. We were in for big changes.

We woke up the next morning and started making a new grocery list. We agreed that we would no longer buy any meat or dairy that was not certified organic. We also decided that we would buy as much produce as possible locally. I googled the dirty dozen to figure out which fruits and veggies should be organic to reduce pesticide intake.

With a made-over grocery list in hand, I hit up Earth Fare later that day. It felt so good to be in a store with so many great options, and I felt awakened, as if I was eating consciously for the first time in my life. I left feeling uplifted and optimistic about my journey towards a healthy life.

If you haven't watched Food, Inc., I highly recommend it. I think the term eye-opening doesn't even begin to describe this documentary. I will admit that many parts of it are hard to watch, but I also feel like we all need to know what we're putting in our mouths and how our food gets from the farm to the store. The hardest part was not the realization that I was putting horrible things into my body all these years, but the fact that I was feeding these things to my children! The guilt was almost unbearable.

I'm still trying to decide what tomorrow's post will be about, but I'm thinking that I may write about my first run on the treadmill and how I started my running addiction.

I'm also going to try to put my daily menu in my posts. I'm hoping to provide a good example and to create a diary of sorts to look back on. If you are wondering, and I know some of your are, I do track my calories on thedailyplate.com. If you are looking to get in shape and track your workouts and calories, this is a great site to get your started. I must throw out a plug to all the great girls over on the The Nest for helping me find that site and for all the wonderful inspiration they have given me.


TODAY'S MENU:
Breakfast- overnight oats with mashed banana, blueberries, blackberries and a drizzle of honey with a cup of coffee with half and half and a little honey for sweetness
Lunch- whole wheat pita stuffed with pinto beans, avacado, tomato, low-fat mozzarella, brown rice and a small side salad with balsamic vinegar
Dinner- Cooking Light's Turkey Bean Soup with a side of broccoli
Snacks- Fage 0% with fruit on top and cucumber slices with homemade hummus

How I got here.

I spent my childhood, and a good portion of my adult life for that matter, in good health and good shape without having to work too hard at it. Having babies changed everything, though. I went from a size six pre-children, to a size ten after number two was born. I was upset for a while, then I just accepted it and moved on. I would work out off and on, but I never stuck with any routine. I was a total Coca-cola addict. My diet was terrible. I would eat fast food several times a week in addition to take out for dinners a few times a week. I'm actually surprised that I hadn't gained more weight than I did.

My wake-up call came in two phases. Phase one occurred on January 23, 2010. I took my older daughter (four years old) to a diving competition at my alma mater- UGA. For some reason she is obsessed with platform diving. She says that she will be a diver some day, but she also wants to have a career at Pet Supplies Plus, so only time will tell. I sat in the stands at the swim and dive meet and watched in awe as these talented athletes showed off their amazing work. I had a wonderful time, but there was a nagging feeling that I couldn't shake after the meet. Watching all the girls walk around so confident in their swimsuits in front of thousands of people made me jealous. I realized that I would rather stab knives in my ears than appear anywhere in public in a swimsuit. I decided that I had to do something, but I didn't just want to half-ass it like I had done countless times before.

I looked up my local YMCA where I had canceled my membership 1.5 years before. I felt like it was meant to be! They where running a special through the end of January where they would waive the initiation fee, which was one of the things preventing me from re-joining. I didn't want to put money into something if I wasn't going to follow through with it. I joined and worked out that same day. I managed 30 minutes on the elliptical, after which I felt like I would puke. I know that I must have been seriously out of shape then because I was using zero resistance, and I almost didn't make it. I got up the next morning and went again, and again, and again. I made myself do it. It was so hard! I really wanted to stay in bed every morning, but I felt too guilty to not go.

I slowly worked my way up to 40 minutes on the elliptical, then at the one month mark, I hit 50 minutes with a little resistance added here and there. The pounds started coming off slowly but surely. I started out in January at 179 pounds, 35 inches in my waist and 39 inches around my hips. As of today, I weigh 153 pounds, 27 inches in my waist, and 35 inches in my hips. The transformation has been amazing, but I have a ways to go still.

Tomorrow I will post phase two of my wake-up call.