One Mama Gets Fit

I'll say this first: I'm writing this from a perspective of receiving medical care overseas (which, of course, is different).  So, with that said... I have been looking forward to having a physical done for a long time.   Strange, yes.   I had a lot of questions about things that have happened to my body over this transformation, I want to know all the details on my numbers from blood work, talk about things I can improve on, etc.   But, nothing.  None of that happened. It was an in and out visit. Where's the getting to know the patient?   I didn't even get a chance to tell them I lost the weight.  Don't you think that would be a key factor in some of the other things going on? No "you're in good health". No "your heart rate is...." No "blood pressure is...."  No "what line of work are you in" No questions about if there's stress in your life. No questions about if I...

Mostly for this blog I wanted to write about nutrition and exercise. This one.  Hmm, maybe not so much. Folks, I am losing my sanity. Since June 19th, we have been living out of suitcases. That's 136 days, friends. A lot of days. I'm not even sure how many different beds we have slept in since we left our home. At each new place we visit, Andrew asks "Is this our new home?" Oh buddy. Andrew and Natalie's favorite game to play is "let's fly to Kenya in a plane". Andrew asks us frequently when we are going to go back home. I answer him with we are praying right after Thanksgiving and then Christmas and then we will be back home. But, what if it's delayed more than that? When we were in Charlotte for a debrief time with our sending organization, we learned we have significant more monthly financial support to raise.  With that, we cannot purchase our plane tickets to return home until we hit 90% of our support needed. So,...

Tomorrow begins my 36th year of life. My 35th year of life has been nothing short of amazing. One year ago on my birthday, my husband and I sat at our favorite little sushi and Korean restaurant in Nairobi and we together declared this year as the "year of me". Ha. Sounds a bit narcissistic, eh? Selfish? At first I was like…this is silly. But it wasn't. Not even in the slightest. In my 35th year of life, I decided it was time to take care of me and learn how to be healthy. I am beyond thankful for my husband who has supported EVERY SINGLE DAY of this past year.  He has encouraged me beyond measure.  Only uplifting and positive words have come from his mouth this entire year.  He pushes me.  Motivates me.  Challenges me.  Tells me how proud he is of me and how much he loves me. I am blessed. Learning about nutrition and how to properly fuel my body has been life-giving.  I am forever indebted to Stephanie Martin (check out her ne...

well, first.  sweet 2 months later I'm writing.  eek.  i would have thought i would have more time to write stateside.  hmm.  not so much.  oh well.  it's probably just as well too - means i'm spending great time catching up with folks.  and well, that is just lovely. 2.5 months ago my sister mentioned doing the indianapolis women's half or 5k with her and mom.  i didn't think we would be in the city at the time so i declined.  plus, i was just getting over a stress fracture in my foot and didn't really want to press my luck running. but, over the past 2.5 months my foot has felt better and better and my running outside has increased. i decided i could do a thanksgiving day race with them and my husband and also a race in december.  actually, there's a race in december that kyle has wanted to run that's a half but i have been a bit sheepish about doing that distance so i've been settling to do the 5k of it. a half just seeme...

I like to keep things light and happy on social media. I ask for prayer requests time to time. But, most of all, I like to use social media as a way to brighten someone's day with a smile or chuckle. Light.  Happy. "How is it coming back?" Most popular question that we have been asked - by far. Overall, great.  We are enjoying being with family and starting to see friends that we haven't seen in a couple of years. Reunions are sweet. This is where things may not be so light or happy. I've been heartbroken upon returning to the States. There is a serious problem here in the States with obesity. I speak from love.  I have been overweight or obese almost my entire life.  I know what it's like. And, even now, I am still considered overweight in the BMI chart by a couple of pounds. I see it with fresh eyes. Fresh eyes of not being here for almost 3 years. Fresh eyes of changing my lifestyle completely to desiring it become healthy and ...

I'm trying to remember how I presented myself an additional 121 pounds ago. Like out in stores or meeting up with new people. Did I hold my head up or was I slouched down? Did I present myself in a way that people could come up to me and talk? Lately, I've been noticing that more people notice me. Not trying to sound prideful.  I hope it doesn't come across that way. But, more people smile at me and offer to help me (this could also be the amazing way Kenyans help out a mama with 2 young ones) and just generally look my direction. I can't help but wonder if it has to do with the fact that I'm healthier now. Do we judge people that are overweight and don't come up to them to talk or would we not offer to help them out in the store and instead go over to the person who looks more in shape? I think that we do.  I don't think it's done on purpose but I do think it happens. It's so sad. I also think that when I was carrying around al...

OH MY LANTA! My doctor called me an athlete today.  (She should be knighted.) She also said I had strong abdominal muscles and arm muscles (heck yes, she felt 'em!). After doing a pretty complete physical, she said I was healthy and strong. OH MY LANTA!! (Insert sobs here) Never in my life have I had someone in the medical field tell me that.  Do you know how AWESOME that feels? I've always been told the complete opposite. All this hard work pays off. Saying no to the junk pays off. Running 4-6 miles 6 days a week pays off. Lifting weights pays off. Holding that darn plank pays off. HIIT circuit after HIIT circuit pays off. This is a sweet moment in life that I'm at right now. I love that I'm HEALTHY. Now, to be honest, I still have 11 more pounds to go to be in the healthy range for my BMI…but she wasn't worried that I would get there soon…and I'm not worried either.  I'll get there this summer for sure! But, I'M HEALTH...