Weekly Update:
I have to say, I felt good about this week but had no idea just how well I did! I'm really noticing changes in my body and loving the noticeable progress. This week I'm down 1.8lbs for a total of 49lbs! I feel really good about my 50lb goal by the end of the month :)
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I saw this photo posted this week and I couldn't help but remember a quote that I heard in a Weight Watchers meeting in college "Your body is the only home you'll always have to live in so treat it well" (I don't remember the exact way it was worded, but that was the intent). That really stuck with me at the time. It seem so obvious, but so many of us forget this in our daily actions.
Sticking with that theme, I've been working really hard to improve my mind & body through community, fitness and proper eating. My Mommy & Me Fitness business, Fit and Balanced Mom, LLC I strive to create a community for moms to connect with one anther, form bonds and fit in fitness when it may seem impossible. Here are two photos from our Hartford launch this past week. We had a great turnout, and at the end of class one mom mentioned that it "felt like [she] had the morning off". What a great compliment, we all had our kiddos with us yet it was a relaxing break to the busy mommy day!
In addition to my Mommy & Me Pilates classes, I am sticking to my 30 minute workouts 5 days a week. I've been taking a daily selfie with my "max out" times every day to keep me motivated and accountable.
Weekends have always been my 'prep' days for the week. I am a big fan of cooking large batches of food, portioning them out in advance and packaging them up for the week. That way there are no excuses and no 'starving' decisions being made. Here are some quinoa and veggie stuffed peppers I made this Saturday. As a vegetarian, I love dishes like this because it was easy to make half with the veggie/quinoa mixture and put some turkey in with the other half - an easy way to make enough for the whole family!
My husband also is constantly finding delicious recipes like this one. We altered it a little to lighten it up, we halved the sweet potatoes and filled in with butternut squash. It was really good, and even our 16 month old son couldn't get enough of it!
We also were fortunate enough to have a 'date' night for the first time since I can't remember when. In the past we've rushed to get in dinner before my son is in bed (which means 4:30pm date night and also missing our son all dinner long), this time we decided to put him to bed around 6:30pm then head out to dinner. It was nice and relaxing and much needed! It's amazing how you forget what it feels like to go out kid free. I stuck to my food plan as best as possible, this is a vegan polenta lasagna and it was amazing. I ate about 1/4 of it then brought the rest home.
One interesting thing to note about this, out of curiosity (I knew I was going out so I planned it), I weighed myself the morning of, the morning after and the morning after that to demonstrate why daily weigh-ins aren't effective. The morning of I was 187.5lbs, the morning following this sodium filled meal I was 189.7lbs, and the day following that I was down to 186.7lbs. My point here, if you weigh daily it's really hard to get a handle on how you are progressing because one meal can throw you off for a day. I am a firm believer of one weigh in (maximum) a week, taken at the same day and time for consistency.
I wanted to close this post with a photo of my WHY. Every day I think of this little guy. I want to be there in his life for years to come, and I want to be a good role model for him with my health as well as my ambition. Making the decision last week to resign from my corporate job and focus on my health and wellness career solidifies my dedication to this WHY. I want my son to see me following my dreams and helping others on a daily basis.
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Contact: FitandBalancedMom@gmail.com