Goals for a New Year

 Photo credit: Adam Prince

As I reflected on all that was 2011 for me, I started to think about the promise and hope that this year holds.  I know I have come a long way in the past year and I want 2012 to be the year that I continue to grow and find myself complete in the joy of the Lord.  With that in mind, I have a few measurable goals I want to achieve this year.

1. Lose 20 more pounds.  Last year I lost 30 pounds and found myself back at my pre-pre pregnancy weight.  This year, I want to reach my goal weight and continue maintaining my weight loss through healthy eating and exercise.

2. Memorize His word each week.  I bought a little pocket calendar from Dayspring during their after Christmas sale.  Every week there is one bible verse highlighted on the page, giving me little excuse for finding a verse to memorize for the week.  I want to continue hiding His word in my heart and building up my treasures where they really count.

3. Run a half marathon.  Last September, I did something I never thought I'd do - I started running.  And, lo and behold, I found out I love to run.  I have completed three short races (1, 2, and 3 miles), but this year I want to increase my mileage and finish a half marathon in September.  Of course, right now, I am unable to run due to Achilles tendinitis, but hopefully with three more weeks of rest and physical therapy thanks to the help of my foot doctor, I will be able to run again.

4. Turn off the computer between breakfast and nap time and after nap time until bed time.  I want to be more present and actively spending time with my kids, because I know one day I will miss this.  And, I want to do more with my kids - early learning activities, projects and crafts, playing games, and outdoor adventures.  So, I'm taking it one day at a time, but my goal is to be off the computer while my kids are awake. 

A Year in Photos: 2011

Cupcakes in California: January

Growing in the Lord: February

Our Texas Adventure: March

The Real Me: April

My Gluten Free, Dairy Free Life: May

Summer Lovin': June 

My Sister's Wedding: July



Celebrating Five Years: August

  Becoming a Runner: September 

Finding Myself: October

 A Habit of Thankfulness: November

A Different Kind of Christmas: December

Running with Asthma

When I was 5, I was diagnosed with asthma, both allergy induced and exercise induced.  I remember sitting in the ER on several occasions in the middle of an asthma attack waiting for a nebulizer treatment so I could breathe again.  Not being able to breathe is the scariest feeling. 

And that fear turned into a fear of exercising or doing anything that might trigger my asthma.  In gym class, I was often sitting on the sidelines watching the rest of my classmates participate and escaping to the nurses office to take my inhaler the moment I started wheezing.  Every year, when we had to run the mile, I walked it, because the moment I tried to run, my asthma kicked in at full force. 

I was always sick.  I caught ever cold going around school, which often resulted in bronchitis and a bad asthma attack.  I never had as much energy as my classmates or even as my brothers and sisters.  I just believed that's the way it would always be for me.  

When I was 12, my doctor discovered I had a heart defect called coarctation of the aorta.  For some reason, it didn't show up until my body started to grow into adolescence.  It put enough stress on my heart that my blood pressure in my right arm became really high and my blood pressure in my left arm because really low to compensate.  I was dizzy, lightheaded, and tired all the time.  I could barely walk around the block. 

At 13, I had open heart surgery.  The surgery was a success and suddenly I had energy I never had before.  My asthma improved, possibly because many of the symptoms we always attributed to my asthma were a result of the heart problem instead.  I was given a clean bill of health by my cardiologist and suddenly had the ability to do things I could never do before. 

But that fear has never left me.  I've always been afraid to try or push myself, because of the fear of not being able to breathe.  I always said "I can't run" and believed it. 

In the last year, I've discovered a love for exercise and working out.  I joined the Y and began to attend classes like spin class, Zumba, water aerobics, Pilates, and step aerobics.  I began to overcome my fear of exercise, but I was still afraid of running.

I started to notice several mommy friends talking about running and heard about the Couch to 5K program, a 9 week program designed to help someone who's never run before ease into a running routine and build up the endurance to run a 5K.  I was curious, but dismissed the idea, because I thought "But I CAN'T run!" 

But the idea kept bugging me.  I wondered if maybe I really could run.  I wondered if it was possible for me to train for a 5K.  I talked to my husband about it and he said "You can do it."  I talked to my brother, who also has exercise induced asthma and overcame it to run a full marathon.  He said "I believe in you." 

And, suddenly I began to believe it too.  So, this morning, I woke up when my husband's alarm went off, put on some workout clothes and my tennis shoes, and ran.  I actually ran.  I still can't believe it.  It's going to be hard, but I'm ready to conquer this.  I'm training to run a 5K...and I still can't believe I'm saying it. 

Body After Baby Revisited

I know it's been a while since I updated about my goal to lose weight and be consistent with exercise.  I struggled for a while when my depression and anxiety were at the worst to get myself out the door to exercise and to eat healthy.  There were days when it took all my energy just to get out of bed and my appetite was so messed up. 

A few weeks ago, my doctor diagnosed some digestion issues I've had for quite a while that have gotten worse recently.  (Seriously, just another in a long line of health issues I've had lately...) She suggested taking probiotics and exercising and, as I researched more information, I decided to change my diet too.  A lot of research I did suggested that gluten and dairy were the biggest trigger foods along with tomatoes, oranges, broccoli, beans, caffeine, and sugar.  So, I decided to cut out all of the possible trigger foods for 4 weeks to sort of cleanse my system.  At the end of the 4 weeks, I will slowly add one food back into my diet at a time to see what really triggers my symptoms.  So far, the diet has been helping tremendously with my indigestion problems, but I've also discovered that stress makes my symptoms worse no matter what.  And, being on antibiotics for the bronchitis I had a few weeks ago caused stomach aches regardless of what I ate. 

I feel like I have more energy though and just generally feel better physically.  It also feels good just to know why I've been having these symptoms and, as a bonus, I've been losing weight again.  Since I started the diet three weeks ago I've lost five more pounds.  And, I've been enjoying cooking again as I learn to cook without gluten or dairy.  I've been trying new recipes thanks to cookbooks from the library and all the resources available on the internet for gluten free and dairy free diets. 

I'm also thankful for all the foods I can find at the grocery store that are gluten free or dairy free.  Some of my favorite snack foods are Larabars, because they are gluten, dairy, and sugar free.  Plus, they have no preservatives and I actually know what the ingredient list is.  I've also discovered quinoa and rice pasta which help break up the monotony of cooking with rice.  There are even alternatives to butter and mayonnaise that have no gluten or dairy.  I love to use coconut milk and almond milk for cereal or recipes and it's easy to substitute dairy free and gluten free products in recipes we use every day.  We buy a LOT of fresh produce and it feels good to know I am helping my family learn to eat healthier too.  Of course, eating healthier has a price tag, but I am thankful my husband has a good job that provides us with more than enough to buy what we need.  I'm also looking forward to growing some vegetables again this year in our yard and using the farmer's market for our fresh produce. 

I was listening to the radio the other day and heard this list of ways to eat healthier on a budget.  One suggestion we've begun using is buying whole chicken instead of the individually frozen chicken breasts.  They are much cheaper, taste better, and are actually relatively easy to cook with.  I have a deep covered baker from my days of selling Pampered Chef products that makes it super easy to cook a whole chicken in an hour in the oven or even a half hour in the microwave.  One recipe I found suggested stuffing the chicken with onions and lemons and spreading a mixture of olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic over the chicken before cooking.  The chicken tastes so moist and has a lot more flavor.  I may share a few other recipes here because I've loved learning how to cook healthier and would love to share what I'm learning. 

This past week I finally got motivated to exercise more too.  My hubby showed me how to attach the bike trailer to my bike so I could take the kids on bike rides.  We've taken three bike rides during the week - once to the Y to go swimming, once to a park to play and have a picnic lunch (which Ted even joined us for on his lunch break), and once to the Y gymnastic studio for open gym play time.  And I made it to the Y for a 30 minute workout on the elliptical on Wednesday.  It really does improve my energy level and helps tremendously with my overall emotional well being too.   And, of course, being outside gives me good healthy doses of vitamin D that my body craves.  And my kids LOVE going on bike rides, so it's been fun to be able to go out on little adventures with them (and not have to drive around in our gas-guzzling minivan either).