On Not Giving Up

I have lived various parts of my life from a place of defeat, especially in regards to my health.  I would try to make changes and make goals, but inevitably would fall back into poor habits of eating too much sugar, drinking too much caffeine and double that when I was stressed. Then I would just give up the goals and do whatever I felt like. I always liked the excuse of being pregnant so that I could eat whatever I wanted and say I was eating for two! These habits just resulted in sluggish, puffy me with headaches, grouchiness, stomach upset and the blues. After Katya's adoption fell through, I spent a lot of time crying and eating too much Ben & Jerry's fro-yo. (It's healthier! You can eat more before you feel super guilty... right??!) This also didn't do me any favors in the mood or energy department.

In April of 2013, a couple moms I knew who were also pouring out their lives in large adoptive families started raving about how they did a cleanse and had tons of energy. I was intrigued by the energy and simultaneously suspicious of network marketing. I knew enough about these ladies to know they weren't trying to become salespeople because it wasn't their style. I was desperate to feel better and cautiously signed up for a year of discounted membership to purchase the nutritional products they were using. I paid for a 30 day cleanse by allocating some of our grocery budget since the products were food and the shakes were to replace 2 meals a day during the month. I did a 30 day cleanse in May of 2013 and kicked my coffee habit and my desperate need for naps (while buying a house, packing, potty training, starting an adoption and celebrating several events with special food). I lost 13 pounds with little to no effort because I was getting rid toxins and giving my body nutrition it needed. It took me about 2 weeks to decide I loved the way Isagenix made me feel and that I wouldn't be without it for this crazy journey I'm on.

Though I kicked the coffee habit, I wasn't able to kick the sugar habit. After June came home, I was back to my stress eating habits and downing whole containers of cookies and gained the weight I lost a year earlier right back. Not good and not healthy. Not who I wanted to be. It wasn't the weight so much as the reality that it conveyed: this adoption and being a mom of 5 was kicking my butt. That made me mad. I don't want to survive my life, limping til the end. I want to thrive and have more to give a world that needs light and hope. How could I do that if I had given up on my own health in defeat?

I joined the YMCA last summer, and just hung in there. I got a bit stronger doing Body Flow regularly and it was good for stress relief (the free childcare didn't hurt either. Truth.) I don't know exactly how I decided, but another one of those crazy adoption mamas I knew told me about an online trainer who helped mamas like me get their physical and mental strength back (or for the first time?) The program is laid out in a step by step way with at-home workouts and a simple meal plan. The plan was compatible with Isagenix, making it even simpler to implement for me. I started in November, just in time for a lot of holidays! Strangely enough, I looked more fit after the holidays than I did before them. The plan was working, so I kept it up because I felt awesome.

I have made some huge strides in my body composition in the last 6.5 months since working with Carol Elizabeth. I do squat jumps, I lift weights. The bigger strides have been in my thinking, though. I don't feel like I'm fighting a losing battle. I am no longer addicted to sugar. I'm not stuck in the cycle anymore. I get up early. I am nicer to my children! I so want other mamas to get out of their own negative cycle and finally make steps toward vibrant physical and mental health. It would be a privilege to share the stuff I have learned and see other people get free of their defeated thinking and feel better.

 If you are tired and stressed out, please consider trying Isagenix for a month and see how you feel. This is health and fitness for normal, real people. I am not a good cook and I hate burpees. I have a lot of small children and spend hours on the phone each month trying to take care of services and appointments for my kids who have special needs. If I can do this, it is simple. Promise. It's not about the scale, either. Losing pounds is great, but it's not really what it's about. I weigh the same in the two photos below, but in the right one (with my eyes closed and my awesome stray hair) I am in jeans that are a size smaller because I have gained a ton of muscle and I fit better in my clothes. If you would like to see what Isagenix is all about, I will give it to you straight. Good products sell themselves so I don't feel the need to "sell" to anyone. I LOVE to see people succeeding in their goals and getting out of the barely surviving pit. Please join me if you dare :)