March is over! Thank goodness. Who knew that taking a photo a day would become such a chore? I imagined myself becoming the next Ansel Adams, or seeing simple images from a new perspective. Needless to say, it was more demanding and less rewarding in the creativity realm than I expected. The culmination of this months photography challenge did lead to a an actual photo shoot for my friend’s new rental property. You can see the photos I took of their rental
here.
I also thought this challenge would be easier than the first two, Spend Less and Sleep More, because I wasn’t sacrificing something. Not the case.What I did gain is slightly more insight into my new camera, but I have much further to go on that journey. Maybe it’s time to read the manual? I also gained motivation to post almost everyday. You guys kept me accountable, and while it was difficult at times, it felt like an accomplishment. It also increased my blog readership.
Since doing this challenge, and for various other reasons, I now have plans to expand my blog into a bigger more focused platform. I want it to be a place that I can share not only tender times but that can serve as jumping off point to educate people who might be interested in living a lifestyle akin to my own. I’m not sure who that may be just yet, but I’m pretty sure I live a great life and other’s might be inspired by some small part of it. On a daily basis I am inspired by other bloggers, so I know there’s an audience out there somewhere. Onto April’s challenge!
Since being pregnant, having a baby and having been born with a sweet tooth myself, I have been battling a sugar addiction. I freakin’ LOVE the stuff in ALL of it’s forms. There have been times when I’ve squirrelled it away so I wouldn’t ever run out. As a child I dreamed of eating Oreos for dinner. In college I lived that dream. During my pregnancy I was addicted to Double Stuff Oreos (don’t you dare tell me what that creamy goodness is between those crunchy cookies, I want to leave that blissful time intact!) After Porter came along it was difficult to find time to sit down and eat an entire meal. After about 6 months, when Porter started solids, we started eating dinner at the kitchen table. That was a first step.
Now that Porter is over a year old, and eating a lot of solid food himself, I felt that my mind and body were ready to get back to some semblance of sanity and to finally get rid of the baby weight. I gained 40 pounds. About a week into March 2012 I gave up sugar and most carbohydrates altogether. The alarm goes off at 6am and I pop get out of bed and make an egg and veggie breakfast for the family. There are nuts and cheese for snacks. Porter and I both sit down for lunch together. I have a gigantic salad with chicken (prepared the night before), and lots of veggies with a side of meat for dinner. I allow myself a small Americano with cream and black tea lemonades if I get a hankering. We also get take out from Chiang Mai every Friday night (guilt free) Thai Green Curry for me and Porter with a side of Crab Rangoon. At the end of the day my belly is full and I’ve lost 10 pounds overall. Only 15 left to pre-baby weight, and hopefully pre-baby wardrobe.
Just about everyday, Porter and I go for a 30 minute walk. I’m feeling good. Making good choices for myself and being a good example for my kid. This is where the resistance training comes in. In losing weight it’s very real that I’m probably losing muscle along with the fat, and the best way to keep said muscle is to use it. My arms and back get lots of use picking Porter up and down all day, but I don’t think it’s enough. So, for the month of April I will be doing squats, push ups and sit ups. Everyday I will add one. Today I will start with one of each. By the end of April I’ll be doing 30 sit ups, 30 squats and 30 (knees on the floor) push ups. Hopefully it will stick and I’ll keep doing them…forever.
There it is! April’s challenge. Maybe not as inspiring as buying nothing, or as creative as a photo a day, but just as necessary. For those of you who follow me on Facebook, I’ll try and post after I’ve completed my exercises, since I now know that it helps keep me accountable. No foolin’ you guys are the BEST!
Here’s a picture from a year ago of my sweet boy doing his own resistance training aka Tummy Time.
