Getting healthy in 2013

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I am certain I am not alone when I say that as a mom, it's easy to struggle with issues regarding weight loss, healthy eating and incorporating fitness into everyday life. In the last several years, I have sworn to myself that I would get my body in good shape, start fueling it with good foods, but I just have not been able to get on board.

I have been a yo-yo dieter my entire life and have had an unhealthy relationship with food for as long as I can remember. Luckily, I was always involved in sports and up until several years ago, that helped to counterbalance the crap that I put in my mouth.

As early as 13, I was drinking SlimFast shakes in place of meals to drop a few pounds. After that, I counted Points with my mom on Weight Watchers while she combined that with Herbalife or Phen Phen or whatever the supplement craze was at the time. Then, my junior year I did the Adkins diet on which I got so sick during basketball season because I wasn't taking in enough carbs to sustain my body. I was so sick of the typical "low-carb" foods that I didn't eat eggs for at least 3 years.

In college, food was so available that by the end of my freshman year, I gained...well, let's just say the beginning of my sophomore year was the beginning of my "fat year." It didn't help that all of my best friends had gone overseas so I was left to stuff my face with chocolate chip muffins and cookies to cope with my depression.

When my best friend/roomie got home, we lived together in Malibu and thus continued my cycle of unhealthy eating habits. We became obsessed with fitness and counting calories, so much so that we considered 1000 calories to be a big day. Even at the time, we knew that it wasn't enough to fuel our bodies but the weight just fell off...until we turned 21 and drinking was too much fun. However, I was still so busy that I didn't gain a huge amount back until I got pregnant with Gabriel.

After Gabriel was born, I stayed fat. I was completely in denial about how heavy I was until his baptism when he was a little over six months old. I remember sitting on my bed and crying before the ceremony because not only could I not afford to buy anything new, not one thing in my entire wardrobe fit me. After looking at the photos from that day, I cried even more because I was just so huge. I would guess at this point, I was hovering around 165-170 and with my 5'2" frame, it was ugly.

Several months later, after we had moved to San Diego, my mom signed me up for Weight Watchers with her and thank God she did. I lost all of my baby weight (twice!) and have hovered between 150 and 154 since then (I'm back there now as well). I still have not been able to reach my goal weight, which I think is around 135, though I realize a number doesn't tell the whole story.

The whole point of this is I haven't found anything to commit to lately. I'm tired of yo-yo dieting and counting calories and points and limiting this or that. I'm tired of getting gym memberships and then flaking a month later. I'm tired of feeling weak and tired and dead by 3 pm.

I had been dying to try Crossfit and so, after a lot of deliberation (because who wants to shell out $85 a month on the gym?!) and talks with Adrian, I decided to jump in a few weeks ago.

I'm not going to lie, I'm kind of addicted already.

I have already seen a surge in energy, more focus on what I'm eating peace of mind in knowing I'm taking care of my body again and overall increase in happiness. I'm also finally getting out of the house without either of the boys and THAT. It's really nice.

I think about it multiple times during the day! I've been obsessed with finding paleo-style recipes online and I love the idea that you can eat what you need to fuel your body as long as you are eating certain types of foods. I bought new shoes and a few new workout clothes. I even went so far as to take "before" pictures so that in two months, if I have seen progress, I can share with you the "afters!"

I haven't been this excited about working out since...well...high school basketball?

So anyway, I'm not going to get annoying and talk about how awesome Crossfit is all over my blog. Who am I kidding, I might! But if I give it up in a month or two because I'm a weanie, don't judge me either. I'm not saying I will, but you know. Who knows? However, if I look super hot and fit and awesome in a bikini, well...it was from HARD WORK.

What are you doing to get healthy/be healthy in the new year? Have you made any changes or do you already have a good routine in place?