It’s time for an update! Since my original post on physical health I’ve made a bunch of changes and have more planned.

Exercise

What I’ve been doing: I mentioned I ran a 5k! It was so encouraging and motivating to be in a race environment. Most importantly, I felt really good running and I was very proud of myself. The week after the 5k it rained – I’m talking downpour and flooding – for about 5 days straight. So instead of running I did some yoga at home a couple of days, but mostly I made excuses. Boo. The next week I decided it is just too hot outside to run so I started the 30 Day Shred. Ouch.

Plans: I realized that up until this point completing the Couch to 5k program has been my goal, so now I need another motivating factor to keep me exercising several times a week. On the same day that I decided I couldn’t run outside anymore (at least during the summer) a friend of mine asked me to train for the Houston half marathon with her. It’s in January, and though I’ve never run that far before I think it’d be possible since I’d be able to really start training in the fall. We signed up for the lottery as a team and we hope to get in, but if not I think there is another half around the same time that we will run. Scary!

In the meantime I’m going to alternate the 30 Day Shred with yoga. Once the gym opens at work this is going to change because I want to start including weight training, elliptical, and spinning. I’m not really exercising on the weekends right now because of the kids, but I’m thinking of how I can add it in. Also, I’m still considering getting something like a FitBit even though I know it’s just a glorified pedometer. I think the syncing and the statistics would be really motivating for me. (Reading Elise’s and Sarah’s reviews were helpful.)

Food

What I’ve been doing: For several weeks I was back to counting calories on My Fitness Pal. My daily goal is totally obtainable because I get 500 extra calories from exclusively breastfeeding, and while I was taking care to track I was usually under my goal. So far I’ve lost about 3.8 pounds.

Plans: I have been reading the book It Starts With Food and it has totally sold me on doing Whole30. No sugar, grains, dairy, or legumes for 30 days. It sounds crazy and impossible but I think my body really needs a reset. Although tracking calories is working somewhat for weight loss, it’s not achieving my overall goal of eating healthy, real food. I still cheat a lot and have cravings that I constantly give in to, and who knows what that is doing to my hormones and internal health. My projected start date is next Monday, June 16, and I’ll be back before then to talk about my planning process.