in with the good

Last night I made Kale Chips.  After I put them in the oven to bake I thought, "Who even am I?!"  

I used to be the kind of person that when offered a salad I thought, "Have I angered you somehow? What did I do to deserve this horrible excuse for a meal?"

I've never really been the healthy type.  I pretty much ate and did what I pleased through high school, college, and up through the first 3 years of my marriage.  A few happy pounds and two beautiful babies later I found myself wanting to make some changes.  In the past I had halfheartedly made some commitments to exercise or eat better and they all ultimately ended up falling through within weeks or even days.  

The truth is I was content with where I was.  I didn't hate my body or have low energy.  I loved to eat sweets all of the time and every night was treated like it was a celebration and I would allow myself to give in to whatever craving I had. (mostly because I'm an adult and thats one of the perks after all!)  When things got hard there wasn't necessarily a big motivation for me to continue on.  

After experiencing the exhilaration of natural childbirth with Avett I literally felt like I could do anything.  I remember the moments right after I pushed him out I kept repeating, "I can't believe I just did that!  That was amazing!!"  I mean I was practically yelling it.  Childbirth was the highest of the high feelings I had ever felt. It made me want to do more things to push my body to new limits.  Giving birth to Avett was the positive driving force that gave me the confidence to know that I can do hard things.

So, when 2014 rolled around I made the cliche resolution that this year would be different.  I adopted the motto, 

"In with the good."

We have been eating a lot of good lately.  And I am proud to say that I have lost 17 pounds so far and John has lost 19.  We've lost 3 pounds more than what our two year old Evaleigh currently weighs.

I feel like we have become accidental occasional vegetarians.  We eat meat sparingly and have vegetables with every meal.  Lots of water.  Juicing.  Soup from Juice Pulp.  Greek Yogurt.  Cauliflower rice. Morningstar burgers.  Exercise.  Boiled Eggs.  Roasted peppers.  The occasional bowl of ice cream because we are human after all.  Coconut Oil.  Flax Seed.  Nuts.  Apples.  

So, hello kale...we are so excited about our new changes.