The Plan... MY 10 things to a healthier happier me!

       What do I mean by "MY 10 things to a healthier happier me"? It is simply this... No one knows what will make you happy, but yourself. Everyone thinks they know what will make you healthy, but as much as something will for sure get you on the path to healthy living it's not as obtainable with all life styles!

       A little about me... My name is Leslie, I am married to my 'Hubby' for 6 years now and I am a proud mother of 3 children, the 'B' who is 4 years old, 'A' who will be 2 in just a few days and 'E' who is almost 7 months. WHOA I know it's a hand full. I stay at home with them and watch my sister's three girls as well. I love being able to stay at home with my kids and raising them they way I think is best! I have a strange addiction to exclamation points, an obsession with Photography, a creative mind that I sometimes can't keep up with and unfortunately a dangerous love for food. I recently turned 28 and I've come admit my family needs a change a BIG change! Are there any other parents out there that worry your not doing everything right or to the best of your ability? Teaching healthy food habits to my children is something I need to do now while they are small so they don't have to try and teach themselves later in life.

Get Busy, Eat Healthy, and Laugh Often. 

      We defiantly have the 'Laugh Often" part down pat! The kids always seem to be laughing from tickle time or my constant display is silliness, but now it's time to Get Busy and Eat Healthy!! So here it is my plan on how to do both of those things. I think that it will overall make my family a happier bunch! 

1. No Excuses! 

        A big reason I thought I have gained weight for are reasons that happen to most people when they are in my situation,... 

  Married ; getting comfortable with your partner is a big reason most people gain weight. I don't like thinking I have 'let myself go' but I'm not at a weight that I am happy with. I always thought if I was single maybe it'd be easier to make more effort to loss weight. Maybe that is true but being married is no longer an excuse to be unhappy with my body. Just to answer the question I know all the women are all asking... NO, I am not a size 6 or smaller girl that is just in denial about being thin, That was me in high school but now I'm in 14/16 size jeans and on a BMI scale I am considered to be obese.

  Children ; Once you have children there's no doubt your body changes and even though somethings change for the better (hell boobs) somethings change and you don't know how to compensate for them. (aka the shift of weight). A lot of people used to say "You look good for having kids" If you don't have kids you might not realize this, but that is a backhanded compliment, so stop saying it!! I want to look good to look good, not just because I've had kids or because of my age or any other reason.

  Age ; The older you get the more your metabolism slows down. UGH it's annoying but it's life and I just have to learn how to boost it naturally. 

  Time ; We have all heard it 'Time Flies' and 'Life is Short.' It's true! I actually saw a video that explained this (I will share that in a future blog!) As weird as it may sound to hear the more active you

  Myself ; (#4 step)

...These are no longer excuses. I'm getting healthy and I can overcome any of the above and any other obstacles that maybe in the way of that happening! 

2. Make a list of activities of things to do and DO THEM!

          Almost like a yearly bucket list! Thinks I want to do as a family, couple, or individual. This will also include goals that should be obtainable with in the year.

3. Clean the House!

          This is more for my husband! I would have to agree after being away from home nothing is more welcoming than coming home to a house full of the ones you love that is clean and smells good! I'm not a slob but keeping the house clean isn't a stronghold of mine so that's why it's on my list!

4. The Power of Positive Thinking! 

          I am my most powerful alley and my most destructive enemy! If I wake up and think "this day is going to suck." 9 times of of 10 it sucks! So I am going to make a list of positive things that to tell myself every morning! This will also include goals. I got this from a student ambassador program I did in High School. The company that talked about this was called Rock and Ice. I've included the link, but I have not had time to look at it much so I'm not sure if the company still focuses on the same thing, but hopefully they will have some additional information. If you wish to read more about it let me know and I can focus a blog on it! 

5. Exercise My Mind

          I firmly believe that if you don't use it your lose it. I believe is a huge reason for Alzheimer's decease. I am sure there are exceptions either way, but I think in general the less you use your mind the more likely you lose your mind to Alzheimers. I haven't had anyone close to me get Alzheimers so I don't have first hand experience with it, but my heart breaks for those I know have witnessed a loved one slowly slip away to this horrible decease. I want to prevent my children from going through this, if that is possible.

6. Challenge my Children to be the Best they can be

          I think my children are beautiful brilliant, creative people and I want to help them become the best they can be. I want to do this in a healthy way. Encouraging them but having the patience to not get frustrated with them when they are unable to do something I think they should be able to do. 

7. Turn off the TV

          We are one step closer to this. By choice our family doesn't have cable TV. Take a moment to let that soak in, most people are shocked when I tell them this. We use our XBox and Internet to stay connected to the news and current events. We watch a lot of movies but I want to really limit the amount of time the TV is on in my house even more. There are so many more activities that we can do that are better! (Example: puzzles, books, creative projects, using our imaginations)

8. Plan Meals

          Eating unhealthy is MUCH easier and cheaper than eating healthy for 3 meals a day. So to help with this I want to plan meals at least 3 days in advance. Also along with this is constantly searching for new recipes that the family will love!! A will eat just about everything and Miss Em is too little to eat what we are all eating, however B is such a picky eater that it is hard to deal with at times. I hope it is something that he will grow out of but I'm not holding my breath for that!

9. Get that Heart a Pumping

          I really want to work out! It is beyond hard for me to get up early (I am not a morning person) and leaving after my kids are asleep means missing out on alone time with my hubby, but I need to get more active! The solution was so easy that it makes me almost scream or laugh that I didn't think of it before. Exercise time with the kids during the day! HELLO!! I can do kick boxing, yoga, or a variety of other exercises with them. Of course this will not only be fun for them but it will help teach them the importance of exercise and hopefully ingrain the routine into them! So every weekday we will now be having exercise time! If I can make it to the gym on addition to this time it's an added bonus! And I will do workouts in my home at night instead of going to the gym. 

10. If at first you don't succeed try TRY AGAIN! 

          I have a hard time going to the gym and not getting results when within the first couple weeks. I get really discouraged. WHY THE HECK does the scale hate me!? I know that it takes awhile for your system to 

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So There it is.... The 10 things I am going to be doing to get a healthier happier me! It will be challenging, it will push me to the edge and it will be rewarding as hell! So here I go, here my family goes, here our life goes. This isn't a New Year's Resolution or something that will go away when I reach my physical goals. This is a life change starting NOW!!

I hope you will show use all support and love throughout this process, feel free to leave comments if you ever wish to do so.