Resolutions? Nah...

It's the eve of the New Year.

I don't find myself inclined to make any resolutions; for the most part, I find them to be waste of time, to be honest.  Resolutions are things that people use when they feel guilty of putting inadequate effort into things or have completely neglected something that "should" be important.  Not a big fan...

There are things in my life that I consider to be important - my husband, my kids, my health - and I have to say that looking back at this last year, I am mostly pleased with how all of these things were handled.

My husband and I are still very much friends (and I say we're friends because so many spouses apparently are NOT), even through the changes and challenges of the last year.  We've been friends for 15 years and I have no doubt that we'll see many more years to come.

With the kids, we added a second one successfully into the mix.  While it's been a little crazy, it's been good to see the sibling bonds forming between my six-year old and her little brother. I would even go so far to say that I've had some parenting breakthroughs in the last year.  I feel like I'm better able to be patient and listen than I was before.  I still have my days and have a long way to go but it's getting better.  Having my son helped me realize that kids are only as old as they are once and that you can never get today back once it's gone.

My health... boy, is that a loaded one.  It's been one thing after another.  Literally.  Got pregnant.  Was determined to stay active and not balloon 70+ pounds like I did the first time around.  Got hit by a truck on my bike (so much for my cycling keeping away those pounds, eh?).  Changed my diet to compensate for my lack of activity.  Went to PT.  Walked.  A LOT.  Walked some more.  Kept weight gain to under 30 pounds for my whole pregnancy, and healthy throughout and felt great.  Tried for VBAC, but ended up with a 2nd c-section instead. Dropped down to 127, ballooned back up to 138 while recovering.  8-weeks post-partum/post-surgery started lifting again. Weight and fat shedding like crazy, all while NOT starving.  For the first. Time.  EVER.  Eating (mostly) clean, avoiding grains, and intermittent fasting has done AMAZING things for my relationship with food... never going back to the standard American diet.

Also, for the first time ever, I have actually LOST weight instead of gaining it over the Thanksgiving - New Years holiday debauchery.  I'm actually back down to about 126 and have lost 4 inches between my waist, hips and back.  On top of that, I haven't been lifting for the last two weeks either, thanks to a nice little quirk in my back that has hauled me to the chiropractor.

While annoying, I know that it's just a minor set back.  I know that I've made it the entire last year and have overcome a lot of things and still stuck to being as healthy and active as I can be.  Done it before, I'll do it again!

That is why I'm not setting any resolutions for myself.  I plan to just keep doing what has worked and what has made me happy because I know what I'll get in the end.

What I Want

In order to have direction, one must have goals, right?

Right.

I have them... so many of them.  I want to get myself back to my pre-pregnancy weight.  I want to be able to knock out 25 miles in the saddle again.  I want to be able to do six pullups in a row... again.  There are so many things I was able to do a year ago - before getting pregnant, before my accident - that I want to reclaim and add back to my 'because I kick ass' list.

There are also new things that I want.  I want to be able to lift heavy stuff and build muscle.  I want to decrease my body fat percentage.  I want to climb rock walls and do a handstand pushup.  

It all really boils down to doing what I was doing before, but just taking it a step further.

I won't delude myself into thinking that any of these things will happen overnight or even over the next six months.  However, with that said, I am already making some pretty awesome progress.  I've already managed to drop about 6 pounds and shed an inch off both my waist and my hips so far.  I just have to remember that every step I take toward my goals is a step in the right direction :)

On your mark... Get set... GO!

Blogging is so... trendy.

I, however, am not such a huge fan of 'trendy'.  There are days that I'm downright anti-trendy.  I dislike trends so much that I refuse to pick up Fifty Shades of Grey simply because EVERYONE else is reading it - maybe I'll try it in a year or so once the hype dies down.

Ultimately, I wanted to start this blog so I have somewhere to document my progress on reshaping and reclaiming my body after my second pregancy.  I figure it gives me an outlet; somewhere to hash out my thoughts, keep track of my goals, and (hopefully) watch all of my hard work and efforts become a reality.  And not that I give a flying squirrel about whether or not anyone ends up reading my blog, but that could also be motivating... :)

My primary focuses will be to regain my strength and pre-pregnancy fitness levels (I swear I WILL be able to do pull ups again!) as well as experiment with how my postpartum body reacts to the mostly primal diet that I adopted while pregnant.