I'm still 20 pounds heavier than when I started the Mommy Project.
So I've got a new project, now: The MILF Project.
You know, MILF . . . Muscle Isn't Like Fat. ;-)
Anyway, I've gotten very tired of my waist getting in the way when I bend over . . . of looking into the mirror at yoga and thinking that it looks like I'm sitting in a puddle of myself . . . of weighing -- let's face it -- not nearly enough less than The Working Dad.
So, it's time to get serious about diet and exercise. As a college friend of mine posted on Pinterest recently, you've got to "sweat like a pig to look like a fox." Well, that, and stop eating so many cupcakes.
A couple of weeks ago, we introduced Phase I of the MILF Project: weekly order regarding our evening mealtime by way of pre-prep on Sundays and a menu board.
It's not the fanciest board ever, but it works. And more importantly, the pre-planning of our evening meals is working like a charm. We eat more veggies and are less likely to order in or eat junky food if we've got a healthy, yummy meal that will be on the table in about 30 minutes.
Second, I've started taking a lunch box to work with me containing, typically, a little thing of hummus, some string cheese, baby carrots, and a couple of apples. I sort of snack on this stuff, and the almonds that I keep in my desk drawer, throughout the day rather than have a big mid-day meal . . . lots of little snacks throughout the day. For breakfast, it's a piece of toast with almond butter and water. Oh and coffee. I definitely still get coffee (with fat free half-and-half). (Addendum: 7/1/12 -- I now use coconut milk creamer. Oh yum!)
No sweets. Not even chocolate. Sigh. But I'm pretty free with the nuts and the nut-butters. (And, trust me, almond butter absolutely rocks! Buy some. Eat lots of it.) So I don't miss the sweets so much yet.
No alcohol either, or not much. It's just empty calories, and it doesn't mean that much to me, really.
The other diet trick that is a for-now thing, not a forever thing, is a little rule: No carbs after 3 p.m. In that way, I am not going to bed with sugars in my system. I bend this rule on days when I'm going to be working out after work so I don't crash, but I'm otherwise sticking with it. The 3 p.m. Rule came to me courtesy of Phase II of the MILF Project:
My personal trainer.
I'm not going to lie. Hiring a personal trainer is kind of expensive, but I can already tell you that the expense is worth it. She is my cheerleader, my coach, and my teacher. I also have to show her my food diary every week so that she can see what I've been putting in my mouth. Talk about the ultimate in accountability! And, I really need that right now because it's easy to tell myself that "one cookie won't hurt" and let it go. But if I have to justify that cookie to The Trainer, well, that's another kettle of fish. Maybe one day I won't need that sort of accountability, but right now, I really do.
I meet with The Trainer three times a week and I try to get at least some cardio in on the days between training. It's difficult to find the time. Part of the reason I let go of SAHM Fridays is so that I could have an extra hour in the day to be able to work out. In the end, I had to decide that my personal physical fitness was important. Being 41 (soon to be 42 in a few months), middle-aged, I am more sensitive to the fragility of health. And I've got a wonderful husband, who needs a healthy wife, and a young son, who needs healthy parents. I need to be fit, not just so that I can feel better about how I look, but so that I can be here on this earth for as long as The Boy needs me to be . . . and, with a little luck and grace, maybe even longer than that.
So I am steely-eyed and serious. Let the MILF Project begin!
