Monthly Archives: October 2013

10.07.13

Make Monday Matter...work out

Posted by Christina // 6 Replies

This Monday’s challenge seems especially appropriate after our announcement last week. By the by, I just have to thank you all again….seriously amazing. So much support and love. Did you know that 50% of adults do not get enough physical activity and 24% are not physically active at all. Not even a little bit. Not even a stroll across the living room to change the channel on the boob tube. That results in 66% of people being overweight. Hello my name is Christina, and I am lumped into that 66% club.

Even worse is how being overweight affects your health. One in three adults have high blood pressure, hi that’s me again. Over 100 million people have high cholesterol levels. These health conditions can lead to strokes and heart disease, which by the way cause deaths every 36 seconds.

I am no doctor, and I am not telling you to go out and run a marathon tonight. But maybe take a walk, or just take the stairs. You could even just park really far away when you stop at Target. Stop saying, “I don’t have time” and make thirty minutes of sweating a priority. Drink your water, do some stretching, and set a goal. Now close this window down and get you some….exercise that is.

10.03.13

Working on our fitness...

Posted by Tim // 23 Replies

I was so inspired by Christina’s post yesterday that I decided to write one of my own. When we first decided to jump into the blog world and create one of our own we knew that it was going to be tough. We both agreed that we would be 100% real with anyone who decides to read what we write. If we screw up a project or fall down the stairs, you guys will eventually read about it.

After we got engaged the conversation immediately turned to how we wanted to spend our lives together. What do we want to do for the wedding, how would we raise our kids, where do we want to retire. Ok we are jumping ahead a bit but these are the things you think about once you decide to spend the rest of your life with someone. We had talked about these things in the past but they were suddenly very important topics.

We decided the first thing we wanted to focus on was our health. We knew that this would be the foundation for how we live out our lives. It would make us feel better about ourselves, make us more comfortable in our own skin, and eventually give us something to teach our future children so they do not have to deal with the same issues we do.

I too, have never really been comfortable in my own skin. I have lived with severe social anxiety disorder for as long as I can remember and still deal with it to this day. Back to that being real thing, that’s about as real as it gets. If you have read our About Us page then you know that I have mentioned it but haven’t really dove into my life with anxiety. Well, that’s all about to change. More about that exciting news in a minute.

We have made quite a few changes in the last few weeks. We have almost completely changed our diets and cut out all the bad stuff. This means no more fast food, no more soda, no more candy, and no more eating out for 5 meals in a row. This also means that Christina and I usually do not eat the same thing for dinner which can sometimes be challenging. We quickly figured out that catering our diets to our individual needs works the best for us. She gets what she needs and I get what I need to make a healthy choice. That being said….

I am now gluten-free. I know what you all are thinking, that’s stupid. Trust me, that’s what I thought too. I had always assumed that gluten allergies were made up. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. Gluten sensitivity is 100% real. I made the switch a little over a month ago and it has completely changed my life! I have not had an upset stomach in over 30 days which used to be a daily occurrence. In addition, being gluten-free is the ultimate man diet. Steak and potatoes are completely gluten-free so we’re good. Being gluten-free has also helped my anxiety as well. I am less anxious now that I am not constantly worried about my upset stomach. I finally have the ability to eat out at a restaurant and feel confident that I won’t feel like complete junk after I eat. Insider info: Christina was not on-board when I decided to try being gluten-free. She rolled her eyes once or twice and wouldn’t let me tell anyone for the first few weeks. After seeing how drastically my health has changed she is now a believer!

On to the exciting news…We will be unveiling a new blog in the next few weeks. It will be my outlet to talk about everything from anxiety to mental and physical health. We have found out that talking about my anxiety has helped more than I would’ve ever imagined and decided to just put it all out there in the hope that it could be inspirational for even just one person. I will ramble on about growing up with anxiety, being in anxious situations, how I deal with my anxiety right now, my diet and exercise, and treatments.

We also want to thank all of our friends, family, and readers for supporting us through what we hope will be a life long journey. You guys have been so supportive and understanding and we really couldn’t ask for anything more.

Everyone struggles with something…What is your struggle?

10.02.13

A hard post to write...

Posted by Christina // 51 Replies

I have debated for the last 20 days if I should share this journey with you. It is very personal, and though I like to think I have thick skin….it’s the one thing that makes me cry at night.

In the end I obviously decided to share, for two reasons. 1) This blog has always been a way to document our lives and share memories and struggles and projects with our family and friends. That is its whole purpose, so it’s not fair to leave you out of this. 2) I need accountability. Period.

I am changing my life. It’s why I went missing a week ago. It’s why I have been so busy. It’s why sometimes I am cranky (I just want a cheeseburger). I am done being fat. I am done yo-yoing. I refuse to be a mom that can’t play with her kiddos, and I really don’t want to be a porky bride.

Let me back up a bit. I have always had self-image problems, even 90 lbs ago. Yes, you read that right….there was a time NINETY pounds ago when I thought I was a whale. Check it. If you do in fact think I look chunky in those photos, please just keep that opinion to yourself. Because now, ninety pounds later….I think I looked fantastic. I know what your thinking though, if I thought I was chunky then…then how did I pack on ninety pounds.

That is a great question. My only answer is I love food. I love beer. I got complacent a time or two in relationships (poor Tim). When I run for more than three minutes I start thinking about what would happen if I just stop, and then I do. Nothing happens. It is all my fault. For a long time I blamed everything but myself, but I did this to my body. Duh.

Maybe one day when I am feeling more brave I will reveal the photo that broke me. You know the one where you aren’t expecting your fiancé to snap a photo, sitting in your sweats and not sucking in. It finally showed me what I have been avoiding, what Tim sees. Wimper, sad face, tear.

I am done feeling bad….it’s time to do something about it.

It helps to have so many inspiring bloggers in my life. Hi Sadie, Hi Mama Laughlin, Hi Clare, Hi Ashley, Hi Linz….need I go on. I need them for motivation, but I need you to hold me accountable. Earlier this year I lost 30 pounds, even bouncing back from our Vegas trip…till that fried Oreo did me in. While I am busting my hump, I need a cheering section to keep me going when I want to give up. Honestly, I would love to tell you I am strong enough to hold myself accountable….but I am not sure of that yet. So stick with me.

I have been working out everyday since September 12th….and I am down 10 pounds so far. Small victory. I finally took my before photos, sort of disgusted with myself. Once I start seeing a difference I promise to post them. For now I will just be chugging along….every dang day.