I love my life!

I love my life.
I Really do.

But there was a time when that wasn't the case.
Things have changed drastically over the past 4 years. Things I only secretly dreamed of coming true are actually HAPPENING!... Many things are different. Simple things and complex things.

Want to see a bit of a list?
here you go:

1. Use to go to be past midnight wake up after the kids and lay in bed until 10
NOW- in bed by nine up by the latest 530am.
2. Use to drink a bottle of Dr Pepper first thing in the morning to wake up--
NOW- i wake up with no soda! literally wake up with energy!
3. I use to buy 2 bags of sugar a week. Many times I would go to the cabinet to get some and it would be empty already! (now, talk about frustration! NEEDING that sugar high and having to GO TO THE STORE AND GET IT!!!.. not good)
NOW-I the bags of sugar I buy last forever! A 4lb bag lasts about 2 weeks or more!
4. I use to hear candy and cookie calling my name in the cabinet
NOW- I have thrown out cookies and candy because they are expired or get old. I no longer buy those things either.. but when they do end up at our house.... its sooo different. Just because the lollipop is there doesnt mean I have to eat it.
5. I use to wake up hungry every night and have to go to the kitchen and get a peice of bread of glass of OJ>
NOW- I eat fruit and nuts right before bed and sleep all night without waking up hungry!
6. My hair use to fall out,
NOW-Full and falls out just normal... a few here and there... instead of see clumps on my pillow in the morning and wondering if something was really really wrong with me.
7. I use to have "quiet time" (nap time) every afternoon
NOW- not anymore... its go go go
8. Self thoughts back there were very very negative
NOW- P O S I T I V E
9. Use to hate drinking water.. had to force myself to drink water
NOW- I crave it!
10. Use to hate fruit.. strawberries were only eaten drenched in sugar.....
NOW- fruit tastes sweet with nothing added :)
11. Tummy aches and upset stomach use to be the norm.
NOW- only if i eat things I know I shouldnt (Ice cream cakes, cokes :) woowhoo!)
12. Kids use to BEG for sweet treats "Icies, sonic drinks, ice cream, oreos, candy, gum...
NOW- the kids beg me to buy fruit when I go shopping!!!


I love my life now because it is so radically different than before. I had set my family up to be sugarholics, to live the life of a fast food nation, ......the transition didnt happen over night.... the changes were gradual and it was a process.

I LOVE opening the drawer and seeing tootsie pops, knowing they have been there for 3 months! I love seeing the bag of sugar sitting in the cabinet open and FULL! Its visual proof I have changed.

I CAN tell you though that most of the changes happened only because I was taking the lead, instead of drinking a coke and telling the kids "no you can't have any... its bad for you".... They saw me resist and refuse, they saw me want it but not get it. Many days they saw me CAVE and regret it. They were participants in my journey but not hostages. They changed because they began to see a different me. They began to realize how much better life is when you are healthy.

As moms, its our job to SHOW them the way.. not just sit back, live as we wish and tell them NO.
I think most mothers have NO idea how much of an impact they really do have on thier children. Habits of a lifetime, struggles that arent broken until a child is 30 or 40... how much sweeter life would have been if I had gotten control, educated and focused when I was in my 20s, before I had kids. The memories we would have had would have been sweeter, i know.

Life is so short, we will be in our 90s before we know it (yes I will STILL be here bloggin about my retirement running life!) .... our kids are with us only a short time, dont waste the oportunities we have to be a source education and leadership in our childrens lives. Dont just sit back and think what YOU do, how you live, what you eat or dont eat, if you exercise or not, if you yell and scream or not, if you are present and in tune or not...doesnt have a profound effect on them.. . Do NOT think it doesnt matter. IT DOES.

I had to fess up to the fact I was not being who I needed to be. I had to face the reality of my "leadership" within my family. It wasnt easy... but I needed to swallow that pill and change.

Here's to the freedom I have finally discovered by being free from sugar bondage. The freedom and joy that comes from fitness and health and the ability to be an example to my kids. To be present and be able to enjoy as THEY make possitive changes on their own.. what a blessing.

I love my life.
Because I know it COULD be so very different.