Summer of Change

Memorial Day….We were all sitting around watching baseball and Cam said he wanted to get a workout schedule set and start eating right.  Brad and I quickly agreed and told him we would join him!  Motivation may have been involved since we planned that entire 3 day holiday around some pretty awesome unhealthy meals.  Brad had the smoker going with chicken and pork one day and I grilled tabilta’s that my Aunt Pat showed me how to make and another night I am pretty sure, there was some pizza making involved too.

A week and half in and Cam is down 10 pounds and I am down 5.  A friend of mine once shared; next time you go to the grocery store, pick up a bag of potatoes.  The bag you are holding is an average of 5 pounds.  That is how much you have literally taken off your body. This really puts it in perspective and oddly enough it motivates me.

Cam has been hitting the gym (most days) twice a day for cardio and then lifting. He is logging his calories and I have witnessed him in a few situations where he has had to rethink what he would eat while dining out. Last day of school, we headed to our favorite place, Fuzzy’s and it looked much different when we approached the counter.  We kissed the queso and chips good bye and orders tacos and salad! Not only did he have grilled tacos but requested corn vs. flour. I am very proud of his choices and pray it continues for him.  He has cut all sodas too which is by far his worst habit and the worst thing you can consume. The Sugar! – A single can of soda contains the equivalent of 10 teaspoons of sugar. This amount of sugar, especially in liquid form, skyrockets the blood sugar and causes an insulin reaction in the body.  Over time, this can lead to diabetes, not to mention weight gain and other health problems.

I have not always the best role model with health. I am a stress eater and have my ups and downs with my weight my entire life.  What I do know, is when I eat right and work out, I feel amazing. I hung my gloves up for a while from kick boxing as it was tearing up my elbow and actually ended up with a bad case of tendentious/ tennis elbow that I am currently under a doctors care.  So, I put on my tennis shoes and off I went!  Sticking to clean eating and back into my Fit Bit challenges with my family and friends. Its working and grateful that my family is all on the same page!

This will be the summer of change. A change to my health, a change of focus, a change of progress and a change to make a difference to myself and others.  A friend posted this picture today and it said, “You only have 18 summers to spend with your kids. How many do you have left?”  This hit home BIG TIME. Make them count people. Create those memories. Give them more hugs and just be happy.  And most importantly think second about complaining when you are Uber-ing them around town or towing them to practices or therapy. There will come a day this will all go away.

This past year has been full of highs and lows with all of us.  It’s opened my eyes to many things and many people. It’s had its ups and downs and ins and outs. And I believe I have been able to take something from that and grow.  Not only grow myself but share my experiences with others for them to be able to plant a seed and grow too.  Autism is a scary thing when you receive a diagnosis and if my writing can make a tiny difference for one parent, then that is a high for me.  We’ve overcome obstacles, and set in motion opportunities that can change our own individual lives.

So the next upward hill you approach, celebrate.  And the next downward hill you take, learn from it and grow.  

Photo below is a part of my ups and downs I face 5 days a week now and it feels good. 

5.5 miles of ups and downs