As I have mentioned before - my husband, daughter and I are changing our lifestyle for health reasons. After I heard Dr. Sears speak we have eliminated the 3 baddies from our home: high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, and artificial food coloring (ie. red #10, yellow #20). We have also gone, what we are calling, "home vegetarian" in that we will eat meat when we are out for dinner or at other's houses, but we are going to stick to vegetables, fruits and whole grains at home. This transition, albeit labor intensive, has been surprisingly easy. My grocery shopping trips are longer but I expect them to shorten as I get more accustomed to reading labels. Our cooking times are much shorter since vegetables are already safe to eat and we are cooking for flavor. Our grocery bills have gone up a little, but I attribute that to restocking our kitchen from the ketchup to the bread. One month in and I think I can safely say we are all happy with our changes.
On a personal level, as I am making these changes and reassessing every aspect of the food I put into my body; I have been thinking more and more about what I can do to strengthen myself using the benefits of all this clean food I am eating.
Many of my friends have been running in recent months. Everyone is talking about half marathons, whole marathons, running for fun...YUCK! I listen with a bit envy because I just know that my body will not cooperate with running. I am more a yoga, stretching, elongate your muscles type of girl. My immune system disease (Dermatomyositis) has not played nice with my muscles, especially my legs. I often have trouble doing simple tasks most people don't think about such as rising from a chair, climbing stairs, and picking up my daughter for a tight hug or a piggy back ride. This is changing, however due to the IVIG infusions I've received for the last 7 months. I have more energy, more muscle control, more stamina when walking and more strength.
So today I was talking to Sage's gymnastics instructor who took up running over the summer and has had great success and benefits from it. Going through my head the whole time was "Get over it, you cannot run; don't even try" and "When you try to walk faster than normal you break your teeth when your face meets the pavement" and "Whatever you do, don't try to run, find another exercise." Then I looked at Sage and realizing I wouldn't want her thinking those things about herself, so I wondered if today was going to be the day I tried to run and prove myself wrong!?!? Well it was. We hurried home and ate our lunch and then set out to the local **flat** park with a path. On the way there I asked Sage to run with me and if she thought we could help each other stay motivated and excited. We agreed to cheer each other on, got out of the car and took off.
Now was this the most amazing run? NO! Were my physical abilities stellar? NO! But I must say I was very happy once I realized that not only did I complete the almost 2 mile track, but I did so with 1-1.5 minutes at a time of running (in about 10 separate stretches). Which when added up for the whole time means that I ran about 15 minutes of running out of the hour we were on the path. Even more exciting though, was watching my daughter cheer me on. Watching her running herself and seeing her asking me for encouragement. We had a great time despite the hard work because we did it together. We took turns being upbeat and being tired; we joked and laughed. We set goals for ourselves, "I can make it to that tree," and "No, let's try to make it to that sign." Most amazingly, just as I was so done and thought I couldn't go on, I looked over at her and she said "Mommy this is so fun - I love you!!" It gave me an extra little push that helped me keep going. I maintained that energy for the remainder of the adventure. What a beautiful gift!
Are there any marathons in my future? HIGHLY unlikely. But I do see us going to the park for more of our little one-on-one run/walk/jog sessions. These will not only get mommy to be healthier but they will also help Sage, an already very active young girl, to form additional good exercise habits. I try to be as active as I can with her for her sake, but I see today as a new start where we can be more like partners in our shared quest for health!
Sorely yours,
Emily A. Filmore, Author
blog.withmychildseries.com
http://www.withmychildseries.com/
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