Summer is in full swing and Dallas has rounded that huge milestone of turning one! With it came some growing up he had to do, especially in regards to sleeping most of the night. This was a hard thing to do, and took about a week with lots of tears, but we have finally got him sleeping about six hours now! 🙂
I think I’ll live again.
After we came home from our trip, I felt like I’d been run over by a truck. One whole year of horrible sleep was catching up with me, and I finally had enough. Now that he is sleeping, I feel like my body can begin to soak up all the wonderful benefits of sleep. And so I’m on a mission to get healthier.
I am one of those “unlucky” women who do not lose weight rapidly while nursing. Only with one child did I lose weight, but it was by depriving myself to the point I’d feel lightheaded and weak. I had no desire to do that ever again, and so have tried to focus on how much I will miss this precious time with my baby!
Believe me when I tell you that I am not an advocate of the stick-thin model mentality. God made us women with the marvelous ability to grow and nourish babies over and over again. And our bodies need a certain amount of healthy fat to accomplish all that! What I would like to do is avoid having to sew an entire new wardrobe. I’ve been limping along on a few dresses I made this past year after Dallas was born, and would love to get back into my old dresses once again!
I’ve also wondered if my thyroid isn’t functioning at full capacity. I’ve had dry skin to the point where my fingers will often crack open (very painful) and bleed. I am also cold alot – especially in my hands and feet. That symptom, however, has gotten much better by following the iodine regimen Lowell has laid out for me. (see below) I’ve never had my thyroid checked and don’t really plan to, but I’m hopeful that by supplementing with the iodine regimen, I will keep seeing my symptoms improve.
So if any of you wish to join me, you’re welcome to do so! I’d love some accountability along the way and will try to update often. By the way, I got this idea from Caroline Allen at The Modest Mom. She inspired me and I thought I’d make my own goals, but make it eight weeks instead of six. That puts me out to around the middle of September – soon after school begins! In the meantime, these are some goals I have for the next eight weeks.
Eight Weeks To a Healthier Me
Drink, drink, drink.
- Water, that is! I know I need to drink more water and this is something I have been slacking on lately. Not only am I still nursing Baby Dallas, but it is summer and I tend to dehydrate faster with working out in the heat more. I don’t like calculating how many cups of water I drink. Instead, I use my big, pink cup and keep refilling it throughout the day. I think it holds 24 ounces.
Count calories.
- If you’ll remember from last fall, we tried Trim Healthy Mama. And we couldn’t get it to work for our family, so we adapted a few common sense principles and went on. Over the months, I tried it at least one more time and Dallas developed a bad rash from the sweetener. So once again it was a no-go. We came away with the mindset that we’d try to eat more foods like God made them – less packed and processed stuff.
Now that Dallas is one year old and eating some solids, I am going to try cutting back my calories. I still nurse him quite a bit, although it has been reduced now that he is sleeping through the night more and not eating every hour or two. But even with that, I probably nurse him around 8-10 times a day. So I am adding in a few calories for that. It’s going to be trial and error, so we’ll see how it goes for a couple weeks. I use Myfitnesspal to track calories – very easy to use once it’s set up.
Exercise 15 minutes four days a week.
- I am also going to try riding bike four days a week for about 15 minutes each time. Although I feel like some days I am spinning with all the work that comes with having three gardens, a huge yard, meals for eight, and regular housework – I still need to get out and get my blood pumping hard. Lowell says it will make me feel better all day long! And he usually knows what he’s talking about regarding fitness and exercise.
No eating after supper.
- This is a trick that I’ve used in the past with good results. You don’t want to go to bed so hungry that you can’t sleep, but it helps with weight loss to skip that after-supper snack. That being said, this is not one I will hold to religiously since I’m also counting my calories. But the majority of the time, I know I really don’t need that late snack.
Take iodine regimen.
- Once again, Lowell could tell you a whole lot more than I could about iodine and how iodine-deficient our diets are. I keep encouraging him to write a post about it – and I think it might come to pass. For now, if you want more info, you can read the book “The Iodine Crisis” by Lynne Farrow.
Eat more whole foods.
- We are having so much fun this summer with all the fresh vegetables we’re growing! The children love to cut lettuce before supper, pick the broccoli, pull up the radishes, and watch our one lone cucumber grow. (Yeah, we’re not ahead in the cuke department!) For suppers, we like to eat a good meat such as elk, beef, or chicken, and have a huge salad, plus another vegetable with it. Sometimes we have stirfry with our veggies from the garden, or cabbage and polish sausages together.
The local fruit stand is now open and we tend to pig out on fresh apricots, nectarines, peaches, and watermelons during this time! And in a week or two, the u-pick blueberry patch will be ready. Oh, how we love blueberries!
Quiet time of 30 minutes everyday.
- This is one that I will probably struggle in, to be honest. It can be really hard for me to sit down and truly relax when I can see work that needs to be done. If you don’t believe me, ask Lowell! It’s a weakness I am trying to conquer and I aim to have 30 minutes every day where I either sit outside watching the children play, read a book, drink iced coffee, or take a nap. I need to soak up some more of that beautiful sunshine!
My purpose is for this to be 30 minutes where I do something relaxing that is not business, bills, or blog related. That might sound strange, but it’s called “reducing the stress” in my life! I’ve been researching how stress and high levels of cortisol can wreak havoc on your body. Not good.
There are probably more goals I should be putting down here, but I figure this is a good place to start!
So who’s with me? Anybody else want to set goals for the next eight weeks?
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Lisa Tacheira says
Kendra I love this! I could certainly use a bit more consistency in the taking care of ME part of my life. <3 Count me in.
Living in the Shoe says
Great!! It’s true that if we don’t take time to take care of us moms, the rest of the family suffers. Glad to have you along!
Katy says
This is so neat! I am kinda at that point and just want to feel healthy again! You have inspired me 🙂 Thank you!
Living in the Shoe says
You’re welcome!
Anna Stoltzfus says
I’m not a Mom but your goals sound wonderful. I work a 40 hour week so come Saturday I don’t know where to start so I do what I can. I also want to lose some weight and am doing some of the Trim Healthy Mama but I find it too difficult going the whole thing. I have a rule of not eating after 8:00 and that helps me. I sleep better too. Hope you can accomplish your goals.
Living in the Shoe says
Trim Healthy Mama does have a huge learning curve, but it can be mastered! I have friends who love it and have lost weight on it. It probably helps to go slow at it!
Sandi Madera says
Love this Kendra. I need to join you for sure. I need more water and excersize and definitely the quiet time. Tell more about the cortisol issue when you have time.
Living in the Shoe says
I’ll see if I can! Right now I’m still in the researching stage – going to the library today to see if they have any books on it. 😉 Glad you can join me, Sandi!!
Brenda Troyer says
What do you know about magnesium? I have been hearing that mag helps with a lot of things. The iodine thing is new for me. Thanks for the inspiration. ~BT
Living in the Shoe says
I take magnesium in some form almost daily. Lowell found a supplement that combines zinc and magnesium, which is very relaxing. However, I discovered Natural Calm when I was pregnant and had restless legs so badly. It pretty much took away my restless legs and I’ve continued taking it about 3 nights a week, even postpartum. I’m curious what you’ve found on it! The two things it has helped me with would be the restless legs and constipation (which can be bad while breastfeeding).
Cara Lorenz says
does it take awhile for comments to show up on your blog? I posted yesterday but still don’t see it on there…
Living In The Shoe says
Sorry! It never came through. 🙁 Usually it shows right away. If you post it here, I can transfer it to the blog, too.
Cara Lorenz says
Oh well… I don’t remember what all I said now 🙂 Count me in though… I jotted myself a list titled “8 wks. with Kendra” 🙂 I’m not so sure about the 30 minutes of quiet time… but… 😉 One thing I would add in (for me) is making sure I get a good nights sleep. I tend to stay up very late getting work done after the children are in bed and then sleep 5-6 hrs. before starting all over again. Sometimes I wonder if just getting a good nights sleep wouldn’t be one of the best things for a “healthier me”.
Living In The Shoe says
Oh I hear you on the good nights sleep!! I’d love to have you join me, Cara. 🙂 And to be honest, I haven’t gotten my 30 minutes in yet this week. Oh well, the day isn’t over yet!
sarah says
so i have a question, how did you get little man to sleep more? i’m open to any advice~ mine’s 20 months old & very fitful night seep (naps go ok). thanks for the inspiring blog!
Living in the Shoe says
Well, I finally let him cry a while. 🙁 Fed him good and laid him down like normal, then when he woke up, I went to him but didn’t take him out of the crib – just patted his back. He threw a fit for the first few nights, but it eventually got better! UNTIL . . . his teeth started pushing through. So now that’s where we are – with two top teeth almost through, and him waking back up 3 times a night. But I know once his teeth are through it won’t be a problem to get him to sleep again. Even now, you can tell he’s trying to go back to sleep, but his teeth bother him so!