Like a lot of people this time of year I am jumping on the get healthy in the New Year band wagon.  I have let myself go, really let myself indulge in the dark side of eating for way to long and it is definitely showing.  According to the scale I have gained 5 pounds since pre-vacation according to me and how I feel about myself I have put on a lot more.

It’s not like I don’t know what to do, I do.  I am an overall healthy eater and I actually don’t mind exercising and always feel better afterwards- it’s just that I don’t keep it up, I feel tired and achy from work and/or life and then the one day I took off becomes two ….

I’ll admit it I also like eating and drinking bad things, I enjoy getting onion rings and nachos and the extra large beer and munching on chips during the day and cookies too. I know myself well enough to know that I would never be able to say good-bye to carbs or alcohol.  I tried Atkins once and lasted 8 hours (6 of which I was sleeping).

What I would like to do as part of my New Year’s resolutions is to make some small changes.  Pledging to be a Fit Mom for Life… well time will only tell.  Pledging to make better decisions that affect my overall health and well being-that I can do.

I read Fit Moms for Life: How to Have Endless Energy to Outplay your Kids, written by personal trainer Dustin Maher on the plane ride home from vacation the other night.  The book chronicles the success of 31 mother’s who used his ideas and fitness programs to make changes in their physical and mental well being.  The book was easy to read and kept me interested by including the examples and photos (real photos) of women who have committed to his message and techniques.

What struck me immediately is that Fit Moms for Life is not telling you what to do or outlining a plan of exercises and meal plans you have to stick with or else.  Within the pages you are provided with lessons on how what you eat affects your body.  I must admit I learned a lot.  I also ear marked the page that says you can cheat a few times a week (just not all the time), this of course makes sense too.

The overall message of the book is that if you want to have more energy for you and your kids- you have to make taking care of you a priority.  I like that!  I agree with that message, it really is the only way to find happiness in marriage, parenting and life in general.  If your not happy then how can you make anyone else happy. 

The book asks you to envision and write down how you see yourself physically in 10 years.  As a coach and social worker I like this idea and it was a fun exercise to participate in, in a way 10 years seems like forever from now, but really it will be here before we know it.  Planning for the future is a great way to motivate yourself to change the now.  Now I am no J. Lo know, so I am guessing that won’t be me in my 40′s, but I would like to see a me that eats healthy and has the energy to enjoy life.  I know I don’t want to be any heavier than I am now, so in order to be the me I want to be in 10 years I have to now motivate myself to eat better, exercise and indulge less today!

The ideas in the book Fit Moms for Life are not something new or radical and honestly that is what excites me about the book and using it as a resource (which history tells me will happen) on my 10 year plan.

We all know this, but it is so easy to get lost in the moment and to over indulge.  It is also so easy not to plan our meals and to settle on something easy and not think about what our bodies need, focusing more on what we want.

Simple and to the point- like what we eat and if we make the time to be active does affect our health so we need to pay attention to what we are feeding ourselves and our families. I would recommend the book Fit Moms for Life for a good, quick read.  You will learn something new and re-learn a lot of important nutritional concepts that we like to forget we know.

You can purchase the book at Fit Moms for Life

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 Even More Exciting!  I will be giving away a Fit Moms for Life book later this month during the Celebrate Chinese New Year Giveaway!  Check back later on in the month for more details.

Disclaimer:  I was provided the book Fit Moms for Life in order to review.  All opinions are 100% my own.