Finally feeling glimpses of freedom coming my way! 5 years of pregnancy, nausea, heartburn, birth, postpartum healing, depression, anxiety, breast feeding, teething and AHHHHH (like a sip of coca-cola on a hot day) I’m almost out of that stage. Steve Nash Fitness Center just opened up in Nanaimo a couple of months ago, and they offer amazing childminding. I have learned so much through my motherhood walk with fair evaluation in my capabilities. When to say yes, when to say no… and when to get my ass in gear. Working out at home is not a capability.

For a year and a half, I was trying to do workouts from home and when bud buds started crawling and walking all over me, that came to a halt. Have you tried to do ab workouts with a toddler sitting on your gut? It’s challenging. Plus, his drool just drips down onto my belly and makes it even more uncomfortable. GET off me- honestly. Kids are a blessing- yes… but they are more of a blessing when you get a break from them and have a chance to miss them. Stay at home Mom’s rarely get that chance.

I’ve been learning so much through my gym life and I am finally feeling like I am getting a bit of identity back in my goals and aspirations. For those of you who haven’t had a chance to get to the gym or don’t care for the gym, that’s fine. But let me tell you something… gyms look different these days. When I was going to the gym in college, the goal was cardio- Ellipticals, treadmills and simple resistance training. Weight loss.  Now- there are a LOT of very strong women walking around who probably weigh more than their previous workout weight. Strength, weight training is the new bold and beautiful and let me tell you- It was quite intimidating when I walked into the gym for the first couple of weeks. After a while of self evaluating and looking around, I realized that NO ONE CARES what you are doing in the gym. Everyone is focused on their own fitness goals (which is a great thing- if you are a weight lifting newbie).  I’ve learned to just focus on my own form, my own goals and don’t be scared to ask questions. My personal goal is to do 5 chin ups by Christmas. Humans are very willing to help a person with questions and get flattered when you come to them for workout advice. For example- I see a guy doing a particular arm workout on a machine. I’ve never seen it done that way before, but it looks very effective. I go up to him and ask him to show me how to do that. He OFTEN has no problem taking a couple of seconds out of his workout to encourage me.

Can we all make sure…when you see another woman in the gym doing her workouts to give her a smile, a highfive or a “you go girl”! statement? I’ve seen a couple of other moms in there lifting 45lb free weights and I’m just jaw dropped. I give them a HUGE smile and say “yah Momma”! She smiles and carries on… but it’s so important that we stand behind the women that we don’t even know- to encourage them on their fitness journey too. I lack confidence and I do feel insecure some days. But I am working on it every day. Just like all of these other women.

For me- Fitness is more than the physical. It is a total mental fix to my entire life as well. I’ve noticed that when anxiety or stress comes into my life (which is LIFE and normal)… I need to get to the gym. I have one particular elliptical that I go on, and it has a platform called “Run TV”. I put it on and it takes me on a valley, ridge trail run for 23:26 mins. I feel like I’m running to the tip of the mountain every day, while my kids are watching paw patrol in the playroom with the amazing workers (shout out to Becca and Julia). I space out, listen to hardcore workout tunes and give’r. They have this one trail run called “spot the goat” and it’s also a mountain, trail run. At 10:11 mins, a couple of cute goats run down the mountain and I look forward to that.

I am seeing the same Moms, women in there at the same time every day and it becomes a gateway for me to reach out and get to know them. We all share so much in common. The challenges we face daily are similar and if we would just break out of the insecure shell that we sometimes mask as “strength”, we would form more community.

Okay- Well… enough about the fitness. I am down to the eating lifestyle. My eating lifestyle needs a bit of help. I’ve been very methodical I’ve realized through my health journey being a Mom. Now that I have the workout routine and amp to keep going on that… I need to “snack” healthier. I don’t think I need a special recipe for that… I just keep coming back to the “conscious eating”. Just to really think about what I am eating. I make healthy meals for the family, but I know that MY snacks need to be healthier options. Eating a cookie behind the cupboard so my kids don’t see isn’t the healthiest choice. Sometimes it is multiple cookies. And I harp on them to eat their veggies? HA HA. Everything in moderation. Granny Sadie lived to be 94 and she loved bacon, eggs, scotch, wine, gravy, crisps, pies, roast beef and of course veggies. She was a pilots wife and raised 3 strong boys. I think I am doing fine. I am Strong. I am confident. Next year, I will be a better version of myself. I get better each year.