Tag: new years resolution

New Year, New Resolutions + A Power Breakfast

I’m not one of those mother’s who stands at their son’s bris, just 8 days after giving birth, looking like they’ve just run a marathon (I mean that in the skinny sense, not in the just-been-through-labor sense). I squeezed myself into control top pantyhose, and my feet were so swollen, I could not fit them into a single pair of shoes. I still remember sending my brother to Macy’s the night before the bris to get me a pair in the next size. Alas, they did not fit on my feet either, and there I stood, dressed in my finest, with Crocs on my feet. Thankfully, I decided to make a last ditch effort and try on a pair of short boots that I had, and with a little nudging, they made it.

My son is now nearly 2 years old, and the swelling has by far subsided. But I put on a lot of weight. Unfortunately, I belong to that small percentage of women who actually gain weight while nursing, and gain weight, I did. It also didn’t help that I started my blog sometime around then, so the pounds just piled on. Yet here I am, coming on my 2 year blogoversary, and I’m proud to say that I’ve lost it – 35 lbs. and counting! I am half of the dress size I once was, and I’ve never felt better!

It wasn’t easy, let me tell you. I’ve done this a few times before. In fact, I’ve done it after every baby. But as I get older, it gets harder, and the pounds become more and more stubborn. I may not be as thin as I was before I had my kids, but I’m more fit than ever, thanks to a strict exercise regimen. When I started out my weight loss journey (if you follow my blog, you may recall this post) I was so out of shape that I started physical therapy for the pain in my knees and ankles. I tried to start walking but I could barely get through one block before my knees buckled. All that extra weight on my petite frame was just too much for my body to take. I started off going to a personal trainer, who began our sessions with low impact exercise to minimize the strain on my knees and ankles. As time went on, she upped the ante, pushing me to my limit, and not allowing me to give up when the going got tough. I hated going to those sessions, I really did. I dreaded them like a high schooler dreads a math test, but I persevered and boy am I thankful to Esther (my trainer) for pushing me.

After a few months of personal training and dieting, I wanted to change up my routine so I began taking Pilates. The Pilates instructer actually taught me french for 3 years in high school. I had met her a few months before, but she could not seem to place me. I reminded her my maiden name, and some of the classmates I was with, but she just did not remember me. When I stepped into her Pilates class, quite a number of pounds less, she immediately realized who I was. I could not believe that I had gained so much weight that it rendered me unrecognizable. Of course it became our little joke, as she teased me for being the one to kickstart my weight loss.

Pilates was, and is, a lifeline for me. It’s low impact, so I can do it even after a long day, yet it’s rewards are so much greater than the effort it requires. Pilates has helped me strengthen my core, improve my posture, and gives me a sense of overall confidence. But being a low impact exercise, it wasn’t enough to keep up with my weight loss, so I joined a running group. My running instructor, Shaina Sara, uses the pose running method, which is extremely difficult at first. That first month of running was practically torture for me and I wanted nothing more than to back out of the group. But I’m no quitter, so I pushed myself and kept going at it. I’m still a work in progress, but I have come to enjoy every run, even while it taxes my body. Running makes me feel powerful and strong, and the endorphins it releases put me in the best mood.

Following my weight loss journey, my husband finally decided to join the diet bandwagon with his facebook “run for likes” campaign. The same husband who could not wake up for anything short of a fire, is now jumping out of bed at 6 AM to pound the pavement. His determination has inspired me to keep going, even as I get tired and lazy to go for my runs.

I am sharing my journey with you because I want all of you to know that it’s never too late to get healthy and fit. I’m a food blogger, no-one loves good food more than me. If I did it, you can to! Exercising has breathed new life into me. I used to feel tired and lethargic, unable to keep up with my kids. But now I’m full of energy and I feel so strong. It doesn’t matter how much you weigh, or what size you are, you can always bump up your fitness routine and get on track to a healthier you. With the New Year upon us, I’m renewing my commitment to stay healthy and not fall back into my old ways. It’s so easy to revert back to our bad habits, but I’m going to push myself to continue to stay healthy and strong, and I hope you will too!

1 year ago: couscous with thyme & honey roasted carrots, parsnips and beets

Post a Comment

Honey Mustard Salmon

{A Resolution & A Recipe}

As any mother can attest, getting into the Yom Kippur spirit while we are stuck at home playing boardgames with our kids (not to mention fasting) can be extremely difficult. We are lucky if we get a chance to pick up our machzor, let alone daven, or attend shul. When I need to switch off the Mommy button and get into davening mode, there is one tefillah that will do it for me – “U’Netaneh Tokef” (translation here). The powerful words of this special prayer really help me zero in on the awesomeness of the day, as well as the most important things in life, that we hope to merit in the coming year. The words have always tugged at my soul, but when I learned the story behind the prayer, they became even more meaningful (read it here).

When I ask Hashem to grant me life vs death, to live in harmony vs being harried, to enjoy transquility vs suffering, to be enriched vs impoverished etc…to merit all the positive things vs the negative, I realize that inasmuch as I am asking Hashem for these things, I need to look inside and ask myself, am I doing the same? Am I choosing the positive over the negative?

By nature, I am more of a pessimist, and tend to see the glass half empty. Growing up, I’d wax philosophical and say, “I’m not a pessimist, I’m a realist. This is the way the world really is.” But I’ve grown up and matured enough to realize that there is both good and bad in this world. It is up to us how we choose to see it. As it says in Koheles, “Everything has an appointed season and there is a time for every matter under the heaven…A time to kill and a time to heal… A time to weep and a time to laugh; a time of wailing and a time of dancing….”

For me, it takes an effort to see the good in things, but this year, I am renewing my commitment to look at things in a positive way. Just as I am asking Hashem to look at the good in me, and to bless me with all things good, I must look inside myself and do the same. Seeing the world in a positive light, facing challenges with a positive outlook, and choosing to see the good in people, only serves to enhance my life and the lives of those around me.

This “recipe” (if you can call it a recipe!), is one which my family enjoys each year at the seudah on Erev Yom Kippur. I realize that it, too, is comprised of sweet honey and bitter mustard. While delicious, I will also eat it with a prayer that this year, the good should overpower the bad and that we should all merit to see the “honey” in our lives, and not know of any bitter “mustard”.

Wishing all BIB followers a Gmar Chasimah Tova and an easy fast!

Post a Comment