It is a Good Life!

Oh ya, for sure!
I just wanted to share with you some of the struggles that I have been challenged with during this healthy living weight loss journey.
When I started this journey 2 years ago, I was full of fire and passion for everything healthy, clean, homemade, less processed and also starting to move my body more and more each week was a big part of  it. My fear was that I would love this passion, fall off the wagon and gain the weight back. I have been working with the Wharton Medical Clinic and with my awesome life coach Szos and they have helped and encouraged me through the months. Well, this works well when you are a focused path and you keep seeing positive result with your health issues. But what happens when their advice and your body/mind/soul don't agree and you start slipping back to your old ways?
This unfortunately is what has been happening for the 6 months or so. With pressures all around with work, family, illness and stress piling up around me, I was turning to food once again for comfort. I would set goals to start logging all my food again on myfitnesspal - something that always keeps me in check- and just find reasons not to continue with it. I was postponing my Clinic appointments because I didn't want to see the reality of it. I knew this had to stop before a gain of 15lbs became an avalanche. I did not want a repeat performance of my Weight Watchers success story gone bad 25 years ago (loss of 100lbs and subsequent gain of 100++lbs).

This is where my angel comes in.... Can you hear the chimes ringing!!!! Melanie is my angel. Melanie, my beautiful, courageous and inspiring daughter is my angel!

For a long while I have been trying to help Melanie work on her health issues, trying to focus on healthy eating and moving our bodies together, it hasn't really worked 'til now. Thanks to her health teacher at school, who's topic was discussing exercise and health clubs, Melanie came home last week asking that we join a gym.  Wow, I never thought of that? I had joined GoodLife in the past and tried to exercise during at lunchtime during my work day... hated it! Didn't last because I had to rush home for Melanie after school or be home at night with Melanie as Brent had to go to work. But guess what... My excuse- being present for Melanie- has been my reason for jumping in again with my Nikes and water bottle in tow! Reason that this is perfect now is that you need to be 12 years old to join. So my 12 year old and I went to the GoodLife Fitness for Women above our local Loblaws and signed up, got our tour, got our gym bags and filled them up with little deodorants and locks and towels. 
Here's where the angel part comes in... I have never seen Melanie sooooo excited to do anything like this in her life. She can't wait to go to the gym and try out the treadmill, elliptical machines, resistance machines- she wakes up in the morning so excited and reminds me, Mommy, remember we are going to the gym tonight. She is whipping my butt with her excitement, the butt whipping I needed to get back on track. Now we spend our evenings at the gym, working our muscles, our hearts pumping, our bodies sweating- not lying on the coach snacking all night. Amazing how refocusing on a healthy habit (gym time) makes all other habits fall into place- logging my food and activity, eating healthy snacks and meals, planning healthy meals and preparing them on the weekend.

I love all the angels in my life!