Getting back on track to fitness

Body image
I turned 34 last month. My husband and I have two kids , almost two and just turned four. The oldest told me last month that my "tummy's getting a little bit fat." If you saw me, you'd assure me that it's barely noticeable - a LOT of people out there have more issues with being overweight compared to me. I still fit all of my clothes no problems and in some outfits I still feel great about how I look, but I can't deny she's right that I've put on fat there compared to six months ago. I don't want to accept that "middle-age spread" is my future. I want to feel fit and healthy AND look sexy :D

Eating habits
So it's still "winter" here in NZ - although this one's been a pretty mild one. I have been eating more than I should, portion-wise, especially since our youngest doesn't really need to breast feed any more (although he still wants to and I let him 1 - 2 times per day most days), plus let's be honest, there's a few stress/indulge myself habits happening more often than they should be.  Most noticeably, I haven't been eating so many fruits and vegetables as I used to because for about a year now, I have lost virtually all joy for cooking. Fussy kids AND fussy husband when you also have a job 30 hours per week = what's the point in cooking? If I cook what I want, they more often than not don't appreciate it (my husband says "this has too many vegetables in it. I'm not a rabbit.") or else they just don't eat it, which I find really rude if I've spent an hour preparing it (once you add in the cleaning time, it's always at least an hour)! If I buy a whole lettuce, half a celery or cabbage, I can't eat it all by myself before it goes off, so I've virtually stopped wasting our money buying such vegetables.

Fitness background
I never was into running. At primary AND secondary school, the annual cross country race where I came second or third-to-last and swimming were the most hateful, dreary parts of of my school life. However I did ok at school netball, hockey and later cricket over the years. I always noticed when hiking and participating in these sports that my cardio fitness wasn't the best, but I enjoyed them and put in a lot of effort nonetheless. I always wanted to do dragon boating at college, but because I hadn't yet learned to swim, my parents told me that was a silly idea. During uni years I started going to a wonderful central-Wellington gym. The RPM classes and this personal trainer, Sean, who ran boxing circuit training were definitely the highlights for me. Plus the sauna.

At a uni party one of my mates said "I always wanted to row but never got around to it." I had wanted to dragon boat and another mate said she also had been interested in rowing, so we gave it a go and stuck with it for a whole calendar year: summer, winter and summer seasons. It was EPIC and LOADS of fun. I was training 10+ times a week with rowing training and the gym. I even ran (at snails' pace, but without stopping!) to the top of Mt Vic and back. During this time rowing helped my tendinitis (in arms) issues to go away but I really started suffering terrible knee problems as well, especially as soon as I stopped rowing.

When we first arrived back in NZ and I was pregnant with our eldest, I walked EVERYWHERE between the CBD, Kelburn, Brooklyn and Mt Cook. I realised when I was a teenager and at uni I was a lot fitter than I gave myself credit for and despite my baby bump growing ever-bigger, my cardio fitness came back really quickly from walking up and down all of these hills. Our eldest's birth was an extraordinarily good one, according to all of the midwives present, cheering me on and congratulating me. They said it was probably the walking that prepared that.

With working part time, family and friends/ plus some time for hobbies sometimes and with us no longer living in walking distance from work, I now live a very sedentary life compared with three years ago. When this Bodyvive trial which gives women aged 20 - 40 a free 8-weeks of access to Les Mills in Lower Hutt came up, I knew this was the kind of thing I need to do, or else I may never get around to it. I know from history that I require routine to stay motivated.

Go hardcore crazy or poison?
During uni I moved into a vegetarian/vegan flat, which changed my eating habits considerably. I was very organised with pre-cooking, packing and freezing healthy meals and snacks to take with me on my 12 - 16 hour days away from the flat at uni and such. I've suffered from reasonably annoying eczema and later terribly severe neuro-dermatitis, so in a quest to find out if these issues were allergy-related, I tried going dairy-free AND sugar free (also avoiding all overly refined carb foods like flours, non-wholemeal pasta and white rice) and I did this for one whole month. It was sometimes tough eating out with mates, but boy, did it make a difference! My whole body changed shape. Everyone noticed. I also felt really healthy -> for a long time after I stopped being so strict as well. It turned out I wasn't allergic to dairy, but I didn't really miss it. I bought unsweetened yoghurt again. I hadn't cut fruit or honey from my daily meals, so I was still getting plenty of natural sugars. When I started eating foods with white sugar in them again, to begin with they tasted like poison. I remember this vividly and wonder how my body seems to crave that same substance these days: that which once tasted like poison to me?

When I think now about how many of my friends have suffered from undiagnosable illnesses related to energy, irritable bowel syndrome and terrible indigestion and reflux issues in their 20s and early 30s, surely there's something wrong with what we're putting into bodies!

Because of this I am seriously considering doing the 21-day food challenge in a few weeks from now (after a couple of work events that will be catered :-) ) I know it'll be a great kick-start for me to get back into good eating habits. Over the last few years I've dreamed of having another foodie come over and spend one whole afternoon or evening in the kitchen with me pre-preparing and freezing the week's meals so that my family eats better. This hasn't eventuated, so I might have a husband and kids who get really titchy with me though when I tell them they're going to have to eat what I eat or else my husband will have to prepare whatever he wants to eat himself... argh. I can foresee serious resistance! Body health or mental health? Sorry, but I think it's body health's turn for a season. ....Perhaps that will change my whole family's eating habits?