My Fitness Journey

Most of you know I had my second daughter in March. She is a beautiful, healthy baby and is a complete joy to my life. While I was pregnant with her I vowed that I would watch what I was putting into my body, that I would not chow down on junk food, and that I would not gain too much weight......OOPS! 

On March 1, 2015 Phillip and I checked into the hospital to be induced so we could finally meet Theryn. One part of the induction process involved me getting on the scale and letting my nurse record my weight.....HOLY HELL! I could not believe I let myself gain that much weight!! How was it possible that I packed on 52 pounds?....oh ya, that was my daily stop for doughnuts and chocolate milk for breakfast, the fried burritos from the gas station for lunch, and the large bowl of cake and ice cream after dinner each night. 

So, apparently I broke my healthy living vow and never looked back. Probably a good thing I didn't because I would have noticed the "WIDE LOAD" sign stuck to my rear.

After Theryn was born I made myself another promise, this time I decided I would stick to it and make sure if I got off course I would jump the curb and get back on the road to success. I am a nursing mother, and after failing to eat healthy for Theryn while I was growing her I pledged to eat healthy for her now. She relies on me 100% to give her the vitamins and nutrients she needs to grow up to be strong and healthy, I don't want to let her down.

I decided May 1, 2015 that there was no better time than now to make a LIFESTYLE change. I can't do strict calorie cutting while I am nursing or it will compromise how much milk I am able to produce, so instead of the crash diets I was used to doing while in high school and college, I found a solution that has worked for me!

ADVOCARE!

A healthy lifestyle, along with exercise and Advocare products has turned my life around! I am feeling better than I have since high school! I am learning that crash dieting and "miracle pills" are not the safe/healthy way to lose weight and get in shape. It's about putting quality vitamins and minerals, unprocessed foods and water into your body. It's about getting active and being happy! 

My "WHY"

People have asked me; "why"? Why did you decide to start Advocare and start exercising? 

I do it for the love. For the love I have for myself, and my family. Here are a few of my "whys"

1. I want to spend more time with my family!
2. I want to be able to run and play with my children and not be dragging!
3. I want to feel good in my own skin!
4. I want to set a good example for my children by leading a healthy lifestyle!
5. I want to LIVE; for a very long time!

There have been several times I have wanted to quit, throw in the towel, and pick up a tub of ice cream and say I am done. There are days where I don't notice progress, and I don't see the changes in my body I hoped for. But every morning when I get my girls out of bed, they remind me of my "why". 

Here are the results of my fitness journey so far. 
I think I am on the right track this time around!

Let Freedom Ring!

HAPPY THURSDAY!

With the 4th of July holiday quickly approaching I have been thinking a lot about 3 things:

1. Food
2. Dessert
3. Family

Growing up in a tight-knit family has always had its perks. We ALWAYS spend every holiday together (4th of July being no exception). I remember being little and going to my Grandma's house in the afternoon to play dolls with my cousins, Annie-over around their huge garage (if you have never played this game, your childhood was not near as cool as mine), and grilling hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill that evening. 

While my dad, uncle and grandpa grilled outside my grandma was usually in the house preparing her AMAZING potato salad, baked beans, and relish tray. It was usually my mom and aunts who brought  the cakes and cookies. (man I am starting to get hungry!) 

Everyone would bring their own slue of fireworks to set off, and when the sun went down we would all sit and watch fireworks in the backyard.

The fireworks were never my favorite part of the 4th of July though. I was always the first person to beg my grandma to break out her homemade ice cream maker and mix up some vanilla ice cream. IT ALWAYS HITS THE SPOT!

This has always been how our 4th of July was as long as I can remember. But over the past 5 years or so, my sisters and I have all grown up, most of us married, and now have our own families. As much as I love how our family has grown over the years, I still miss going to grandma's house on the 4th. Now we all seem to go in different directions, spending time with our in-laws, going to the lake, or doing nothing at all. Almost all of my fondest memories are when I was at my grandma's house. I have a sense of peace when I am there. Even though I never lived with my grandma, it always feels like home. 

Now that I have a family of my own I am ready to start our own traditions. I want my children to have amazing memories of growing up with nothing but happiness and fun times. I want to grill hot dogs, make homemade ice cream, play outside, and just be together. I want my children to have memories spent at grandma's house without a care in the world. 

This year I am not looking forward to the 4th of July like I used to though. We haven't bought fireworks, there isn't a cook-out planned, and we aren't going to grandma's house to make homemade ice cream. I know this happens as families grow. This year the 4th will be spent taking my children to the lake (for a few hours), and spending the evening with my mom. Hopefully the neighbors set off some fireworks so we can watch them. My dad and husband will spend their evening watching my cousin race his micro, and my sisters have an evening planned with their own families. 

....back to my first thought... FOOD. Is it lunch time yet?

Hi all! To start off, I want to give you a snapshot of a day in the life of Becca (that's me).

My family is currently going through a TON of changes.  I would like to say that everything we have going right now is positive! Change isn't always easy, but necessary for growth.

Where to begin....My husband and I just celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary! Being able to go through all of these life changes with him by my side has been the biggest blessing of all. We have 2 children.  Our spunky, sassy, 2 year old daughter, Dylann, and giggly, always happy, 3 month old baby girl, Theryn.

Last February my husband and I bought land close to my parents. Ok, let's be honest....the land is in their back yard. After purchasing the land, we decided to put our home up for sale thinking it would take awhile for it to sell. Little did we know that 3 months later we would be selling our first home and moving in with my parents!

Fast forward 13 months....We are FINALLY wrapping up the finishing touches on our new home! We are slowly moving boxes from storage and cleaning out my parents' house so they can live like normal people again instead of being the next family to air on an episode of Hoarders. 

Building a new home is crazy! The emotions that come when making huge decisions is overwhelming most days. If you ever have the opportunity to build a home, take a good, long while to think about what you want in your forever home. Also let these things run through your mind:

1. How much do I love my husband? (because you will want to strangle him daily)
2. (If you have children) How does being a "single" parent the next 6 months to a year sound?
3. Do you function well during extreme exhaustion?

The list could go on! Let's just say, building a home is not for the weak. But as we are nearing the completion of our home, I can say I absolutely LOVE it. This is the home I will be raising my family in, the place we will have family gatherings, birthday parties, cookouts, and a lifetime of memories. Of course there are things now that looking back I would change. Like where do I put my kitchen trashcan? Should we have made the living room larger? Oops! No linen closets in the girls' bathroom. Should we have built our master closet to be bigger?....Bigger is better right?!

We started sleeping in our new home last week. I. Am. Exhausted. I'm not sure if it is because I'm not used to being there, our new mattress, or a combination of things, but one thing is for sure, it's HOME.

Stay tuned for more pictures of the inside of our house! It is a total wreck right now, so once it is photo ready I will take pictures.