Mother Guilt

When you make the decision to get healthy and make drastic changes to your life, your food, your workout routine, your body overall there are lots of nay sayers.

There are those who will say you can't. I was told when I first started losing weight that it was impossible to lose. That is would just yo yo and I may lose it for a short time but I would eventually gain it all back.

There are those who say that what you are doing isn't healthy. I faced this when I made changes to my diet. I went completely sugar free for 30 days. No bread.  No fruit. No dairy. No white anything. No refined sugar. Minimal sweeteners.  I was told everything in moderation.  I was told you have to eat fruit. I was told a little won't hurt. I ignored them all. I went 30 days no sugar. It was the best decision I made for my diet. I have some dairy now in the form of Greek yogurt and a little bit of cheese. I have fruit from time to time.

Fruit triggers my cravings for sweet so I avoid it in large amounts. No more than one or two servings a day.

When I said I was going to start lifting weights I was told that I would get big and bulky unless I just stuck to low weights and more reps. People raised their eyebrows and asked why on earth on would want to look like a shemale. Of course I don't want to look like this. But toned and beautiful...absolutely. A well defined muscled body looks a thousand times better than any soft pudgy body tried.

The biggest hurdle to overcome is the guilt. The dreaded "Mommy Guilt" that so many of us heap on ourselves. I work 40 or more hours a week. I workout at least 2 sometime 2 1/2 hours a day. I work hard to make sure that I am not taking time away from my kids. Some days are better than others. I like training in the morning early before they get out of bed. I go get my pump on before they wake, rush home and put us all together and out the door. Sometimes I hit a late night cardio ... like blacklight zumba at 9:00 pm. And sometimes I get to workout out after work. After work is the hardest. It is away from my little ones. My older girls can train with us, the little ones can't. This contributes to mother guilt.

Sometimes this guilt is fed from th outside. I had just had a great workout. I had busted my butt working hard completing several different lifts that involved my chest and triceps. I had my pump on. Then my husband and I hit a cardio class called "R.I.P.P.E.D." that works every muscle group in your body, builds your endurance, and focuses on strength building. I had sweat like crazy. Worked my guts out. High fived my husband on a job well done. And called my Mom to celebrate on my way home. She crushed my high when she said so do you just post a picture of yourself at home so the kids know what you look like? What the hell!! I said nice mom..thanks for the guilt. She quickly retracted and swore she wasn't trying to make me feel guilty but didn't I feel bad that the kids didn't see me cuz I had been working out all night long? I fight myself over guilt a lot. I know my kids have been in daycare heir whole life. I know my older girls help me in ways I can't even imagine a teenager could would or should. I know my husband makes sacrifices so I can achieve my goals. I feel guilt over these things sometimes. I told my husband about what my mom said. He, being the amazing guy that he is, said don't worry about what she said. You spend lots of time with the kids and you are getting healthy. I love this man!! I do worry about the time I spend away from them and if it is too much. I don't think so. I know they know I love them. If anything, I am showing them it is OK to say yes to themselves and their needs.

I need to be healthy. I need to be able to have a strong body to do the things I love to do with them. What better way than to go to the gym and lead by example. Put the guilt aside. Let go of negative thoughts. When someone says you can't..ignore them. Focus on all you do and all you are accomplishing. Let the nay sayers say what they will. They are gonna notice all your changes one day and ask what you did to make the change. Their eyes will gloss over when you tell them it was work, but you know that in the end, you are the real winner.