Pursuit of Health

I exercise in the morning while DD is at school and DS and DD2 are here with me. DD2 falls asleep watching me exercise most mornings...LOL! DS plays nearby....I guess they have gotten used to mommy's hour of daily burn!

Well, my post got lost but you answered it anyway! Where's the Twilight Zone music??

Maybe ds will get used to it if it is regular. Hm...I will have to find a way to fit it in to my over-extended schedule!

LOL Good Luck

[freshwaterfish]

What I would like to know is, how do you do a regular exercise routine with a toddler? I don't know how to fit it into my day. i have some tapes I have loved in the past but I am not sure how I could do them every day with ds.

My son's preschool is a 10 minute walk one way from my house, so I walk him there and back everyday. By the end of the day I've put in a min. of 40 min of walking, and it hasn't even felt like exercise! It's also a good time to get some alone time with my thoughts. My BF loves walking as much as I do, so we try to go for a 6.5 KM walk a couple times a week around a local lake (10 min drive from my house). It has one real doozy of a hill too... I also LOVE the 20 minute Winsor Pilates DVD... It's just long enough to feel a burn, but not so long you feel like you've had to take a huge chunk of your day to do it. I usually did it when my son was napping. The instant he was asleep and laying down on his own, I'd turn the DVD on and get it out of the way. It's nice too cause it's zero impact, so no fear of waking your child up jumping around making lots of noise... hehe

[joyfulmomof2]

I have had to do a lot of dietary changes for dd since she is nursing, but here is what has helped me:

Running (haven't gotten too much into it yet, but I can tell it will be helpful) When you run, it really makes you focus on stretching and situps and core strength, etc.

I have had to eliminate caffeine, chocolate, soy, dairy, eggs and citrus for sure - can't remember if there are more.

And replacing one meal per day with a salad. It can have anything in it so that is fun and creative depending on my cravings that day. Though finding a salad dressing that I actually like without soy or dairy makes my fun level drop significantly. :eyesrolling

Yoga is great too - really helps with focus, relaxation and core strength as well.

Well, I am on board with pursuing health big time right now because I have HAD it with heavy menstruation and PMS and all that goes with it. So I am re-reading Marilyn Shannon's book, Fertility, Cycles, and Nutrition and I am going to take charge and do the PMS diet and get some supplements - no matter the cost. It "costs" more to be dysfunctional 90% of the time.

Regular exercise will help that, too, but I don't do yoga or any martial arts - I don't feel comfortable with those things spiritually or personally, but that's a whole other So suffice to say, I will do my Buns of Steel video from 1987. I love that thing, even if it does have 80's people in headbands, legwarmers and bad hair.

[joyfulmomof2]

Hi Leah,

I have been reading this book called Wheat Free Worry Free. It kind of freaks me out about everything that gluten can cause from heavy menstral cycles to schizophrenia. Some of that is theory, but it is still amazing the problems that food can cause to people who have allergies or intolerances to them. Not sure if that helps or not.

I haven't started my cycles yet since being pregnant with dd, but when I was cycling, one thing that helped me was cloth pads to really shorten and lighten the cycle. Do you use those at all?

That is interesting about the pads - I wonder how that works? I do have some smaller cloth pads that I use with all-natural, organic cotton tampons. But I don't always use them. That's very interesting...

Wheat gluten, huh? Woa. Sounds like it can be as scary as sugar! I am going to try adjusting my diet and starting some supplements. Thanks Candle!

I've heard about the cloth pads thing too. I'm about ready to try the diva cup. I am having my period now, and I noticed that I didn't start cramping until I used a tampon this morning...

Those who use them swear by them, as well as the cloth pads... there are several threads about them if you want to read more.

I would do cloth, but I can't see taking the pads to the coin-op laundry!

[freshwaterfish]

This might be a dumb question... but wouldn't the blood leak through a cloth pad? Or am I missing something? And are they dark colored so they don't look nasty and stained? I've considered switching to a diva cup too, but the whole idea kind of grosses me out... I think I'm doing good to have switched to organic cotton tampons a year ago...

I think they make them leakproof. (within reason, of course) And yes, they often come in dark colored patterns.

I may look into the organic cotton pads too.

It has taken me a while to get used to the diva idea too... but at least you don't have to worry about where to dispose of them. when you aren't home.

Dude.

I did my Buns of Steel video this morning - made time by getting up a bit earlier and getting my butt moving (or should I say, my buns), and ds fretted and fussed throughout the video, so I only did 20 min. worth. That's about all my jelly-buns could take anyway. Ds kept saying, "No want to watch that. No like that. Watch something else," complete with crocodile tears. So I think next time he will have to be asleep.

I was proud of myself, though, because the upper body stuff was *easier* than when I used to do this video as a teenager! Thanks to a 32 lb. ds, ha ha.

[joyfulmomof2]

Good for you, Leah! I know what you mean about the crocodile tears. lol

As for cloth pads, no they don't leak through. Some are made with a leak proof layer while others are made a little thicker, but either way I have had no trouble. I love them and would not go back to disposable if someone paid me - though I did use them for postpartum stuff. As far as toting them to the laundry, you can just wash them by hand also.

Also if you want to try some for free you can check out this topic: http://www.gentlechristianmothers.co...?topic=65664.0