Meet Kathleen!

My name is Kathleen. I'm the Hippie Diva of our little group. I am a writer, a bibliophile and and a thinker. One of those people that often spends more time thinking, planning and frantically scribbling in a notebook than actual doing. I homeschool my five lively, passionate children and am married to my best friend, the ever-hilarious Running Man. In our first few years together, Running Man and I prided ourselves on our good health. We ate primarily plant-based healthy meals and rarely ate processed foods. We both ran several times a week and were active in our free time. We both looked and felt fantastic.

 

See? Healthy, happy, fantastic!

But then, as happens to so many of us, the kids began to arrive, time grew scarce and our focus on health waned. Dramatically.

Fast forward 12 years later and we're both 40 pounds overweight. My joints hurt every day, and Running Man - who is a Type 1 Diabetic - is on more medications than he's ever been before. Food in our house has become more processed, faster and easier. Vegetables rot in the fridge. We eat out a lot. Our active lifestyle has become more sedentary (though we are not completely inactive - I'll go more into that in a different post). 
 

I have a thousand excuses for not eating healthier: I don't believe in dieting; I don't have time to cook healthy meals; Heck, I don't even like to cook; I'm too busy; I enjoy eating out and don't want to give up my favorite (read: incredibly unhealthy) restaurant foods; my sanity requires simple meal ideas so I can teach the kids how to cook without wanting to pawn them off on the nearest band of travelling gypsies. You all know what I mean.

But they're still just excuses. I know that, you know that. So here's what's going to happen: I'm going to be healthy again. And in order to be healthy, my eating habits have to change. A few of my blog-mates are choosing to go Vegan, a decision I think is smart and well-informed. I've decided to become a "Weekday Vegan", which means I will eat Vegan during the weekdays (and possibly Saturday) then give myself the weekend to relax and enjoy other foods. My family as a whole is not ready to go completely Vegan yet, and I don't want to force them down that road nor isolate myself from our dinners. I think the weekend thing will be a good compromise.

This will be a life-changing journey and this opportunity to document it excites me to no end. I want to talk about my family's exercise goals and food changes, my health numbers and results from a physical with our family doctor as well as my struggles with meal planning and taking the time to cook (I'm a planner, not a doer - remember?). I have a lot to share; interesting thoughts, lofty goals, a few hard facts, my sweet successes and hopefully infrequent setbacks. My fellow diva's and I will do our best to keep you updated on our progress. I will be posting on Mondays, with a weigh-in and number crunch for all four of us on Fridays.

Our goal is simple: To be healthy. To feel and look fantastic again. Join us!