Mother's Day 2014 - guest post from my daughter!

It's Mother's Day 2014. I gave my daughter a guest post slot for today, in what is sure to become a classic post.

What a gift, to get myself well, and then to be able to lead my family to a better place in our health. ( all two of us, and the two cats are grain-free, also!) I'm so proud of my daughter.

From my daughter, May 2014:

Hi guys! So as you all know, it’s Mothers Day today! So to show love for my wonderful mother, I am going to be guest blogging. 

My mom has helped me with many things throughout my life, but one of the biggest things she has helped me with is being healthy. It was not so long ago that she and I would both crash on the couch after school and work and share some ice cream while watching Biggest Loser on television.

Kind of missing the couch crashing

 She used to pack me sandwiches and other things so that I had a full lunch for school. I used to be pretty self conscious about my weight and I guess my mom was too, but we kept eating what we ate and doing what we did.   

Eventually my mom decided that she would try to lose weight.  She joined a commercial weight loss program, and quit eating some of the things I did. The big change was a bit scary for me, as I was afraid my mom would be totally different. I sometimes didn’t want her to be eating that way, because it meant we couldn’t cook french toast with her.  But when my mom lost a lot of weight and began eating healthy, I could see that maybe her diet wasn’t a bad thing. 

When she began eating Paleo, I could see that she was happy and excited to be doing something good for her health. I ended up being converted to the magical "Paleoism". As soon as I ate my first grass fed burger wrapped in lettuce instead of a bun, I was amazed at the way it tasted. The flavors seemed so much stronger and the meat tasted better. My eyes were opened to a whole new world of spices, meats, and vegetables. 

Protein Style Grass-fed burger- Magical!

I now enjoy trying her new recipes, and I love learning how to cook healthy dishes. Being open to try new food opens up many options for food we both like. Although I am not completely Paleo, I thoroughly enjoy the meals my mother makes me.  I feel better about what I eat; the food is good, and I found that I’m not constantly snacking all the time because what I eat fills me up completely.

 When I first joined middle school I was chunky and slow. I ended up almost failing PE in sixth grade because I couldn’t run the mile in the “Healthy Fitness Zone Time.”  So determined to get my grade up, and to get me more active, my mom drove me to school on the weekend, and we ran the mile. The week after we ran together, I got into the healthy fitness zone, and stayed there since then. I have bested that time by 4 minutes since then, and I am still improving. 

My mom has inspired me to run or walk, and stay active when I can. She got me a membership to a nearby gym. She taught me how to use most of the equipment and made me feel safe and happy about working out there.  She encourages me to balance out my video game time with exercise and it has really helped me in the long run. Staying active with my mom allows both of us to do fun activities together and connect.   

My mom helped me balance out my life with a perfect combination of eating right and staying active. I am no longer the chunky kid who can’t run fast, but the average girl who tries her hardest.  I am confident in how I look, and I am super excited to be wearing a beautiful dress for my middle school graduation. It’s all thanks to my mom that I am actually fit and feel good.  She has inspired me to live a healthy lifestyle, and it has gotten me so far already. I never would have felt this amazing without her. I love her so much and will continue to support her on her weight loss journey.  Happy Mothers Day, mom. I love you so much. Thank You!