Planking

Today I invited my first stranger to read my blog... So, stranger from the park (whose name I very sadly don't remember!), here's a shout out to you if you are reading this - woo hoo!

What on earth could move a truly very naturally shy gal like me to talk with a woman I don't know, in the park, while she is putting shorts on her little man and mine is waiting in the stroller?

How could I overcome the fear of embarrassing myself, worry over inconveniencing her, or the urge to just be quiet and spend my evening in the park simply enjoying my family?

Bottom line, this is something I believe in!

(Excuse me for ending a sentence with a preposition... It just doesn't sound quite right to say, "This is something in which I believe!")

Moms deserve a community. True, for centuries, moms have managed without social media. And even in my own life, I've put off the Instagram "step" for years...

But consider - back in the day, moms lived in villages or tight knit neighborhoods. They chatted as they hung laundry together, commiserated over gardening, and got their exercise by chasing children around together.They had community.

As for my own hesitancy to become a social media regular, I simply can't support the idea that you really know me becuase you are my Facebook friend or follow me on Instagram. We tend to post the pretty moments, the perfect stories, 

the victories, the vacations, the celebrations, the sales pitches even...

But do we connect?

So here's another level to our movement.

Let's share the moments when we wear no makeup, the struggle overcome when we overslept and still got in a workout, the victory when our family ate pizza and we made the healthy decision to only have one slice - and boy did we enjoy it!

Do you see what I mean?

For example, I present for your consideration a selfie, planking...With an unhappy toddler totally photo-bombing me:

Now, once you can get past the slightly ridiculous scene of anyone taking a selfie while planking... (I promise that I only did it because I knew what I was blogging this evening!)

Take a moment to celebrate with me that I made it through a 14:02 minute abs/butt/thigh workout with Little Man pushing or pulling me the entire time saying, "Up, up, up!".

Thank you www.jessicasmith.tv for the workout, btw...

Now I realize that the picture looks like the poor guy is in fits. But I overslept this morning (as often happens), and had committed that I would complete this routine. I downed my Formula 1 Sport Chocolate shake for breakfast, had my Herbalife tea concentrate (raspberry!) for some energy, and got to it. When I started, he was calm as could be. When he realized that I was no longer playing with him, the spurts of small cries began.

And I ask you - what do you want your toddler to believe? That being with him every single waking moment is critical to his existence even if it means you never get a bit of exercise again, or that making positive choices to take care of Mommy's health is an importan part of family life and something that he can choose to support by being right there with you?

Because I promise you, the choices you make every day about a healthy active lifestyle will teach your children what to believe. Not only about your health and theirs, but about your role in thier lives on a much bigger scale.

I made a  choice - Little Man will see that I take care of myself

(and for pete's sake, it's only 14:02 anyway!),

and I will invite him to join the process of healthy living. I've been making this decision every week (note, not every day!) since he was 4 weeks old, and now one of his favorite toys is a 2 1/2 lb dumbbell!

Who knew that by simply toning my thighs I could be teaching life lessons to my toddler?

Join the movement of moms. Follow me on Instagram @happyfitnessmama, and tag your own healthy mama real life images with #movementofmoms.

Can't wait to connect over your moments!

 

Disclaimer - Research shows that those people having a Formula 1 meal replacement shake twice daily as part of a healthy eating and exercise plan can reasonably expect to lose 1/2 to 1 lb a week. And the average annual compensation provided by Herbalife to its distributors at the Supervisor position is approximately $5,800. I have chosen to consistently follow my Herbalife nutrition plan and work hard at running my business, which is the reason for my personal results.