Mrs. Frogster, Firsthand

I'm sitting at the dining room table with a protein shake and bulletproof coffee, a familiar place after my garage workouts.  Earlier, before I hit the weights in the garage, I was sitting here too, eating a little and reading my Bible.  These are routines that have not changed for a long time, and I don't plan on changing them, either.  There is a comfort in routine and schedule and "this is the same every day."  However, when it comes to working out, I admit that I had gotten into a rut.  I was going through the motions, which I suppose was better than doing nothing at all, but I was bored and definitely not seeing muscle growth or definition.  I knew that that had to change.  I needed something to motivate me, challenge me, force me to grow in my workout space. (pull-ups and push-ups, I'm looking at you!)  (in my "gym", complete with refrigerator and tool bench, haha) A few months ago, when I was still on social media (yep, Instagram an...

Once upon a time, there was a tired mom who just gave up on trying to be healthy. She stopped caring about what food she put into in her body, and she started choosing the tv and sedentary activities over exercise and outside activity.  When her jeans got too tight and she had to go purchase new, larger ones, she shrugged her shoulders and sighed.  She really didn't care anymore.  She didn't have enough energy to care. I wish I could say exactly what happened that changed her apathy towards health and fitness.  I just remember that one day (for indeed I was this mom), I looked at myself in the mirror, and I cared.  I cried at the circles under my eyes and the exhausted, sad face.  I despaired that I was again close to having to get new, larger jeans.  I decided that enough was enough.  I was going to change; I just didn't know how. A bright, flashing ad for a new gym in the area called OrangeTheory Fitness popped up in my Facebook feed that ...

I had always assumed that I was just one of those people who naturally had a lot of energy.  I was quick and eager to wake up in the mornings and get on with my day.  I taught at school all week, invested time in my hobbies, and generally had a positive attitude to go along with it.  And then came the children.  In 2006, God blessed us with our first child who apparently did not like sleeping.  Deep in the throes of new mommyhood, I discovered when Gabi was just five months old that I was pregnant again with our second child.  Tired does not even begin to describe how I felt during that time.    Imagine how I felt when the pregnancy test showed positive again at the end of 2007!  Having three kids in three years was the most exhausting experience for me.  I ran on little sleep, lots of coffee, and less-than-healthy food grabbed in my spare moments.  I learned very quickly that my three little ones needed structure and routine,...

I have been eating a ketogenic diet now for almost four months.  If you are unfamiliar with the term, a ketogenic diet (usually just referred to as Keto) consists of high fats, moderate protein, and very low carbs.  A person on Keto will adjust into ketosis, which means the body will begin to produce ketones by the breakdown of fats in the liver.  The goal of the Keto diet is to force your body into burning those ketones for energy, helping with weight loss, energy levels, health in general, and mental benefits.  There's a lot more to it of course, but those are the basic facts.  My husband started eating the Keto way last summer and has stayed consistently on it since then.  He has lost almost seventy pounds this way and has experienced other health benefits as well, such as better sleep and highly increased energy levels.  In fact, it was the visible increase of his energy that inspired me to try Keto, as I did not have weight to lose.  In an...