New Year, New Start

As 2018 approached, I remember feeling excited about all the year-end festivities and celebratory activities I planned for my family. I mean, I had events planned so tight that the advent calendar I created coincided with activities our church had going on, school events and even some community action. My plan was all about entertaining 7 kids home from school for 2 solid weeks. Well, that was all fine and dandy except I COMPLETELY forgot to make plans for 2018. I mean who does that? December 31 rolls around and the next day… what? Whatever happens, happens? Apparently.  In fact, the only thing I planned for this new year was the kids’ chores. Actually,  I’ve had those planned since October or something like that. So, here we are the second week of 2018 just finished and my life still feels like it is up in the air.  I have such big dreams for this year though and I am convinced with proper planning and perspective, I can do it all.  I have learned from this holiday season to be more flexible because everything will work out and I have planned some things that I hope will entice you to stick around for the journey with me and possibly join me!  

This blog is designed to share my experience as a 40 something mom of 8, living in Hawaii, doing the most she can to eat clean, live green and be fit. So this year, with that in mind, I plan to do a couple new things. I have discovered that my personality type is motivated by challenges. I do not necessarily like to compete against others because I hate that someone has to lose, but I love to challenge myself to be better than I was before or to complete something that I really don’t know I can do. These type of challenges seem to motivate me to stick with it until the finish. What I am also learning about myself is that I do not like to lose and I do not like to fail. Who else is like that?

So, with these self-revelations in mind, I decided this would be a great time to challenge myself to document my workout and diet for 3 months. WHOA! If you know me, you know that I am really stretching myself to put this challenge out there. I have been known to say that I am a terrible tracker and poor eater but no more! I refuse to claim any of that negativity anymore!!! I have been talking about, thinking about and reading about becoming a vegan because of the health benefits. Lately, I’ve noticed many celebrities have made a commitment to being vegan with noticeable benefits to their appearance and I am once again inspired to be more aggressive about transitioning to vegan.

Here are a couple links I find helpful, you might find helpful information if you are considering making 2018 your exploratory year. These links basically answer the questions: what is a vegan and can a vegan be muscular?  I recommend checking them out.  The PETA website and Myá’s website offer really great guides to help make the transition if you have no idea where to begin and both Koya Webb, celebrity holistic health coach & yoga instructor and Purium Health Products offer some really awesome recipes that are simple and quick helping new vegans not feel so overwhelmed.  Quick disclaimer, I have not yet reached the mind state that I want to be an advocate for all animals and fight the system that has trained us to eat them, but I am disgusted at the way many companies raise the food they sell to eat and that includes plant farms with pesticides galore and terminator genes. I am excited and a little nervous to make such a dramatic diet change, I don’t want to fail, but the nice thing is, even adding one or two vegan days a week to my diet is full of health benefits; together we will discover as many of these as possible through documenting what I’m eating and how it’s making me feel! One challenge I am already facing is how to get my ENTIRE family on board with eating vegan because some are concerned with muscle mass.  I know with some quick, easy, full of flavor recipes, I can get them to enjoy at least one vegan meal a week and that’s a start.

I have learned from my years in physical therapy that strengthening muscles only improves quality of life.   The stronger my core gets, the more support it provides to my back, the better my posture, the less pain I end up in during the day, the happier I am all day long, the happier everyone around me is, the happier the world is.  I mean, seriously, it’s that simple.  If I am without pain, the world is a better place. Okay well maybe that’s not EXACTLY how it works, but that is how it works in a way.

Physical strength, self-discipline and commitment to reach and maintain a level of fitness requires more than just a great workout plan, it also requires mental strength and endurance to do what can sometimes feel like a chore or burden.  The payout can be much further off than anticipated and may not even look the way envisioned yet there can be no quitting. That is why documenting is essential; not just the exercises but also the diet and the way the two combined feels.  Working out, developing muscle while maintaining a vegan diet is something like a unicorn to many people.  I have found some really great vegan bodies out there so I am convinced that being vegan does not limit the amount of muscle mass a person can build. I have been following some people on Instagram for a while and one thing I have noticed about many of the women that has me completely inspired is the rapid response of their bodies when they lift heavy weights versus just eating healthy.  Their examples have me wanting to see if my body will respond quickly in a similar fashion and together this year, we get to see.  Torre Washington and Mark Martell are two vegan bodybuilding resources that inspire me and may have you wondering about your bodybuilding potential as a vegan.

Hau’oli Makahiki Hou!

I have also learned, from my time with Purium, that while pursuing optimal health is an important choice for ourselves, it is equally important to be out there in the world sharing our knowledge; people are walking around like zombies, in pain and/or mental clouds and they may not even be aware of the cause. I am convinced one of the major causes of the pain and clouds is the toxic frankenfood we consume.  If people had more information about the benefits of healthy, inexpensive ingredients of their favorite foods, and people in their circle of influence making healthy choices, they may choose healthier options for themselves as well. I am not a professional dietician, nutritionist, nor am I a medical professional. I am a 40 something, mom of 8, living in Hawaii, doing the most she can to eat clean, live green, be fit and be a part of a like-minded community.  I can’t do it alone, share your experiences and expertise, be a part of the million mom movement with me, we can influence 1 million families to make healthier food choices.  I am excited to learn more. I know there are many people interested in being healthy, many of us have been making healthful decisions for ourselves and our families for years so let’s rock this new year with aggressive pursuit of health and happiness with open minds to new ways of living.

📗 About D Goosby of JDs Organic Productions

🌺My Story... The Journey Continues🌺

D Goosby of JD's Organic Productions is a wife and a mom to 8 beautiful kids including 2 sets of twins. At one point, she weighed close to 300 lbs and then lost half of it just to put most of it back on. D eventually got tired of the yo-yo. She learned some hidden truths about our food system and decided to get educated and make lasting changes. D studied to become a certified personal trainer, nutrition coach, and peristeam practitioner because she realized that she was not alone in wanting to make healthy lifestyle changes but lacking the knowledge to make anything permanent.

That is what D does today, she helps busy moms like herself, get back to where they feel good again, they look the way they want to look and they get to be a healthy role model for their families and friends.

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