All About Me: Q & A

I have to first give credit to Jen because I'm stealing her format and idea.  But it was so awesome.  You can check out her blog to see the original! 

1) Who is Natalie Francisco?
I am a stay-at-home mom of 3 children, married 5 1/2 years to an amazing man, I am strong and stubborn.  I love to workout because I love the endorphins (who doesn't like natures prozac).  I want to compete in something but I don't know what yet.  So I want to train for something, because I'm fit now and need a goal to work towards.  I was a competitive swimmer for about 10 years as well as a wrestler and did a bit of martial arts (jui-jitsu, grapling and boxing).  So that basically explain my need to train.  I love being in my kitchen, cooking and baking because I like being in control of the food I give my family.  This is a new development in my life, so I'm still learning and love to learn.  Speaking of love to learn, I am a part of a small church group with helps me understand the meaning of scripture and how I can apply it to make my life better.  I need routine, I get anxious without it.  But in a nut shell, I am an overanalizing, type A personality, that sees the good in people and trusts people instantly.  I'm hard on myself but have so much to offer my friends and family. 


2) What are you proud of?
I am proud of the fact that I haven't lost control of my temper this last week.  I am proud that I use cloth diaper on all the babies, and that we only clean with "nature clean" products, that all my personal care products are totally natural (you could eat them), that our house is considered green and energy efficient, we have a clothes line and use it about 6-7 months a year, that I make most of our food from scratch, that I nursed all 3 kids, that we have huge veggie and herb gardens (and fruit trees, strawberries and grapes) in our backyard, that my kids are polite (most of the time), and of the weight loss I've had without a diet or "meal plan diet".  I'm proud of my creativeness with health food and of my strength and endurance at the gym.  I'm very proud of the fact that I workout till I nearly puke and that I can NOW go into man zone and not feel weird.


3) How did you lose over a 100 lbs in a year?
I changed my relationship with food. I took a "lose it cycling" course a while back which had a nutrition component and taught me how to track food and recognize that I was eating way too much.  But not enough of the really good stuff that would keep me feeling full.  I read a couple of books that really helped me out (and I keep looking for new stuff to keep me motivated).  But with the research I did, I found that I personally had to seriously cut back on the sugar and salt, and eat more low glycemic foods.  I almost feel that I eat like a diabetic.  I eat whole grains, cut out tons of dairy, get good fats and eat protein that is low in saturated fats.  I think now I eat "clean", or as clean as I can.  I met a farmer and he raised our pig and cow (all organic and free range).  And in the summer I get tons of food from the farmers market.  I also work out at Goodlife a ton.  When I was in serious weight loss mode, I was putting in about 10-11 hours a week at the gym.  Now that I'm on maintenance I do about 6-7 hours a week.  I do cardio, yoga, resistance training and just recently added doing weights (heavy enough that I do 3 sets of 7-8 to failure) I also adopted the philosophy that losing weight was a job, monday-friday, and on weekends I let my self indulge a bit more.  I also set weekly goals, something that I could change or substitute that I could maintain for the rest of my life.  (ex. putting unsweetened almond milk in my tea and cereal everyday)  Plus it did help that I love to cook and learning about cooking.



4) Would you consider yourself a "hippie"?
 In a way yes, but also "not quite".  Other than caffeine and alcohol I don't partake in any other illicit substances.  I do own about 4 pairs of Birkenstocks (and yes I wear them everyday with socks), and very much enjoy yoga.  I eat stuff like "hemp seeds" and "chia seeds" and humus (that I make from no salt added chickpeas).  I enjoy campfires and nature.  I am however not zen enough to really be a hippie.  I rarely buy new clothes, always used for me and the kids. And we are very "environment friendly" tons of recycling and composting for us  (we only make about 1 1/2 grocery bags worth of garbage a week). Ps Of course we use reusable bags-but sometimes I need the garbage bags so I get them.  I read the "Healthy Hippie" online magazine and really like it but don't know anything about the music bands they talk about.  That's all I can think of but I'm sure I'll remember more stuff later that I wanted to add.  

5) What makes you happy? (list the simple pleasures that you experience in your everyday life)
In no particular order...
- creating and eating super healthy food
- being with my kids (the hugs and snuggles - the snikles (this is a word Annaliese invented to say snuggle and tickle)
- accomplishing stuff at the gym that I couldn't do before
- stupid hot baths
- coffee
- a glass of red wine (or 2 or 3)
- talking with friends and feeling like I'm an important part of a community
- kale and spinach (in my smoothies)
- hot yoga with Sam
- sitting down with my hot yogourt bowl watching tv
- my backyard in the summer
- sex (can I write that?) ha.. oh well
- dark chocolate
- watching the kids play together (nicely of course)
- SLEEP and my bed!

I know this list could go on but I feel pretty good right now!