Be an AHB Rockstar: Meet Lauren

My name is Lauren Cloutier.  I am a small business owner (Cloutier Photography: www.cloutier-photography.com).  I am also a wife to a crazy and supportive husband and I’m the mother of an equally crazy and lovable six year-old boy.  During the last few years I have left my exercise regime (what little there was of one) behind as I tried to juggle my family and the business responsibilities.  Now, here I am ready to write out my weekly pains in hopes it will also keep me motivated to continue down the path of overall good health.

As an adult, I had never been extremely active.  I was a city walker (I’ve lived in both Boston and San Francisco) but never really more than that–until after I had my son, back in 2005.  I think the necessity to get my son outside and him being so portable (carriage or sling)…I would walk everywhere!  Around that time I decided to join WW and did very well losing about 40lbs.  The weird thing was, I also started eating more junk food.  I hardly ever drank soda and there I was having a diet soda once a day because it had a 0 point value.  The points system really got to me after a while.  It made me even more neurotic than I usually am – weighing and calculating before I ate anything.  Needless to say, it didn’t last.  When I left I decided to pick up running.  I started in on the C25K and even ran two road races.  The last race was a miserable shame that I won’t go into here but, it put me off running.   At about the same time my business started to get busier and I traded in the running shoes for long hours at the computer – editing, emailing, and all the general business things that plague you all day and night long…After 5 years of this I have decided to figure out a way to make it all work (the best I can).

I used to love to cook, but not every night.  Luckily, my family steps in when I can’t.  Which tends to happen more and more often lately.  My husband and I became vegetarians in our late teens and in our mid twenties became “pescatarians”.  Which is a really snotty way of saying we now eat fish.  I love veggies, but unfortunately I also love cake (and cheese, and beer, and wine, and anything chocolate, etc.)

I am pretty nervous about putting it all out there on this blog, but think maybe it could help others start in on their own journey too and if nothing else it will keep me accountable for the crazy ways I will inadvertently try to sabotage my good efforts.

Sorry if this sounds a little formal.  I think I will find my voice in this eventually.

So here I am.  Ready to get re-educated and motivated to make lasting changes in my health.  Yuck.

A Healthy Balance