Why is it so hard?!?!?

So I knew it had been a while since I last posted but when I came to write a post, I found a draft from over a year ago. It is still applicable so I figured I would just edit it and make it the relaunch of my blog.

Why is it so hard to stay on track? I know I feel better when I eat better, exercise, skip the soda and drink plenty of water but it hasn't been enough to keep me on track. I have committed to working out again and while I haven't been perfect, I'm determined to have it stick this time.

I'm 34 years old and I haven't felt comfortable in shorts since I was 18. Once I stopped cheer and drill team, I was still fit but not as defined. My freshman year of college, I got to where I didn't like to show my knees. I didn't wear a swimsuit out very often either. Looking back I was still in good shape and looked fine but I couldn't see that then. Over the years it has just gotten worse. This past year something changed though. I know my body doesn't look great, I don't feel as good as I did all those years ago and I am certainly not where I want to be but I'm finally feeling comfortable in my skin.

I'm not sure what brought on the change but I think it was buying shorts. I went to Ross last summer with a very good friend who I know will be completely honest with me - I know that I look good if she gives it the thumbs up! She talked me into trying on a pair of black Bermuda shorts and she assured me that they looked good. While I was self conscious at first, I soon realized that it felt good to be in shorts again and I stay cooler than I do in capri pants! I now wear my shorts all the time and only pull out the capri pants when absolutely necessary. This summer I had to buy new shorts and it was a challenge but I found more that I really like and feel good in.

In December my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and she completed her chemo in May. It has been an experience that has had a big impact on me. It has helped to change my attitude and I was doing pretty well for a while around the house and with my workouts. I have been off and on lately and it is so dang frustrating! I think I tend to push too hard for perfection and to much change at once. I'm trying to adjust my ways of thinking so that I can find success that sticks.

I'm looking forward to an upcoming vacation followed immediately with school starting for our kids. I'm looking forward to routine again and I know this will help help me. Right now I'm focusing on exercising and eating in every meal. Our goal is to only eat out maybe once or twice over the next 3 weeks. I'm planning to update once or twice a week on how things are going, the exercises we are doing and what we have been eating. I'm hoping this will be additional help in keeping me accountable as well as maybe helping someone else on their own journey.

Why I LOVE the 21 Day Fix

It has been awhile since I last posted and a fair amount has happened in that time. I helped lead an accountability group between Thanksgiving and Christmas and it encouraged me to lead my first group. I'm leading it now and it has been a huge blessing. My grandfather went to the hospital New Year's Eve and he passed away Sunday morning. I'm thankful that Aaron encouraged me to start the group on Jan 4th because it gave me something else to focus on. I have not be perfect with my meals or exercise but I have been much better than I would have been otherwise! I'm already planning my next group for either the end of January or beginning of February. If you are interested in being in the group please let me know! The 21 Day Fix challenge pack is on sale now.

I love the 21 Day Fix because it makes making changes seem less intimidating. Most of us know what we need to be doing to lose weight but it can seem very overwhelming. The 21 Day Fix provides all the information you need - 7 workouts that are 30 minutes each, color coded containers to measure your food, a food guide to help you pick the best foods and if you do the challenge pack, 30 days of Shakeology that can replace a meal or snack. Plus you get me as a coach for free! I provide encouragement and tips to help get you through the 21 days and beyond. It still takes planning and effort but I think it seems much more doable!

I'm working hard to change our lifestyle and make our lives better. I believe that we can move mountains when we encourage each other to achieve our goals and I would love to help you reach yours.

What does fit really mean?

I have not kept up with this as much as I planned when I started this blog.  Lately I have been doing some thinking about what being a "fit mom" looks like to me.  When I started this, it was about loosing weight and getting "fit" in the traditional sense.  Vainly I wanted to look good!  Lately thought I'm finding that I want to be "fit" in all areas - physically, mentally, and spiritually.  Physically I still have a TON to do but I know it can be done.  I have been suffering from depression and anxiety, so mentally I have areas to work on as well.  Spiritually I want my relationship with God to be stronger.  I want to know the bible better so that I have the ability to help lead others, especially my family, to God.  I believe that if I have all three areas in order ("fit") that life will be that much better.  Each area will help improve the other leading to a more balanced life.  The overall look/feel of the blog will likely not change because I had always planned on being a pretty open book but I wanted to share then change in my view and what I'm hoping to accomplish in my life.

3 Months Later

It has been 3 months since my last post.  I'm not proud of this at all. I do have a few things I am proud of and a few revelations as well.  

Lets start with the rest of May!  I continued to stay mostly on plan with my food and I worked out here and there.  Around the end of May to early June, I hit the 15 pound mark and this was pretty darn exciting! 15 pounds gone!  At the beginning of June the kids and I headed to Granbury to spend some time with my family and possibly go on a trip with them.  Once we were in Granbury I started to cough and I knew right away that it was bronchitis again. I also knew that if I hadn't been coughing for at least 10 days that the doctor wouldn't do anything. We were gone for about a week and a half.  We traveled to West Texas and had a great time. I continued to watch what I was eating but aside from walking, there wasn't much exercising going on.  Later in June I went to the doctor and started to get better. 

I had good intentions in July but the time got away from me and I still wasn't feeling great.  I have endometriosis and the pain I have with it is starting to get really bad again. I had surgery in August of 2002 and slowly the pain is getting bad again.  With August has come preparing for our son to start kindergarten and all the emotions that go with this new chapter.  Through all of this though I'm very proud to say that I have maintained a 12 pound loss. I was feeling slightly bloated when I weighed too.  I have tried a couple of times to get back on track but I have failed myself.  Aaron and I like working out together but he has worked some extremely crazy hours.  I have to just workout when I can and let him workout when he gets home while I prepare dinner.  I know Aaron will have success just by me having a great dinner cooked, giving him his shakeology in the morning and sending him to work with a great lunch.  From there hopefully we can workout again together as the schedule allows. 

Today I have seen one of my favorite bible verses posted by people I know.  I'm guessing God is trying to tell me something. The verse is Phillipians 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your mind in Christ Jesus." 

 

I started off so strong and had some great results.  I continued to loose weight and then I slowly started to sabotage myself.  I'm beginning to think that I have a fear of meeting my weight goal.  I have a LOT to loose and I worry about what will happen if I have excess skin.  My first results have given me nothing to worry about but I worry anyway.  I think that I will never look as good as I did before, so why bother.  But this is a lie to some degree.  Yes I have stretch marks and yes I may end up with excess skin but that doesn't mean that I can't look good and feel good in my skin.  Sure I may have to wear a one piece swimsuit with board shorts from now on but I know when I'm smaller again I will feel much better in that than I do now in the same thing.  I will feel better in my clothes and I long for the day that I feel comfortable in shorts again.  Texas is HOT!  My husband is the only person besides myself that I care about when it comes to being naked and he loves me now.  That maybe TMI but it is the truth and that is how it should be.  I'm very grateful for his support though all of this and I pray that we will be working out together again soon instead of at different times.  The bible verse has always been a favorite but it is a great reminder to turn my worries of failure and success to God.  I just need to keep going for my healthy and sanity and the health and sanity of my family.  God will take care of the rest.

Round 1 Done!

We we finish our first round of the 21 Day Fix! My stats are not quite what I had hoped but I am still happy. Mother's Day weekend put us back a little but I'm ok with that and I'll explain why in just a few minutes.

Every year we have a family crawfish boil and it normally falls around Mother's Day. We decided this year that we would stay the night in Galveston. We ended up going to Beaumont on Sunday to see Aaron's grandmother as well. I had prepared some fruit to take with me on Saturday to keep me away from the cookies but I forgot it at home in the rush to get out the door for soccer. I had packed a couple of Dr Peppers to have over the weekend and I really wish I hadn't! I had only had 1 or 2 over the last month or so until this weekend. I stayed away from the potatoes and corn but I did have several cookies. After we got the kids down, I headed to my sister-in-laws to watch a movie and I ended up dropping Aaron off at a cook-off to hang out with his best friend that he hadn't seen in a while. When I called Aaron to let him know that I was heading out to pick him up, he talked me into staying out a while longer. I wasn't real happy at first because I was tired and I knew that it would also mean that I would be waking up with the kids in the morning. I'm really glad that we went out though. It was fun to see friends and just have fun. We don't go out much and we don't really go to bars when we do get to go out. We ended up at a bar and had fun dancing. We got back to Aaron's parents around 3 and I was laying down around 3:30. Our daughter woke up at 5:30. I got them back down but didn't fall asleep again until after 6 and by 6:45-7 the kids were ready to get up. We had a Mother's Day lunch out and I tried to make the best choice. I can tell you that I am not eating as much as I had been and that is great. I did drink 2 or 3 Dr Pepper's because I was so tired. We got home late and grabbed McDonald's for dinner. We made better choices than we might have before but we didn't feel good last night. 

Now for why I'm ok with not being where I thought I might be at the end of the 21 days. The way we felt last night and how we have been feeling this morning just reinforces why we are doing this and how important what we eat is to feeling our best. We both knew that we had been feeling better and happier since we started but this set back just shows how important food is in addition to the exercise. I'm not saying we won't ever have another not so good weekend but they won't happen as often that is for sure! This morning we were both still really tired but we got up and got moving. We both wanted to get back at it and start round 2 strong. This time we will finish just as strong! We are also planning on doing the yoga fix most evenings to help us relax and hopefully sleep better. 

Now time for my results! I had been hovering around 8 pounds down and ended up loosing 7 pounds and 8.25 inches. I know my bra fits differently but I'm not sure I did a good job measuring my chest the first time so that measurement stayed the same. While I had hoped for more (probably not all that realistic though) I am happy because my clothes are fitting differently, I feel stronger and I'm feeling a little more confident. I have a long way to go all the way around but I feel like I can get there for once! I may not be ready for shorts this summer but next summer I will be!

Anyone want to do a round (or more) with me?!?

Two weeks done!

We are done with the first two weeks and we are on to our third and final week of our first round. The first week was tough but the second week was better. I'm feeling stronger, more confident and happier. My clothes are fitting a little different and people have noticed a difference in Aaron!

We started off with evening workouts and then moved to mornings early in the first week due to evening events. It has been hard some mornings to get up but we are always glad that we got up to workout. The hardest part for me so far was this past weekend because Aaron was gone and it was my first time to workout alone. I did it though and I'm glad I did the workouts.

I got my Mother's Day gift early! We went to Target for some groceries and a swimsuit for our son but we came out with a Ninja blender too! Target had the big one with the more powerful motor, food processor and two cups marked down. I used it this morning to make a shake and I may make a fruit smoothie for my afternoon snack. I love how much easier it is to clean and how much lighter it is than my old one.

Two weeks in and I would still recommend the 21 Day Fix. I'm still doing some modified moves but I can tell I'm getting stronger and more flexible. I'm about 8 pound down and I believe Aaron is in the 10 pound range. The third week has workouts twice a day and I'm excited to see where we finish!

21 Day Fix!

We have started the 21 Day Fix and I am loving it so far! I'm SORE but I love it and I have actually been looking forward to working out. I'm really hoping this feeling sticks around. 

Aaron and I made a deal that I have to be 100% committed to the program and he will do his best to be 100% as well. I am pretty much in charge of food, if I make it and pack it for him then he will eat it! It hasn't been that hard to adjust so far but it does take some planning and thinking. When I'm deciding what I will have for lunch or a snack, I'm thinking about what I'm planning for dinner. Today is day 3 but I feel great about being able to follow the program and not stopping.

Monday and Tuesday we did our workouts when Aaron got home from work. I had everything ready to go so that when he walked in the door he just had to go changes clothes and we could start. Wednesday our son has soccer practice, so we had to get up early to get the workout done for the day. 12 hours after starting our last workout, we were starting another! I like mornings because the day can't get in the way but I like evening ones to for the stress release from the day. This week is busy so we will be finishing out the week with morning exercises. Aaron has a couple of weekends coming up that he will be away so I will have to do those workouts on my own. While I am committed to doing this regardless, I will miss having him to workout with those weekends. It really does help to have him doing this with me. 

One thing I really like about the workouts is that there is a person dedicated to doing modified moves. You are encouraged to do a modified move if you are having a hard time which is nice. She just wants you to keep moving and to strive to get better. This is something I find comforting and I will admit that I have been doing some of the modified moves! I am really sore so I know even the modified moves are working! I'm excited to see where I end up at the end of the 21 days. 

As I have said in previous posts, I have a lot of weight to loose so I know I will be doing multiple rounds of the 21 day fix. My hope is that after I get some or most of the weight off that I can go back and try p90x3 again. No matter, what I see this program as one that I will use to help me maintain once the weight is gone. I'm looking forward to the next update and I hope that I still have the positive view that I do now! I fully expect that I will!